Something entrepreneurs, business professionals, and trendsetters all understand is that nearly nothing in life is one-size-fits-all. This is an important concept for business professionals specifically because it plays a role in the development process. Understanding that each business is a unique entity compiled of unique individuals will inform the way processes and procedures unfold throughout the organization. This is seen in everything from procurement and the source to pay process, to other managerial and systematic preferences.
Procurement is almost a universal department. Meaning nearly every organization has some sort of procurement staff. Commonly, as mentioned above, there is an entire procurement department handling the sourcing needs of the organization. Procurement departments are an integral aspect of the organization because they essentially facilitate the organization’s entire capabilities both internally and externally.
This is another important distinction to make because procurement departments have responsibilities both inward for internal purposes, and for outward bound goods and services as well. This is the difference between indirect and direct procurement which you can read more about at ProcurePort.
What Is Source to Pay Software
Source to pay (s2p) software is procurement technology that encompasses a procurement life cycle known as the source to pay process. The source to pay process is essentially one variation on a procurement life cycle definition.
The source to pay process begins with the sourcing elements of procurement and culminates with the final payment, receipt, and inventory of goods or services procured. Like with most procurement technologies and softwares, most source to pay procurement software is comprehensive in nature and broad in the scope of capability.
As stated earlier, the source to pay cycle begins with the sourcing activities of your procurement team. This includes, but is not limited to, the negotiation stages, running reverse auctions, assisting with compiling short-lists of vendors and producers, and much more. Having software that’s capable of managing many of these activities adds time back into the days of your employees, allowing for them to allocate their focus elsewhere, in turn improving efficiency and other business metrics.
Once the contract for goods or services has been awarded to a vendor through the reverse auction process, the source to pay software charges the transaction forward. Bringing the procurement cycle forward, the software is able to automatically generate messages, alert the proper managers in your organization, and automatically sync with the accounting and finance departments as well.
This is vital as it’s really what makes source to pay software stand out. Encompassing the entire procurement lifecycle all the way from initial negotiation to final payment, and receipt of goods and services from accounting and finance, the entire procurement process is centralized, semi-automated, and ultimately optimized.
How To Choose a Source To Pay Software
So how does one go about choosing a source to pay software for their procurement team? There are certainly a lot of factors to consider. There are a few steps you can take to narrow down your selection.
Firstly, conducting an internal evaluation of your procurement needs, habits, and budget is an absolute must. You won’t get very far with your procurement strategy if you don’t have some idea of where your procurement needs lay in terms of volume, frequency, and value. The internal evaluation doesn’t need to stop there though. Take the time to interview procurement professionals and managers within your organization for even stronger insights into the needs of the organization.
Remember, procurement covers both the materials and source goods that your company requires to make and sell their own goods or services, as well as all of the internally consumed goods and services that facilitate employees doing their daily work. Something to keep in mind while conducting these evaluations.
After an internal evaluation has been done, the focus can turn toward the scope and capabilities of the source to pay software that’s necessary for your organization. ProcurePort offers some of the best procurement software in the industry. As the premier source for knowledge and information on the procurement industry, the software offered by ProcurePort covers a wide range of capabilities and will elevate your procurement strategy to the next level.
Beyond what ProcurePort has to offer, there is a myriad of other procurement and source to pay software to choose from. Some of the other top procurement softwares are Precoro, Jaggaer, and BuyerQuest. Doing independent research is always advisable, as mentioned a few times now, nothing in life is one-size-fits-all, and no one knows your organization better than you.
A Brief Review
The procurement department is one of the fundamental departments in any organization. Responsible for sourcing the materials goods and services that enable your employees to function daily, and empowers your company to produce high-quality goods and services for your customers.
However, with being so fundamental, the procurement team is hardly ever the same from one organization to another. Whether that means using a different software, having different budget allocations, or a completely different variation on the definition of the procurement lifecycle.
Choosing the right source to pay software can optimize your procurement efforts and elevate your team as a whole.
For more information on the source to pay software available by ProcurePort, or more general information on procurement, visit ProcurePort today. ProcurePort is the internet’s premier source for everything procurement, from knowledge and information to software and the latest in news and technology.