According to the research, for a medium sized company handling 250,000-500,000 invoices per annum, nearly 80 people are required just to handle exceptions. That could amount to (at an average cost per FTE of $50,000) about $4 million per annum.
Arguing why put any effort in to looking at P2P processes has been a challenge, putting, in our meaning, too much effort on the transactional side of procurement, invoicing and payments.
However, the figures in the below article speaks for its own. And, the most obvious points being:
Purchase to pay tools should not be seen as an expensive luxury. They are essential in minimizing supply chain disruption, controlling fraud and managing operating costs. Rather than fearing the question “Why have you spent so much on P2P?” senior finance and procurement people should fear the question “Why do you spend so much on managing exceptions?”
Purchase to Pay best practice – the cost of ignoring it
Don’t miss the Swedish P2P Summit 2013 where we meet and speak about procurement as a process from procure to pay, what procurement and purchasing is, holds and can be as a function and as a process. Including transactions but being so much more than that.