Making an End-to-End Procure-to-Pay a Reality

For most companies the procure-to-pay or P2P process has evolved to where upstream processes (the world of sourcing and purchasing) and downstream processes (the world of accounts payable) are managed by different organizations and are largely disconnected at key integration points. These disconnects drive rework, inefficiency, frustration, and overall higher costs to serve.

Inherently, business drivers are different for these two groups: “upstreamers” aim to create processes, which reduce cost and deliver goods and services in a timely manner, while “downstreamers” strive to automate high-transactional volumes, quickly solve problems, and ensure financial controls by eliminating payment errors.

Integrating these processes in an end-to-end fashion can deliver the best of both worlds and provide further synergies in automation and error reduction. This is truly a case where 1+1 equals 3. However, different reporting lines, strategic objectives, and operational mindsets create quite a few challenges in organizing and operating these processes in an “end-to-end” fashion. In fact, a recent ScottMadden study showed that 63% of organizations still operate purchasing and accounts payable as independent functions.

So how do we help these two streams speak the same language? How do we fix the disconnect and “operationalize” the P2P process to better serve the end customer?