This webinar explored one of the most pressing challenges in modern organizations – optimizing spend management. Finance and procurement professionals gained actionable insights on leveraging advanced technologies like AI and machine learning to streamline processes, enhance compliance and achieve better spend visibility.
Presented by Carin Collin, Global VP of Customer Success, Medius and hosted by Anna Bjärkerud, EBG Network.
Carin Collin shared her extensive experience in procurement transformation, providing practical guidance on breaking down silos, overcoming stakeholder resistance and adopting forward-thinking approaches to spend management.
Key Themes Addressed
- Rethinking Procurement Policies: Challenging the traditional “no PO, no pay” policy for indirect spend categories.
- AI and Machine Learning: Harnessing adaptive technologies to enhance automation, fraud detection and spend categorization.
- Collaboration Across Departments: Aligning finance and procurement for holistic spend management.
- Efficiency and Control: Leveraging tools like corporate expense cards with budget approvals to simplify processes while maintaining visibility.
View the On Demand recording
Click the image below to re-watch the recording.
Actionable Steps for Finance Professionals
- Adopt AI and Machine Learning: Implement tools that use AI to automate invoice coding, detect fraud and improve categorization accuracy.
- Streamline Invoice Processing: Evaluate your current AP processes to identify bottlenecks and adopt systems that enable near-touchless invoice handling.
- Collaborate with Procurement: Work closely with procurement teams to align on end-to-end processes and shared goals for cost control and spend visibility.
- Leverage Spend Data: Use detailed data captured from invoices (including descriptions) to improve forecasting, budgeting and compliance monitoring.
- Evaluate Technology Investments: Ensure that your current systems support dynamic process changes and scalability without heavy maintenance costs.
Actionable Steps for Procurement Professionals
- Modernize P2P Systems: Choose procurement platforms with user-friendly interfaces that mimic online shopping experiences to improve stakeholder adoption.
- Utilize Configurable Forms: For complex categories like consultancy and marketing, implement forms that capture essential data to ensure accurate requisitions and POs.
- Challenge Traditional Policies: Reassess the “no PO, no pay” policy and explore alternatives like budget-controlled corporate expense cards for certain indirect spend categories.
- Improve Spend Visibility: Leverage platforms that capture all invoice data to understand spending patterns, identify gaps, and drive compliance.
- Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with finance and IT to create a unified spend management strategy that aligns organizational objectives and eliminates silos.
This webinar inspires procurement and finance professionals to embrace innovative technologies and bold strategies to redefine spend management, ensuring both efficiency and transparency across all categories.
Want to learn more? Contact EBG Network for additional resources and upcoming events!
About Medius
Medius links invoice capture, processing and payment to replace the worry and wondering of managing AP with calm and confidence. Medius goes far beyond basic automation by using artificial intelligence to do most of the work – so invoices get confirmed, coded and paid and businesses can trust their budgets and forecasts. Medius, on a mission to transform the spend management