Procure-to-Pay Course of & methods to optimize P2P Cycle

Companies immediately buy numerous varieties of products and providers for various functions.

The procure-to-pay course of encompasses all processes concerned in your complete lifecycle of buying items and providers.

From preliminary requisition to last fee, this course of includes a number of stakeholders with advanced workflows and necessitates vital monetary checks and management over itself.

Having a well-defined procure-to-pay course of for all procurement actions is essential for reaching operational effectivity and decreasing prices. All this goes in direction of shifting the needle in direction of extra revenue for the enterprise.

With that being mentioned, allow us to outline the procure-to-pay course of, perceive the steps concerned in finishing it, and find out how it may be optimized immediately with the assistance of automation.

What’s Procure-to-Pay?

Procure-to-Pay (P2P) is the entire course of carried out by a enterprise when buying items or providers. It contains of all steps proper from ordering the products/providers to paying the provider.

An instance of P2P can be a enterprise needing to buy workplace chairs. First, a purchase order requisition is created. It’s then permitted based mostly on sure standards. The corporate would then select a provider and place an order. When the chairs are delivered, the supply is checked towards the order. The bill from the provider is then obtained, checked towards the order, permitted, and paid. This complete course of, from figuring out the necessity to making the fee, is the P2P course of.

Steps of the Procure-to-Pay course of

The procure-to-pay course of is a subset of the bigger source-to-pay course of.

The preliminary Supply-to-Pay (S2P) steps will not be concerned within the procure-to-pay course of. These are particularly –

• figuring out a brand new want,
• discovering and evaluating suppliers,
• sending out requests for proposals,
• selecting the right provider,
• and finalizing provider contracts.

The above steps will not be a part of the procure-to-pay course of. As a substitute, the P2P course of begins as soon as the above steps are full.

Allow us to now undergo the steps of the P2P course of itself.

Actually! Let’s proceed with the steps of the procure-to-pay (P2P) course of, utilizing a sensible instance as an instance every step.

Step 1: Establish Wants

Think about this mid-sized manufacturing firm known as XYZ Corp. They’re working low on uncooked supplies for his or her manufacturing. So, the manufacturing staff takes a have a look at their upcoming orders and realizes they want 500 models of high-quality metal sheets.

To ensure the whole lot runs easily, the manufacturing supervisor and procurement staff work collectively to nail down the precise specs and portions wanted.

Step 2: Create Requisitions

As soon as they’ve found out the specifics for the metal sheets, the procurement staff will get to work creating a proper buy requisition. This requisition consists of all of the necessary particulars like the kind of metal, what number of they want, after they want them by, and any particular dealing with directions.

They fill out the requisition kind and submit it electronically by means of the corporate’s procurement system, ensuring they have all the mandatory approvals in place.

Step 3: Buy Requisition Approval

Now the acquisition requisition will get despatched to the division head for approval. The division head takes a superb have a look at the requisition, checks the price range, and makes positive they actually do want these supplies. If the whole lot checks out, they provide it the inexperienced mild and move it on to the procurement staff for the following steps. If there are any points or modifications wanted, they’re going to ship it again for revisions.

Step 4: Create a Buy Order

The procurement staff places collectively an in depth PO based mostly on the permitted requisition. It consists of issues just like the title of the seller, how they’re going to ship the products, and the fee phrases.

Step 5: Buy Order Approval

The procurement supervisor takes a have a look at the newly created PO to double-check the whole lot. They wish to be sure it is all correct and follows the corporate’s insurance policies. As soon as they’re glad, they provide it the thumbs up and ship it off to the chosen vendor. The seller opinions the PO, agrees to the phrases, and confirms the order. This makes it a legally binding contract.

Step 6: Items Receipt

When the metal sheets arrive at XYZ Corp’s warehouse, the receiving staff fastidiously inspects the supply to verify it matches the specs within the PO. They examine for issues like high quality, amount, and any damages. As soon as they’ve achieved an intensive inspection and the whole lot meets the required requirements, they file the products receipt within the system.

Step 7: Provider Efficiency

After a profitable supply, XYZ Corp takes a second to guage how the provider carried out. They take into account issues like whether or not the supplies have been delivered on time, the standard of the supplies, and whether or not the provider caught to the contract phrases. This efficiency information will get logged into the corporate’s provider administration system. It helps them make smarter buying choices sooner or later and keep excessive requirements for his or her suppliers.

Step 8: Bill Approval

The provider sends over an bill for the metal sheets that have been delivered. The finance staff does a three-way match, evaluating the bill to the PO and the products receipt. If the whole lot traces up and there aren’t any discrepancies, they approve the bill for fee. But when they discover any mismatches or points, they’re going to ship it again to the provider to get issues sorted out.

Step 9: Vendor Fee

Lastly, the finance staff takes care of processing the permitted bill in keeping with the agreed fee phrases. XYZ Corp has a web 30 fee time period with the provider. What does that imply? Properly, it implies that the fee shall be made 30 days after the bill has been given the thumbs up. The finance staff is up to the mark, ensuring to schedule the fee and settle the provider’s dues precisely and on time.

As we’ve seen above, the P2P course of includes 4 key stakeholders: the division that initiates the request, suppliers, procurement, and accounts payable (or an exterior company in case of outsourcing). 

Challenges within the P2P Course of

Implementing the procure-to-pay (P2P) course of just isn’t with out its challenges.

