When it comes to business, the saying “time is money” couldn’t be more accurate. That’s why it’s so important to have a smooth and efficient vendor approval process from start to finish. Most vendor approval processes are far from perfect, but there are ways to improve them. If you’re not sure where to start, don’t…
In an ideal world, you can always rely on your suppliers to deliver the goods and services you need. However, this isn’t always the case, making supplier risk management a genuine concern for companies. Suppliers can pose a risk to businesses since they are companies themselves. This means that they are susceptible to the same…
Supplier enablement is key to cultivating business relationships with your suppliers and raising your return on investment. For the suppliers you work closely with, it’s not sufficient simply to send out invoices and make payments. More complicated vendor relationships require cohesive communication and the right planning to get done right. If you believe you aren’t…
Most finance leaders understand how crucial it is to be financially aware in a growing organization. Research shows that only 55 percent of businesses survive until the 5-year mark – and often, this is due to a lack of financial planning and management. A big part of good financial planning is understanding where your money…
Supplier performance management, or SPM, plays a crucial role in various aspects of procurement, from supplier onboarding and supply chain management to overall risk management. Yet only about a fifth of companies have a “proactive” approach to analyzing and managing supplier performance. And even though vendor disruptions can cause significant financial, logistical, and reputational losses,…
Having a well thought out and clear expense policy for your company is an essential tool to boost your bottom line. From sourcing from suppliers, to maintaining control of spending, an expense policy will save your business time and money – as well as make work easier for the AP team. But what is an…
Maverick spend, or the spending that occurs outside of an organization’s official purchasing processes is a silent burden. It can be slow and steady, or seemingly random in occurrence. Usually, when companies suffer from any amount of maverick spend it is spending that isn’t tracked, and the significance of the uncontrolled spending isn’t fully realized. …
Supplier relationship management is the systematic strategy for analyzing suppliers that offer goods, materials, and services to a company, determining each supplier’s contribution to success, and establishing plans to improve their performance. Supplier relationship management helps in determining the value of a supplier and understanding how they contribute to the success of a company. It…
An invoice is an official document issued by the seller to the buyer when requesting payment. It includes an itemized list of everything purchased, including costs and quantities. Almost everyone is familiar with paper or e-mail receipts after purchasing from stores and websites, but the truth is that the invoicing process for businesses is a…
Maintaining efficiency, productivity, and profitability requires enforcing good inventory management standards. Whether that’s internal indirect procurement processes or managing physical goods and supply chains, businesses with purchasing inefficiencies have a more challenging time serving their consumers. With direct procurement, stock management necessitates the use of productive purchase order processes. With indirect procurement, internal purchasing and…
Those unfamiliar with the procurement process may find it difficult to distinguish between purchase orders (POs) and invoices. Even seasoned purchasing teams could misuse the two terms. Failure to familiarize yourself with procurement terms may cause you to overlook critical financial documents, missing important details that could have a negative impact on your company’s expenses….
When it comes to managing company expenses, it may be tempting to over optimize the way your company spends money. But doing so can actually cut into your revenue by making it more difficult for your teams to do their jobs and maintain daily operations. While low costs certainly are a positive in business-grade procurement,…
