A Comprehensive Guide To Implementing Procurement Spend Analysis Dashboards
Procurement Spend Analysis Dashboard
Incorporating Source-To-Pay solution into any business process can be daunting task. Executive stakeholders may be familiar with existing finance tools as well as their inherent hurdles and challenges. Faced with seemingly insurmountable challenge of effective procurement spend analysis, many enterprises opt for manual or outdated data gathering, analysis and reporting processes that often yield questionable insights at best. However, when done correctly and integrated with the right platforms, business can harness sourcing-to-pay technology to greatly increase understanding and control over procurement processes. This guide will help Executives implement procurement spend analysis dashboard that integrates advanced source-to-pay technology, from the C-Suite perspective.
The first step in taking advantage of source-to-pay solution is to ensure that the system is configured properly. As with any new software, proper configuration can be time-consuming and tedious process. To facilitate this goal, Executive stakeholders should begin by setting up series of milestones for the product lifecycle, including go-live dates, user acceptance testing and other key check-points. This will help to ensure the product is delivered on-time and configured to the user?s specifications.
The next step is to build repository of data to query against. By leveraging existing data warehouses, or by creating new ones, executives can curate analytics and performance reports that allow them to gain an understanding of current spending patterns. This serves two functions: it allows executives to establish baseline of current procurement costs and it allows them to track the implementation of the source-to-pay system.
Once repository of spend data is established, executives should begin mapping out the various users and their associated financial flows. Executive stakeholders must ensure that all parties are properly connected, from suppliers to requisitioners, and back-end systems to vendors. This process should be designed with flexibility in mind, as the procurement process will likely change over time in response to budget cuts and supplier changes.
Finally, executives should work to create suite of analytics reports that provide meaningful data for tracking, forecasting and analysis. These reports will allow executives to better spot trends and opportunities for improvement, as well as identify issues that need to be addressed. Through the use of software dashboards and other visual aids, executives can focus their attention on the most important pieces of information and gain an understanding of the overall financial health of their business.
By following these steps, executives can develop an effective procurement spend analysis dashboard that is integrated with the right source-to-pay platforms. Executives should expect to have the proper repository of data in place, electronic controls in place to ensure that users various roles are properly connected, and powerful analytics reports with appropriate visual aides. By using these steps and the right software, executives can take the first steps towards gaining control of the entire procurement process.
