Articles by "Procurement Technology"
Showing posts with label Procurement Technology. Show all posts

on Monday, July 11, 2022 0
Organizations that have utilized traditional procure-to-pay (P2P) solutions are experiencing the need to monitor spend efficiency more closely. The same holds true for businesses that have deployed a combination of disparate systems, alongside enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Leaders are prompted to seek more robust solutions—while lowering costs—and find that a comprehensive source-to-pay (S2P) platform is the answer. 

sourcing cycle with multiple considerations
Automate Source-to-Pay Workflow

Increase Workflow Automation
When S2P solutions are implemented, organizations can increase the automation of their workflow and reduce critical cycle times. The ease of use, simple implementation, and visibility across robust procurement workflows are unmatched with end-to-end platforms. Meanwhile, organizations that rely on general ERP applications, may require supplemental tools to manage their complete sourcing to payables process.

Seamless Integration
The best fit S2P will offer a plug and play install and seamlessly integrate with all ERPs. This eliminates the need to migrate data from existing tools or worry about costly downtime. When multiple solutions or “extra” modules must be deployed to extend to end-to-end coverage, customers encounter added cost. This is more painful when teams refuse to adopt the individual ERP or niche solution because it does not meet their needs or otherwise lacks flexibility. 

Tech-Enabled Solutions
When S2P solutions are enabled with the latest technology, features like artificial intelligence support advanced capabilities through process automation and document processing. This is demonstrated in Intelligent AP Automation by eliminating inefficiencies associated with manual processing and boosting compliance. The capabilities of complex document recognition, sorting and classification accessible through a simple, customizable user interface are transformative to the way purchasing is managed. 

Image displays bar chart to demonstrate growth
Monitor spending while reducing costs with your S2P

Intelligent Assistants and other proactive technology are further differentiators seen in S2P platforms. These features add an expanded element of convenience by enabling users to access documents and workflow details, through conversational or text prompts while on the go and outside of the platform interface, using recognized communication tools. 

End-to-End Processing
S2P solutions are designed with the full sourcing process in mind, extending capabilities and workflow visibility.  




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on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 0


AI artificial intelligence mapping brain as digital circuit network
If you search on the internet, it is no surprise that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its potential to significantly change the workplace is a consistent trend with companies that want to grow. While it is not a new concept, the opportunity for application and saturation in financial services is accelerating.

AI is no longer reserved for big tech and entertainment-focused companies. Albeit these organizations tend to lead the way with integrating AI in their most recent product launches.

The relatively inexpensive cost to create and implement AI into software applications has broadened the scope of use, specifically when it comes to everyday business processes. The first question to ask when considering the adoption of AI, or any technology for your company, is how will it help grow the business, reduce costs, and improve cashflow?

One use case explored involves AI Automation within a finance organization. The solution was deployed to automate invoice processing, a monotonous task that was time-consuming for employees who manually entered large amounts of data and reconciled against multiple records. The use of AI invoice automation software has significantly reduced processing inefficiency, data entry errors and processing time.

In another use scenario, a company was able to reduce their data extraction manual efforts by two full days. On average, reading and keying data from an invoice takes an employee approximately three (3) minutes per invoice. Automating that process for close to 500 invoices monthly, results in 25+ hours of time savings. This reduction is attributed to the ability of AI to read, extract, and transpose:

  • Supplier Names
  • Payment Terms
  • Bill Dates
  • Invoice Numbers
  • Line-Item SKUs and Descriptions
  • Quantities
  • Prices and Taxes
As a bonus, the AI results in fewer keying errors than the customer’s existing manual processes.

AI invoice automation “learns” and evolves on an ongoing basis. While processing big data, it contextualizes information and understands different languages. Most importantly, employees previously responsible for related tasks are free to focus on more strategic contributions to the organization.

It is difficult to envision any market that would not benefit from AI invoice automation technology. If your organization procures products or services, paying invoices quickly should be a top priority. As a finance team, using AI invoice AP (Accounts Payable) processing software should be simple and easy.

Are you a CFO or business leader interested in reducing expenses and improving your procurement process? Learn more about AI-driven invoice automation in the AI, Automation and Invoicing Revolution webinar with Julien Nadaud, Senior Vice President of Innovation at Corcentric.



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on Tuesday, August 31, 2021 0

 

Credit: Spirit Airlines
Spirit Airlines recently made public that they were conned out of almost $1 million. A material operations manager and a senior buyer conspired to send through overpriced items from a specific vendor and received kickbacks from the vendor for doing so.

While not an everyday occurrence for companies, it is common enough that if a company hasn't seen it happen, they either will in the future or lack the processes to know that it could be happening. 

