As part of an online seminar attended by some twenty purchasing, procurement and finance decision-makers, Acxias experts highlighted the synergies between specialized Procure-to-pay solutions and ERPs. Beyond the advantages related to its pricing model and ergonomics facilitating adoption, the functionalities of a dedicated tool make it possible to generate productivity gains and additional savings, especially in the scope of indirect purchases.
Historically positioned on the Procure-to-pay transactional process (ordering, receiving, invoicing, etc.), in close interaction with production management and business forecasts, ERPs are not optimized for indirect purchasing management. "Unlike production purchases or merchant purchases, indirect purchases require a specific approach and functionalities, closer to e-commerce standards than to production management," said Bertrand Gabriel, Director of Development and Strategic Accounts at Acxias.
Indirect purchases cover a wide range of categories of goods and services, and correspond to the multiple needs of all employees in the field. "For these purchases, usually delegated to a very large population of prescribers and end users, with very varied profiles, an ERP is too rigid," testified. Luis Bittencourt, Lead buyer MRO & Industrial Gases in Bottle at ArcelorMittal. With nearly 20 years of experience as a buyer in the industrial sector, he believes that a specialized solution brings more flexibility and latitude: "It not only makes it possible to work in a simpler way, through intuitive interfaces comparable to those of e-commerce sites, but offers more advanced features allowing, for example, to guarantee compliance with contracts by construction: time of receipt, price, quality, etc."
Compliance is also one of the very first benefits highlighted by companies that have adopted a Procure-to-pay solution, said Bertrand Gabriel, based on the results of the last Purchasing digitalization barometer directed by Acxias. "In addition to the compliance of the purchasing process, compliance with the supplier panel and contractual commitments has become fundamental for companies," he says. "As is often the case, multi-ERP environments complicate the deployment of global framework contracts, requiring heavy manual management and considerable time that is not compatible with the agreed contractual deadlines." Other benefits of a dedicated solution, highlighted by the respondents to the Barometer: the reduction of management costs, the increased ability to negotiate with suppliers or the reduction of disputes. If we add an "e-commerce like" ergonomics facilitating adoption, and the advantages related to its pricing model, a specialized Procure-to-pay solution can generate productivity gains and additional savings on purchases. The cost of the annual subscription to SAP Ariba, independent of the number of users, is thus based on the amount of expenditure under control, and therefore the creation of value.
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Full report of the webinar: "Purchasing and ERP solutions, everything to get along"
More information: replay, demo, presentation slides