Tag Archives: eProcurement

2014 eProcurement Report: P2P Visibility, Control, and Connectivity

For PayStream Advisors, the research we publisherlogo.ncp conduct and compile for our reports is not only interesting and revelatory, it is vitally important. However, this is truer at certain times than others, and as we announce the release of our 2014 eProcurement Report, we acknowledge that this publication takes a leading position in the body of our financial automation work. Part of this belief stems from PayStream’s own observation in shifting business trends: the relevance of financial automation tools for efficient business processes is growing in the marketplace. From a movement towards connectivity, integration, and a fully automated P2P process, electronic procurement is emerging as a powerhouse solution that enables a company to create connection between every aspect of purchasing, making it a tool on which complete organizational efficiency depends.

AP & Procurement Integration

In the 2014 eProcurement Report, PayStream strives to unlock the keys to dynamic P2P, beginning by exploring market trends in current purchasing procedures and in the utilization of automation software. These trends emerge from 2014 survey results that address issues concerning POs, supplier integration, contract compliance, AP and Procurement synchronization, and more. These results also reveal varying degrees of complication that arise from un-integrated systems as well as promising signs of companies’ strategic goals for increased efficiency through procurement software.

The report outlines the various features eproc and functionalities of modern eProcurement solutions, bringing concise and intelligible detail on everything from requisition catalogs to shipment tracking capability. PayStream believes that it is important for readers to understand all the tools an eProcurement solution has to offer in order to choose the most robust and user-appropriate system. A truly comprehensive and dynamic procurement software will bring increased visibility, control, and connectivity to an organization’s purchasing activities and their entire Procurement department.

Ultimately, eProcurement solutions can completely transform an organization’s P2P process if chosen and employed using best practices and the most suitable provider. Strategies for choosing the right procurement software are illustrated in the report as eProcurement Best Practices. These outline the best routes companies should take when choosing and implementing a solution, demonstrating how to employ techniques that bring about Organizational Coordination and Integration, Supplier Relationship Enhancement, and Business Intelligence Utilization. Not only that, but this report also provides Guidelines for eProcurement Shoppers, showing how solution seekers can be prudent, open-minded, and savvy all at once to choose the perfect software for their organization. What’s more, this report includes several detailed profiles on the market’s leading procurement automation providers to give financial professionals viable and exciting eProcurement options.

In all, the value solutions offer to Procurement departments has exponential multiplying effects that can spread to other vital business areas. With the up-to-date market opinion, instructive manual to procurement functionalities, and essential eProcurement Best Practices and Shopping Guidelines, this report is one of PayStream Advisor’s most robust and essential of the year. Download a free copy today.

Kenya, eProcurement, and P2P Potential

In PayStream Advisor’s upcoming 2014 eProcurement Report, the various aspects of electronic procurement are dissected, analyzed, and then reassembled to illustrate how effectively a solution can be in transforming an organization’s entire P2P process. The strength of an eProcurement software lies not only in its dynamic components, but also in the innovation and strategy of its users. To not only utilize, but to optimize an eProcurement system, best practices must be employed—if they are, the benefits of visibility, control, and connectivity will spread throughout the functions of an organization to create a brilliant eProcurement and P2P success story.

In recent global news, PayStream has seen the evidence of such a success story. Last week, the kenya 1 Kenyan National Treasury announced the official launch of an electronic procurement system in their Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) Department. The goal of this implementation is to bring the use of public money under greater transparency and accountability, easing the difficulty and improving the management of the process.

The President of Kenya, President Kenyatta, believes that an eProcurement system will ensure prudent use of the public financial resources—for the correct and intended purposes. With the system, Kenya wants to eliminate the abuse of the procurement system through greater openness and accountability of transactions, and they hope it will ensure that people with disabilities and other target groups receive the aid they need. The system will also make Kenya a more attractive destination for investments, potentially improving the economy.

Kenya is the first African country to incorporate an eProcurement system into a devolved government. The system will monitor all transactions through the purchasing life cycle and will provide features that include approval hierarchy and an item master to standardize and manage the use and price inflation of items within government departments. A supplier portal will also be initiated, meaning all government suppliers will be duly registered with the Registrar of Companies, bringing greater tax compliance and certification accuracy, as well as enabling productive collaboration with suppliers.

kenya It is clear that the Kenyan government has the goals of visibility, connectivity, and control in mind, and that they are using several eProcurement best practices as they implement their solution, including a focus on systematic synchronization and supplier relationship enhancement. They are also utilizing the system for humanitarian reasons, as streamlining this process has the potential to improve living conditions for the country’s disabled and others in need of aid.

“Implementation of the e-procurement will no longer be a matter of politicizing issues,” said President Kenyatta. “This is about delivering efficient services to our citizens. It is about ensuring that the days of wasteful spending using taxpayers money is over. It is about strengthening the government-supplier relationship by streamlining the procurement procedures, to provide easy access to information and documents, to increase the number of bidders as the bidding process gets simplified, and to ensure cost savings for the government and all taxpayers.”

