CPO Rising has been actively publishing thought leadership, technology analysis, and supply management best practices for many years and the result has been a steady stream of valuable content that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. To help our readers keep better track of our ideas on certain topics, we’ve developed a new series in which we will feature a sampling of impactful insights and recent articles on the topics that matter most to CPOs and other procurement executives (Note that readers can also search different categories by clicking on “Articles” found in the blue menu bar directly under the CPO Rising logo or by searching “Tags” under the sponsor logos on the right hand navigation bar). We’ve started with Strategic Sourcing topics, but are now moving onto downstream topics, such as eProcurement and AP Automation. Enjoy!
4 eProcurement Articles You Should Read
1. Sailing Downstream: How Source-to-Settle Defines Procurement Transformation in 2015
From our article entitled Sailing Downstream: Why “Source-to-Settle” Defines Procurement Transformation in 2015: This article is based on a report of the same name; it is sponsored by Zycus and available for download here (registration required). This research report discusses the two principal ways in which Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) and procurement departments can transform the entire source-to-settle process – that is, from either upstream (strategic sourcing) or downstream (procure-to-pay, or P2P). It argues that there is greater value for the enterprise if CPOs and procurement teams begin the procurement transformation process “upstream” with strategic sourcing processes and then “sail downstream” by linking them with tactical, P2P processes. Performing either one is valuable in and of itself and linking the two is even more valuable. But above all, starting the journey upstream, sailing downstream, and continuing until the journey is complete is the most preferable strategy for source-to-settle transformation. Read more about this article by clicking here.
2. Sailing Downstream: How Source-to-Settle Defines Procurement Transformation in 2015 (Webinar)
From our article entitled Sailing Downstream: Why Source-to-Settle Defines Procurement Transformation in 2015: For sure, enterprises as a whole and procurement teams in particular can log significant financial and operational improvements through implementing basic strategic sourcing processes, such as spend analysis, sourcing/ eSourcing, contract management, and supplier management. Even manual process implementation can result in tangible, immediate benefits to the enterprise, like greater realized savings, greater contract compliance, and greater spend under management. But the law of diminished returns dictates that, over time, financial and operational improvements will plateau, and further process enhancements need to be made in order to reap greater rewards. When Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) and procurement organizations acknowledge their struggles and the need to transform in order to deliver greater value to the enterprise, they tend to take one of two approaches – a strategic “upstream” approach or a tactical “downstream” approach. Read more about this article by clicking here.
3. Demand Aggregation – Multiple Requisitions
From our article entitled Demand Aggregation – Multiple Requisitions: Procurement groups that function within large holding companies or companies that are frequent acquirers face numerous system and organizational challenges that make it very difficult to understand and view the overall needs and spend of the enterprise. When working with numerous back-end systems, the ability to simply run a report for each back-end system, combine that data into Excel ora simple database, and then perform an analysis or run a few queries is a largely futile exercise. There are very few who would argue that a manual analysis of the different category structures, different data structures, and the unique practices followed by the different units or regions whose transactions are captured by one system is ideal (That said, performing manual spend analysis is better than doing none). Read more about this article by clicking here.
4. ROA – Now Showing: “The Return of eProcurement”
From our article entitled ROA – Now Showing: “The Return of eProcurement”: With eProcurement applications in place at some enterprises for more than five and sometimes even ten years, many of these older programs would likely benefit from a repackaging and a gala premiere (i.e. relaunch): “The Return of eProcurement” (add tagline as needed). Are there active user adoption and supplier enablement initiatives still in place with your current program? If you’re not approaching 100% on these metrics, shouldn’t there be? Does the team still receive part of their bonus for getting these metrics to improve or have other projects pushed eProcurement down the list? Read more about this article by clicking here.
We’re just scratching the surface with eProcurement, so stay tuned for another curated article on this topic.