I've seen this quite a few times using different methods and doesn't have to require employees to participate for the con to be effective. Usually, the reason it occurs and isn't immediately caught comes down to 2 root causes:

  1. Poor separation of duties. One of the most common issues is when the person who is requesting new supplier creation is the same as the person who approves those suppliers' invoices/POs. Not having a different staff member verify the supplier is legitimate as well as other people verifying dollar amounts are in the expected range (such as a Cost Center Manager looking at a report of all line items) are common holes that can be attacked.
  2. Insufficient processes for validating invoices and payment instructions. There should only be specific people who can update a company's Remit To address or payment instructions, and those people must have defined verification processes for each.
We've seen this happen not just when companies come to us asking to improve their processes, but it can even become apparent during an otherwise normal Corcentric technology implementation. Unlike many other companies, we review relevant processes during the implementation and provide recommendations on where to make improvements to achieve their Target Business Outcomes. Even in just the past 12 months, I've worked with clients during these implementations who do not vet new suppliers, do not have defined processes for updating bank account information, and do not have strong reporting for managers to review purchases.

These holes may not be obvious unless you are looking for them, but once found can be plugged. In the examples above, we come in with recommendations on how to fix it and then can work with the client to ensure they are properly deployed in order to maximize the reduction in fraud potential.

While companies like to think of staff as family, all it takes is one person acting maliciously for millions of dollars to be removed, and without the proper controls, the company may not realize it for years, and could never discover the truth.


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on Monday, June 07, 2021 0


 In the past, the sole function of an RFP was to engage with the best supplier with the best pricing.  

Today, it isn’t just about functionality and price; the pandemic raised awareness around financial stability and diversity qualifications that should be included when it comes to the down selection process.

Is your company classified as any of the following?

  • Small Business
  • Small Disadvantage Business (SDB)
  • Women Owned Small Business (WOSB)
  • Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB)
  • Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)
  • Hub Zone Small Business (Hub Zone)

    Then there are now additional “legal” questions being presented in RFP’s

  • Is your company involved currently in litigation with any company or entity?
  • Does your company have any debarment by governments or any regulatory bodies?
  • Is your company a subsidiary of another company? If yes, what company?

 Beyond the signed NDA or MNDA prior to the RFP release, there now the trend of questions/requirements in the RFP re:

    3rd Party vendors

Proof that there is an NDA between the Potential Supplier and the 3rd party vendor which includes a clause to cover confidentiality regarding work performed for any client of the Potential Suppler. 

  • Proof of any required licenses
  • Proof of insurances

 The RFP should clearly state if 3rd party vendors are allowed or not allowed to be part of the installation and or support of the product or service.  The RFP should be clear if 3rd party vendors are acceptable that they report to, are the responsibility of and paid by the contracted Supplier… there should never be invoices received directly from the 3rd party vendor.

    RFP “Company Questions” around internal employee volunteerism:

  • Does your company promote volunteering? 
  • Does your company allow employees paid time to volunteer?  If yes, how much time each year?
  • Does your company support any non-profits and if yes, which ones?

    Then there are the political related RFP questions:

  • Does your company support any political party? 
  • How does your company provide support?
  • Does your company publicly advertise your support?

     And don’t forget the company stability questions:

  • What us your company’s employee turnover rate? 
  • What has been the employee growth or decline as it relates to revenue?
  • How many acquisitions has your company been part of in the past 5 years?
  • Is your company private or publicly traded? (If public read the stock news/releases.)
  • What is your D&B (Dun and Bradstreet) number? (check it)

    Miscellaneous items to investigate about the Potential Supplier:

  • YouTube content
  • Facebook Page
  • LinkedIn Company page
  • LinkedIn page for representative, and upper management (is there a lot of company hopping by the folks that will be connected to your account?)

Depending on the type of service, you might also want to check their on-line reviews

 I had a client years ago who didn’t do this type of due diligence, signed the engagement with the supplier to only discover during roll-out their insurance policies had lapsed AND all the vendor employees on site were actually subcontractors/3rd party providers.

 When writing an RFP, the above information which has nothing to do with the service or product being sourced is of value.  No stakeholder wants to be called to the rug for a preventable situation.

If you have questions or are interested in having an RFP Sourced please contact me, twankoff@corcentric.com.

 

 

 

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on Thursday, May 20, 2021 0




We are in the world of “Specialized” ,“We are the best...” type Suppliers – We have all encountered companies of this type.  A company that makes it clear: Take our contract terms as written we do not make contract changes.

 I recently negotiated a contract for a client where the Supplier "Specialized" in a software management product. The Supplier provided a quote in the body of an email, the SLA’s and and contract terms are publicly displayed on their website and the actual “contract” is just an order form – how many licenses do you need at what level? – The price is X.

• The Supplier didn’t care that the company I was representing is a Fortune 1000 in revenue in the United States.
• The Supplier didn’t care that the client wanted to start with 25 to see how it goes and then increase the order
• The Suppler didn’t care that my client wanted a 3-year term agreement – the supplier only issues a 1-year term agreement and renewals after that.

How can anyone negotiate under these circumstances????

• Research the Actual Costs – it is truly rare to only have one supplier selling a specific type of widget.

• Know the Lingo – when speaking with the Supplier representatives during the decision of purchase - learn and speak the lingo.

• Discover/Discuss the mutual gains – Our logo represents X amount of potential future clients

• Quote Alternative Suppliers – politely discuss that you could purchase the widget from X for % less….

• Identify Supplier Freebees - Look for items that cost the vendor nothing to provide but are a value add to your company.

