Harnessing The Power Of Strategic Sourcing With Source-To-Pay Solutions
Procurement Strategic Sourcing
Procuring goods and services from vendors has long been laborious and difficult task. It was commonplace to find executives shadowed by piles of paperwork and deadlines as they strove to find the perfect sources to acquire the right assets at the right cost. But with the advent of source-to-pay (S2P) software, the resources and tools to streamline strategic sourcing are readily available.
It is important to stress that source-to-pay solutions can optimize the procurement process, allowing executives to concentrate on the more pressing parts of their role. Because the technology has been tailored to fill in gaps left by traditional methods, it gives decision-makers the ability to make more informed decisions quicker and more efficiently. Besides, with S2P solutions, critical information is securely hosted, generating balanced workflow which can be fed into business intelligence systems.
Although organizations come in all shapes and sizes, source-to-pay solution is easily scalable to fit the procurement needs of any enterprise. Multiple departments in business can benefit from S2P solutions. Finance departments can monitor spend while minimizing costs, allowing them to increase due diligence during the procurement process. Legal departments can oversee contractual terms and obligations, managing spend in accordance with various constraints and regulations. And purchasing departments can be on alert for duplicative purchases and the possibility of non-compliant orders.
Getting Started
In order that executives can reap the benefits of source-to-pay solutions, few steps must be taken in the implementation process.
Step 1: Outline Needed Resources
Before any S2P solution can be used, full understanding of the business requirements is needed. This includes the amount of people involved in the process and their input, the end goal and resources procurement should be optimized for, and the software that should be added for additional efficiency.
Step 2: Acquire the Software
Once the needed resources have been established, the next step is to obtain source-to-pay solution. This should be accompanied by thorough examination of the Softwares features to enable executives to assess the best product to meet their requirements.
Step 3: Integrate with Existing Systems
To maximize use of the source-to-pay solution and increase efficiency, integrating any new software with existing systems is essential. Executives should also consider adding consultancy services, such as Agiloft, to equip an organization with the expertise to get the most out of the software.
Step 4: Involve Stakeholders
Any software needs to be tailored, to certain extent, in order to negate any outside risk and redundancy. To ensure this, executives should deploy steps to involve key stakeholders in the procurement process. Doing so will give all side of the picture and ensure that the system is properly tailored to fit within the companies needs.
Step 5: Establish Key Performance Indicators
For source-to-pay system to succeed it is crucial that some form of metric is used to monitor its performance. This includes examining areas such as customersatisfaction, delivery times, order accuracy and overall robustness. By doing this executives can monitor and quickly address any issues that arise.
Step 6: Track Performance
One of the key advantages of S2P solutions is that they generate far more busines intelligence than the traditional approach. This gives executives greater handle on buying patterns, invoice details, variable pricing, and discretionary spend. This knowledge is further bolstered by the ability to track performance and identify savings for the future.
Conclusion
Using source-to-pay solution is surefire way for organizations to streamline the procurement process, from start to finish. Across the six steps detailed here, executives should solidify the required resources, research software, integrate systems and involve stakeholders, establish KPI’s and track performance. By taking such measures, any organization can reap the rewards of an efficient and cost-saving procurement process.
