Deploy Highly Effective Spend Control Without Replacing Your ERP System
As a senior executive, you are probably asking yourself what
you can do next to make a significant impact on your company's
profitability. Many in your position are looking at Spend Control
as a likely next move.
You may be wondering if it is possible to implement effective
Spend Control without first replacing your existing Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) system. You know from experience that
process can be long, expensive and risky. You don't want to do it
if you can possibly avoid it. You may also realise that just
swapping out your basic financial systems won't, in itself, enable
Spend Control. Something more will be needed even with a new ERP
system.
The good news is that you can deploy highly effective Spend
Control around just about any core financial management or ERP
system. In fact it makes good sense to use an eProcurement system
that is outside the bounds of ERP for two important reasons:
- Spend Control is about managing business processes that are
outside the realm of ERP. For instance, it manages the processes
before a PO or invoice hits ERP and before a supplier is added to
ERP. And it uses a whole new range of information about suppliers,
RFPs, contracts and catalogues that is not even in your ERP
system.
- Spend Control involves many more people than those who use ERP.
Parts of your eProcurement system will be used by practically every
employee in your organisation. Other parts will be used by your
suppliers who are outside the four walls of your organisation.
In this paper we discuss the key considerations for deployment
of new eProcurement systems to work hand in hand with your existing
ERP system. However, effective Spend Control is about much more
than just information systems.