What I was able to negotiate:

• Additional training hours beyond the 10 for administrators within the first 30 days became 20 hours over 3 months.

• Two extra licenses for the same cost as the 25 we began with

• Reduce the written notice to not renew from 60 days down to 30 days.

• Test drive a different product they are selling for two users for 6 months. 

We will always be in a business world with "Take it or leave it" type companies...and in most cases we take it because time and effort had already been extended to make the decision of who to engage with; starting over or requesting a contract from the second choice on the list will not truly fill the need.

What have you been able to negotiate in a take it or leave it situation? 
I'd like to hear/read your thoughts... twankoff@corcentric.com

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on Thursday, April 29, 2021 0








Did you know under a microscope a single grain of salt appears in a cubed non-pattern?
Each grain of salt is approximately 0.03mm and visually is the color of brown sand. 

A connectivity network viewed from a high level appears very different than looking at it from a granular point of view; when trying to obtain what the value of each connection is and the type and amount of traffic it can support.  There is money to be saved, time elimination to be obtained, and technology options for service and speed to be explored through a microscopic approach = Rationalization and Optimization.

What is Rationalization?
Rationalization is to reduce the total number of suppliers which will reduce costs and presumably introduce efficiency.

What is Optimization?
Optimization is to focus and refine the supplier base which includes:
Streamline Services - To analyze the services and suppliers your company uses to determine the merits of adding, retaining, or deleting services each telecom vendor provides.

What can be documented or created? 
(and these are just a few grains that can be shook from the shaker)
  • Contract term status report – expired and/or due to expire.
  • Vendor Services not under a current contract· Services not in sync with current contract terms
  • Contractual Rate Errors
What are the focus areas?
That depends, is there is currently a service provider is not meeting contracted obligations or providing sub-par service responses? If the current situation is good, these are some of subject areas to focus on:
  • Audio/Video Conferencing Services
  • Broadband Services
  • Cable/Internet Services
  • Data Network Services (LAN/WAN)
  • Fiber Services
  • Landline Services
  • Leased Telecom Equipment
  • Legacy Voice Services
  • Maintenance Services
  • Managed Services
  • Music on hold services
  • Security and Alarm ring down lines
  • SIP Trunks
  • Toll Free Services
  • TV services
  • Voice Traffic
  • VOIP Services
  • Wireless Services
What are the benefits to engaging a company that specializes in Rationalization & Optimization?
Telecom vendors have a myriad of jargon for the same services and pricing can be all over the map when comparing and vendor to vendor services and costs. In addition, contractual language, SLA’s (Service Level Agreements) and real-time responses to your concerns will be vastly different from supplier to supplier for the exact same connectivity.

This type of audit; down to the granular level produces cost saving – consolidation, elimination of no longer used/needed services, and creates a way for a clean dialog to begin which can be the pathway for technology service advancements and better yet - COST SAVINGS!

If you have questions on this topic please email twankoff@corcentric.com.
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on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 0

Many procurement professionals understand the complexities of supplier relationships, best in class sourcing and negotiation strategies. These fundamentals make the procurement world go round. Technology however has not always been top of mind and has been adopted spotty at best. Many organizations could benefit from adoption of procurement technology, bringing attention to blind spots and further optimizing processes.

I have recently been involved in a large scale implementation of a P2P tool. I want to share some perspectives of what has gone well and some challenges we have dealt with along the way. My hope is that it will bring to light the value technology brings to the procurement world. Change is never easy but is the key to staying competitive and cutting edge. Good technology cannot be supported without the proper processes, change management and people. All of these are critical components to the process and help uncover pain points that exist in an organization to drive operational efficiency.

First off when I say P2P tool, I am referencing a few capabilities. First is cataloging and content creation. This allows end users to requisition/purchase negotiated items through preferred suppliers. Second is sourcing. Many times, RF(x) events are run through email and excel sheets. This is a largely inefficient process and will be considered a stone age tactic at some point in the future. An Esourcing tool can help streamline the bid process, keep you organized and able to focus on more strategic elements of the event instead of the tactical components. Third is payments. Technology can help enable the end to end process flow and cut down on payment processing time. It is important to note that you need the right technology to create a seamless end to end procure to pay process.

Many times, a procurement team is involved with national and preferred agreements with little sight into other tail spend in the organization. Technology helps to uncover those blind spots in spend and creates more visibility across the board. Opportunities are identified through this process in how to better manage the current supply base, consolidate suppliers, process payments more seamlessly and ensure contracted prices are honored. What I have seen through this process is a typical category management role gets elevated and becomes more strategic. This is a win because the more strategic we are able to get, the more potential opportunities for future growth.

Many challenges faced with technology implementation include resistance to change and user adoption. A P2P technology is no different. There is constant education that needs to take place to drive new behaviors in an organization. Driving compliance is great for operational efficiency and the bottom line, however many times compliance is not met with the best reception.

All in all, technology can be a very powerful tool in the arsenal for procurement professionals. It allows for optimization and better compliance while making the lives of everyone it touches more seamless. Additionally, it can help elevate the roles of those who employ it, making their day to day less tactical and more strategic.
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