PayStream hopes that Kenya’s use of eProcurement best practices will bring them success in streamlining their public spending, and in improving the conditions of those in need of government support. For more insight into the potential efficiency and effectiveness of electronic procurement on any type of organization, look out for our upcoming 2014 eProcurement Report.

ADP’s Mission to Improve P2P

PayStream Advisors has been paying a lot of attention to the ways in which solutions work to streamline the P2P process, especially as we’ve researched for our recent Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment (EIPP) report and our upcoming eProcurement report. It is clear that the effectiveness of these solutions depend in large part on how well the eInvoicing part of the process is integrated with supplier payments. Only then can the process truly begin to move from being stagnate and error-prone to becoming productive and value-creating.

As a research and consulting firm, PayStream is constantly searching for financial automation ADP providers that meet our expectations of quality and innovation. ADP, a global provider of human capital management solutions, recently announced new enhancements to their Procure-to-Pay Solutions® platform that seem to meet the requirements of a truly adept and integrated P2P solution. These enhancements will bring users increased customization and improved control of their electronic invoicing and payments processes, as well as give buyers and supplier the opportunity to work more collaboratively by offering immediate access to critical data. Ultimately, this platform will feature all the vital parts of a P2P solution that bring better payment process efficiency.

Among ADP’s improvement, there is the enhanced supplier dashboard and analytics, which will help suppliers access relevant information and monitor trends and will bring greater visibility into approved and unapproved invoices, purchase orders, and disputes so suppliers can see critical data and take action. There will also be increased control and flexibility of invoice approvals, and customizable invoice coding display to make it easier for clients to configure coding fields and other data elements so that only the desired fields are visible to users. Multiple payment accounts functionality will allow clients to make payments to suppliers from more than one account, choose their preferred payment method, and better handle payment exceptions.

In the recent 2014 EIPP report, our research found that multiple payment options not only make the process easier for the supplier and buyer, but also encourage better supplier participation and communication, ultimately building stronger supplier and buyer relationships. In our upcoming 2014 eProcurement report, we also found that the improvement of one aspect of the process, like visibility into POs and active expenditure, can have rippling effects throughout the rest of the procure-to-pay life-cycle, and improve a company’s productivity in the future. ADP’s enhancements are all in areas of the P2P process that can majorly increase the efficiency of other areas—to focus on improving these parts of their solution is a best practice in the arena of solution design.

ADP plans to release several other enhancements to their P2P solution in the coming months. Their goal as they design their products is to create evolving integration capabilities and deliver comprehensive functionality. This is exactly what PayStream looks for when searching the market for the best products—the recognition of coordination as a fundamental aspect in financial solutions, and the ability to create that attribute within the provider’s own designs.

For more insight into the vital aspects that go into a truly comprehensive P2P solution, download your copy of the 2014 EIPP report today, and look out for the upcoming eProcurement report later this month.

SciQuest Shines with New eProcurement Product

SciQuest, PayStream Advisors partner and a leading provider of spend management solutions, has announced the rollout of a brand new product this week—one that will help their clients turn spending into a strategic source of savings. An updated version of their award-winning spend automation suite, this application gives customers broader collaboration with their suppliers by providing more visibility into procurement activities.

Since 1995, SciQuest has been committed to creating comprehensive, easy-to-use solutions for improving the source-to-pay cycle. Their procurement software helps organizations manage the entire process, from requisition to settlement, and they provide complete visibility for better spend analysis and reporting. This newest edition of the spend automation suite includes the company’s completely redesigned Sourcing Director product. Sourcing Director is deeply integrated with other SciQuest products to ensure optimum efficiency, and it manages the many important details of the sourcing cycle, from event creation to supplier evaluation and awarding. Some of the improvements in this new suite include an integration with Salesforce.com ™ that will accelerate and simplify organization adoption for contract lifecycle management, as well as a new reporting add-on module for extending supplier management capabilities.

These improvements are sure to be welcomed by SciQuest’s existing—and well-pleased—customers. Karmen Milton, the Assistant Director of Purchasing at Georgia State University, owes her department’s satisfaction to SciQuest’s commitment in delivering customer-driven enhancements. “SciQuest’s ability to automate processes like supplier management and purchasing,” Ms. Milton said, “has enabled us to reduce costs, improve efficiency and gain a higher level of transparency into organization-wide spending processes.”

PayStream’s research has found that the market for electronic procurement software is growing as businesses realize the organizational benefits of a more streamlined source-to-pay connection. It is also a highly competitive market, with a growing demand for specialist purchasing features, and with some online businesses integrating or substituting procurement features in their own purchasing processes. Procurement solution companies are hard-pressed to produce innovative systems that set them apart from the common offerings, but we believe SciQuest’s products are placing them among the frontrunners in this constantly evolving sphere. We wish them success as their new product embarks in the eProcurement market.

For more insight into eProcurement trends and innovations, look out for the upcoming PayStream report this Q3.

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