SAP Procure to Pay


Spend Management: SAP Procure to Pay

Businesses are vulnerable today. External factors can affect procurement, from pricing negotiations to supplier management. Disorganization in procurement can lead to using non approved vendors, ordering products outside of the purchasing department, or a combination of both.

Procure to Pay Simply Defined

A procure to pay process includes sub processes that help meet the goal of paying invoices on time while maximizing cash flow. Businesses may use a combination of solutions including SAP, to support each level of the sub processes.

The key sub processes of SAP Procure to Pay include:

  1. Purchase Requisition. A request for more stock by material and quantity.
  2. Purchase Order. Assigning the request to a vendor, with an agreed price and payment/delivery terms.
  3. Order Confirmation: Receipt confirmation from the vendor with a confirmed delivery date.
  4. Delivery Notification. Receiving the purchase order into inventory per the delivery terms.
  5. Approval and Invoice Payment. Finance approval and release of payment to the vendor.

It is also important to Evaluate Supplier Performance by reviewing compliance, quality, responsiveness and on time delivery measures. This will validate that you are using the best performing vendors for your partnerships.

Spend Management: SAP Procure to Pay

Businesses are vulnerable today. External factors can affect procurement, from pricing negotiations to supplier management. Disorganization in procurement can lead to using non approved vendors, ordering products outside of the purchasing department, or a combination of both.

Procure to Pay Simply Defined

A procure to pay process includes sub processes that help meet the goal of paying invoices on time while maximizing cash flow. Businesses may use a combination of solutions including SAP, to support each level of the sub processes.

The key sub processes of SAP Procure to Pay include:

  1. Purchase Requisition. A request for more stock by material and quantity.
  2. Purchase Order. Assigning the request to a vendor, with an agreed price and payment/delivery terms.
  3. Order Confirmation: Receipt confirmation from the vendor with a confirmed delivery date.
  4. Delivery Notification. Receiving the purchase order into inventory per the delivery terms.
  5. Approval and Invoice Payment. Finance approval and release of payment to the vendor.

It is also important to Evaluate Supplier Performance by reviewing compliance, quality, responsiveness and on time delivery measures. This will validate that you are using the best performing vendors for your partnerships.

Key Capabilities include:

  • SAP Procure to Pay data on suppliers are digitally stored in a central place in real time.
  • Buyers evaluate online catalogs from existing and new suppliers, review and approve purchase orders, and check the status of shipments in electronic formats.
  • Cloud-based data with SAP Procure to Pay can create approval flows, ensuring savings reach your bottom-line.

SAP Procure to Pay: Tips for Success

  1. Set realistic timelines. Set time to define a holistic framework of business and technical requirements.
  2. Choose stakeholders wisely. Include diverse global stakeholders working toward standardizing best practices.
  3. Keep it simple. See where requirements can be condensed or combined to keep processes simplified.
  4. Be flexible. Consider all suggestions but think carefully about the optimal solutions.
  5. Do excessive testing. Test with real life scenario test scripts to help you find and resolve gaps.

Technical resources partners for consideration might be – SAP, Icertis or OpsVeda.

Further resources for SAPinsiders

  • The Case for Automation in Procure to Pay. Rizal Ahmed, SAPinsider gives insight on what has changed today is the ease that you can apply to automation without heavy coding or integration.
  • Procurement Transformation: Automation in P2P: Shashi Jina, SAPinsiderreviews an automation footprint of functions and capabilities with SAP Procure to Pay in this article .
  • Procurement Pivotal to Managing Disruptions Says SAP Research: John Yuva, SAPinsider investigates a survey about what keeps supply chain professionals up at night, read it here.

5 results

  1. Spend Analysis image

    Procurement Transformation: Automation in P2P

    Reading time: 2 mins

    As we move towards a digital economy, supply chain organizations are faced with finding new and innovate ways to transform and drive efficiencies — either through elimination or automation A focus area for many of these organizations is repetitive and/or administrative low- to non-value-added tasks. A prime candidate for this initiative is the procure-to-pay process…
  2. 5 Strategies to Successfully Digitize Your Procure-to-Pay Processes

    March 23, 2021

    Manual business processes in Purchasing and Accounts Payable are leading to enormous inefficiencies and are often why those in A/P are unable to work remotely, an especially difficult position to be in, given the restrictions the pandemic has placed on the workplace this past year. Additionally, during this disruption, executives are prioritizing the preservation of…
  3. Vertex Talks VAT and Chain Flow Accelerator image

    The Case for Automation in Procure to Pay

    Reading time: 5 mins

    By Rizal Ahmed, Chief Content Officer, SAPinsider Automation has been a major buzzword in tech and business circles for years. Is now finally the time for SAP customers to apply this technology for significant and tangible gain? The Enterprise Moves Forward with Automation Automation is climbing the list of priorities for tech and business professionals,…
  4. Overcoming The Top 5 P2P Challenges

    Reading time: 1 min

    If your goal is digital optimization of the purchase-to-pay (P2P) process, you’re going to need more than just an ERP system. Enter AI-driven automation: an intelligent, integrated business solution for overcoming today’s biggest P2P challenges. Disco This content is for SAPinsider Preferred Access Yearly, SAPinsider Preferred Access Monthly, SAPinsider Premium Access , and SAPinsider Student…
  5. Digitize & Transform Procure-to-Pay with SAP Ariba Solutions

    Reading time: 10 mins

    Lack of visibility into payment status and related supplier inquiries. Manual, check-based invoice processing. Incomplete supplier information. Sound familiar? SAP Ariba solutions can help you overcome these challenges by digitizing and streamlining all your procure-to-pay (P2P) activities. Sean Thomson, SAP, and John Hays, B4 Consulting, joined SAPinsider for a live chat on SAP Ariba. Read…...…