Because procure-to-pay software hits every part of the process, it provides all the benefits of procurement software, purchasing software, and AP automation software rolled into one.
When integrating software throughout your entire P2P process, you can expect the following benefits:
Greater Efficiency Through Automation
The risk generated by manual processes comes from bottlenecks, human errors, and overall inefficiencies in process and approval workflows.
PLANERGY’s user-friendly P2P solution stops bottlenecks and inefficiencies by automating workflows at every stage of the process.
According to the American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC)’s Open Standards Benchmarking report, automation cuts the PO cycle time in half.
It also found that companies that use automation can process 1,302 POs per employee, compared to just 615 for those that don’t.
Process automation improves many other parts of procure-to-pay as well. Automated reminders and contingency workflows ensure approvals happen quickly and smoothly.
Automated 3-way invoice matching makes invoice approval and payment faster while stopping erroneous payments and invoices from getting through.
Automation cuts the PO cycle time in half. Companies that use automation can process 1,302 POs per employee, compared to just 615 for those that don’t.
Total Visibility Over Processes and Spend
Effective spend management requires total visibility. Procure-to-pay software gives companies the tools to easily monitor all purchases for optimal pricing, terms, and conditions.
All process and spend data is stored in a single location and is available for review and analysis—giving companies total spend visibility while making it simple to enforce purchasing policies.
Rules can be set to require approval before any order can actually be sent to a vendor. All purchase orders contain the approved terms, conditions, and pricing for each vendor.
Every document from purchase requisition to final invoice is automatically reviewed to prevent fraud and reduce errors.
Improved Supplier Relationships
Supplier management and strategic sourcing can also benefit from procure-to-pay software.
Procurement teams use supply chain management strategies for relationship building, contract management, and cost reductions. Software like PLANERGY brings value to these processes through:
Streamlined workflows that enable early payments and strategic buying based on accurate forecasting.
AP automation facilitates faster eInvoicing for vendors, but they can still use manual invoicing if they prefer.
Centralizing communications through one platform enables more effective supplier collaboration and reduces miscommunication.
Pre-approved legal content gives teams easy and intuitive contract creation, revision, and negotiation.
Data-driven insights provide leverage for the negotiation of better terms, pricing, and partnerships for projects or initiatives.
Providing vendors with automated onboarding and then auto-populating vendor data across the procure-to-pay system.
Identify the best vendors with automated key performance indicators (KPIs) tracking.
Vendor dashboards offer real-time feedback and suggestions for process improvements and opportunities to increase cash flow.
Improved Business Intelligence
Much valuable business intelligence is generated throughout the procure-to-process, and procure-to-pay software helps organizations use it.
Being able to identify factors like periods of peak demand, potential production snags, or your most reliable vendors gives you the power for better planning and cost-effective decision-making.
Additionally, having real-time access to your procurement and spending data, through automated spend analysis, makes it easier to create accurate financial forecasts and projections.
Finance and Procurement Collaboration
Using one system for procurement and accounts payable helps teams collaborate better than using separate systems for both. This is particularly true for finance and procurement collaboration.
When data is synced under one shared system, finance teams gain total visibility into procurement spend. They can analyze charts, dashboards, and budgets in real-time right from the source.
When these systems are separate, finance teams need to constantly request data from procurement, adding delay and back-and-forth communication.
When these teams can work together from anywhere, on any device, with full transparency, timely insights from finance can help procurement make better decisions.
At the same time, finance can have its pulse on the company in a more holistic way, leading to overall benefits for company culture and the bottom line.