As we’ve seen above, P2P is a relay race – each the execution of every job and the pace of transition to every subsequent job determines the effectivity of a enterprise’ P2P course of.

Let’s delve into some frequent challenges confronted within the P2P course of:

1. Handbook Processes and Errors: Many companies nonetheless depend on handbook processes for numerous phases of the P2P cycle, comparable to bill processing, approval workflows, and information entry. This reliance on handbook duties can result in human errors, delays, and inconsistencies.
2. Lack of Visibility and Management: With no centralized system to handle procurement actions, companies usually battle with restricted visibility into the P2P course of. This lack of transparency makes it troublesome to trace spending and leads to unauthorized purchases slipping by means of the cracks.
3. Complicated Approval Workflows: Approval workflows within the P2P course of will be cumbersome and time-consuming, particularly in bigger organizations. A number of ranges of approval, unclear approval hierarchies, and delayed responses can decelerate the procurement course of, affecting total productiveness and operational effectivity.
4. Compliance and Regulatory Points: Adhering to procurement insurance policies, business rules, and compliance requirements is important for avoiding authorized and monetary dangers. Nonetheless, managing compliance manually will be difficult, resulting in potential breaches, penalties, and reputational injury.
5. Knowledge Administration and Integration: The P2P course of generates huge quantities of information, from buy requisitions to provider invoices. Effectively managing and integrating this information throughout completely different programs, comparable to ERP and accounting software program, is essential for correct reporting and knowledgeable decision-making. Poor information administration may end up in information silos, duplication, and discrepancies.

An outdated P2P course of can sluggish a enterprise down tremendously.

The following part will discover how these challenges will be mitigated and the P2P course of optimized by means of automation.

Learn how to Optimize the Procure-to-Pay Course of?

Environment friendly procurement efficiency, value management, and robust provider relationships rely closely on a streamlined procure-to-pay (P2P) cycle.

We all know that handbook processes nonetheless hamper groups throughout essential phases comparable to bill processing, fee, items receipt verification, and utilization of provider portals.

Even in immediately’s technological panorama, it is stunning that 31% of organizations depend on handbook programs to handle these phases.

The excellent news is that the P2P processes have developed considerably over the previous few years. AI, ML, and automatic workflows can now be built-in to extend effectivity. These developments cut back processing occasions, mitigate errors, and let your groups focus on necessary duties reasonably than information entry, operational duties and handbook reconciliation.

Today, numerous P2P automation software program can be found which automate and streamline majority of the procure to pay course of.

in case you are fascinated by getting a procure-to-pay answer on your group, listed below are just a few prime ones so that you can take into account:

• Nanonets
• SAP Ariba
• Coupa BSM Platform
• Jaggaer One
• Basware Buy to Pay answer

However let’s dig deeper into how a P2P automation software program like Nanonets optimizes P2P.

Right here is how a typical P2P course of automated utilizing Nanonets seems like –

The workflow begins with the necessity of a brand new buy.

1. Buy Request:

An worker logs into the Nanonets portal to submit a purchase order request digitally.

2. Buy Order Creation:

Nanonets robotically creates a Buy Order (PO) based mostly on the main points offered within the request.

3. Buy Order Approval:

The PO undergoes an automatic approval course of inside Nanonets. 

You may set predefined guidelines and circumstances to make sure consistency throughout procurement actions, minimizing errors and stopping unauthorized expenditures.

Approval notifications are despatched and managed simply by means of widespread communication instruments like Slack and Microsoft Groups, that includes direct Name To Actions (CTAs) for fast decision-making.

4. Buy Order Dispatch:

As soon as permitted, the system robotically sends the PO to the provider through built-in electronic mail or provider portals comparable to SAP Ariba or Coupa.

5. Items or Providers Supply:

The provider processes the order and updates the supply standing within the provider portal, which syncs with Nanonets.

6. Bill Knowledge Seize and Matching:

Nanonets robotically extracts information from invoices, buy orders, and supply notes, decreasing handbook entry and errors.

Automated three-way matching ensures accuracy by verifying the alignment of invoices, buy orders, and supply notes earlier than fee processing.

7. Fee Processing:

Nanonets streamlines the fee course of, guaranteeing all transactions are accomplished effectively and on time. 

This helps keep good relationships with suppliers and keep away from late fee penalties.

8. Integration with ERP/Accounting Software program:

Nanonets integrates seamlessly with numerous ERP and accounting programs, offering a unified expertise for procurement and monetary information administration.

It’s clear that procure-to-pay automation streamlines the acquisition course of and enhances the efficiency of your enterprise perform.

Listed below are some generally seen advantages of automating the procure-to-pay course of:

• Value Discount: Automate repetitive duties to scale back labor prices and decrease errors.
• Effectivity Good points: Streamline approval and bill processing workflows to hurry up the procurement course of.
• Compliance Enchancment: Guarantee adherence to procurement insurance policies and requirements by means of automated checks and balances.
• Provider Relationship Administration: Improve communication and coordination with suppliers by means of automated programs.

Ultimate ideas

Operating a profitable enterprise is like managing pit stops for a System 1 staff. You must continually optimize your processes so to eke out each final little bit of efficiency.

Your P2P cycle is definitely one space that you simply shouldn’t overlook. Seamless procurement is the best way ahead. Those that embrace P2P applied sciences can have a bonus in expenditure incurred, person expertise, and avoiding enterprise disruptions.