The different stages of Spend Control

Source-to-Pay (S2P)

Source-to-Pay connects strategic sourcing and procurement with financial operations. It is an end-to-end process that connects spend control from start to finish, including supplier sourcing, Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), contract management, purchasing and payment of invoices.
 
S2P integrates these interconnected activities into one streamlined process, helping to ensure that every stage is efficiently managed and delivers results: Spend control, minimised supply-chain risk, improved compliance, reduced costs of goods and services - all through process digitisation and automation.
 
Key stages include:

• Sourcing and selecting suppliers.
• Negotiating and managing contracts.
• Purchase order creation.
• Receiving goods/services.
• Invoice approval and payment.

Source-to-Contract (S2C)

Source-to-Contract is the process that focuses on the activities that happen before the actual purchase takes place. It is the end-to-end spend control process that supports the Procurement team in the activities they perform to make qualified suppliers and negotiated best-value agreements available to the organisation for use when they need to buy something.
 
S2C includes Sourcing, Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) and Contract Management with the aim of help streamline operations and obtain best value through effective supplier adoption, evaluation, and communication. It begins with identifying needs, going through the supplier selection process, negotiating terms, and finalising the contract.
 
Key stages include:

• Identification of the need.
• Supplier identification and selection.
• Request for proposal (RFP) and other procurement documents.
• Contract negotiation and approval.

Procure-to-Pay (P2P)

Procure-to-Pay, also known as Purchase-to-Pay and P2P, is made up of a number of stages that describe the end-to-end buying process, from initial request and purchase through to invoicing and payment.

With a P2P system you can control the whole purchasing process - from order request and approval, to order creation and receipt - across all products and services, in one system. You can guarantee that your employees order within the defined procedures, policies and budgets. P2P is intrinsically linked to your operational procurement processes, from order requisitioning to the processing of the invoice.
 
Key stages include:

• Order creation (Purchase Order).
• Goods/services receipt.
• Invoice registration, validation, matching and payment approval.
• Budget control.

In summary

Source-to-Pay (S2P) covers the full spend control process; Source-to-Contract (S2C) focuses on supplier selection, negotiation, and contract creation, without involving any actual purchasing or payments; Procure-to-Pay (P2P) is specifically about the purchasing and payment phases after a supplier has been chosen.