The Voice of P2P Automation from the Finance Process Gurus at PayStream Advisors.

Streamlining the P2P Processes though Catalog Procurement

Posted On March 5, 2013 by PayStream Advisors

When a company has an open procurement model, employees or purchasing departments have the freedom to purchase goods and services from numerous vendors, which makes it virtually impossible to control rogue spending and enforce company compliance with procurement guidelines. Open procurement also prohibits supplier rebates and inhibits their ability to negotiate deals which are awarded when volume purchase agreements are in place.

A catalogue procurement model boosts contract spending and enforces compliance with procurement guidelines by providing a list of items by approved suppliers where employees can purchase goods. A catalogue procurement system helps automate, simplify and accelerate the procure-to-pay process for goods and services.

Let’s deep dive into procurement catalogs to find out how they work to streamline the P2P process. PunchOut catalogs allow buyers to access a supplier’s eCommerce website, be automatically logged in, search the catalog, configure items, add them to the shopping cart, and return the cart as a pending purchase order back to the procurement system. In short, a PunchOut catalog website is a standard eCommerce website with the ability to communicate directly with a procurement system and return a pending purchase order back to the buyer so they don’t need to enter product information in the procurement system. This saves purchasing personnel valuable time since they don’t need to enter the product information. PunchOut catalogs also save time by eliminating all the maintenance and data entry of catalog upkeep. PunchOut catalogs are maintained by the supplier and do not require constant upkeep from Procurement.

Companies attempting to eliminate rouge spending and enforce compliance need to investigate catalog procurement models and how these models work to provide a seamless P2P process.

PayStream Advisors is currently preparing a Q2 2013 Electronic Procurement report aimed at helping purchasing, materials management, finance, AP and IT buyers make technology selection decisions as they evaluate new electronic procurement and contract management strategies and solutions. The report will spotlight recent innovations as well as feature leading technology providers in the space.

Research shows that more companies are exploring the benefits of procurement management automation solutions in an effort to reap the benefits including:
• Reduce procurement costs by closing the loop from source to pay
• Streamline the purchase of goods and services
• Automate operational processes to reduce purchasing errors, eliminate manual tasks, and avoid maverick buying
• Build collaborative supplier relationships and integrate suppliers into your procurement processes
• Accelerate procurement order and invoicing cycle times

Check back in Q2 to learn more about eProcurement solutions and how they can help your company streamline its P2P process.

Streamlining the P2P Processes though Catalog Procurement

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