World Class Operational Procurement Powered by Technology
The contract is signed, months of negotiation are concluded, the supplier is already paying performance incentives and the sourcing managers are going home for their first decent night’s rest in a long time. Is the hard work over? Doubtful, says Peter Alkema, Head of CAO OPS Absa, in this month’s SmartProcurement.
Posted by Editor at 10:10 AM
A case study for centralised purchasing - World Class Operational Procurement
Part 10 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called “Purchase to Pay” value chain
by Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema – Head: Purchase to Pay at Absa
During 2008 at a large South African bank, a purchasing hub was set up to centrally process and support all ordering from the bank’s branches with a skilled SAP SRM team that is accessible through a single, easy to remember number.
Posted by StaffWriter at 1:12 PM
World Class Operational Procurement: Oh yes, paying the supplier...
Part 9 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called “Purchase to Pay” value chain
by Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema – Head: Purchase to Pay at Absa
“Money makes the world go round and this is even more so in the world of ‘Purchase to Pay’ (PTP) where the last step is often the one that receives the most attention, simply because the up-front steps and general governance has not been in place", Peter Alkema, Head: Purchase to Pay, Absa, told SmartProcurement.
Posted by Editor at 10:58 AM
World Class Operational Procurement: Where's my stuff?
Part 8 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called “Purchase to Pay” value chain
by Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema – Head: Purchase to Pay at ABSA
"The request was authorised, the Purchasing Order (PO) was created and communicated to the supplier, and now the goods or services are expected to be delivered...."
Posted by Editor at 8:00 AM
World Class Operational Procurement: Three-way matching vs. two-way matching
Part 7 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called “Purchase to Pay” value chain
by Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema – Head: Purchase to Pay at ABSA
Paper, paper, paper - still remains one of the most pervasive raw materials of the modern day office, which has still not been eradicated by the advent of modern technologies and supposedly integrated systems.
Posted by Editor at 7:45 AM
World Class Operational Procurement: Electronic, XML & Other POs
Part 6 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called “Purchase to Pay” value chain
by Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema – Head: Purchase to Pay at ABSA
In Part 5 of this article series we looked in detail at the Purchase Order (PO), which is a standard output document used in the initial steps of the Purchase-to-Pay process. Although a PO marks a confirmed order with a supplier, it is important to note that there are a number of different methods by which the PO can be transmitted to the supplier, depending on the contractual relationship that the organisation has with them as well as technical capabilities. “I often get asked why our suppliers do not get their POs immediately. In this scenario, supplier delivery timeframes is an important aspect of any purchasing relationship, so the people purchasing internally must be familiar with the technical set up between the purchasing organisation and the supplier for the transmission and receipt of POs”, Peter Alkema, Head: Purchase to Pay, ABSA, told SmartProcurement.
Posted by Editor at 9:40 AM
World Class Operational Procurement: Committing the Funds - Anatomy of a Purchase Order
Part 5 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called “Purchase to Pay” value chain
by Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema – Head: Purchase to Pay at ABSA
“Until such time as a Purchase Order (PO) is created by the customer and received by the supplier, no legally binding purchase process has been initiated,” Peter Alkema, Head: Purchase to Pay, ABSA, told SmartProcurement. Although there are generally agreed principles for POs (it could be written by hand or generated by a purchasing system), it must at least display certain header and line item information. In most cases it will have been created at the end of an approval workflow that began with the creation of a shopping cart (see Part 2).
Posted by Editor at 6:56 AM
World Class Operational Procurement: Training, Training, Training
Part 4 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called "Purchase-to-Pay" value chainby Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema - Head: Purchase to Pay at ABSA
"The Purchase-to-Pay (PTP) value chain is a series of business events that are usually enabled by a system such as SAP. Knowledge of this process, as well as the physical steps within the enabling system is critical to drive a culture of world-class procurement within an organisation where third party spend is significant."
Posted by Editor at 8:30 AM
World Class Operational Procurement: Effective Requests & Approvals processes
Part 3 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called "Purchase to Pay" value chain
by Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema - Head: Purchase to Pay at ABSA
Posted by StaffWriter at 10:45 AM
World-Class Operational Procurement: Catalogues and Shopping Baskets
Part 2 of a ten-part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called "Purchase to Pay" value chain
By Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema - Head: Purchase to Pay at ABSA
Posted by StaffWriter at 9:00 AM
World Class Operational Procurement: What is compliant spend?
Part 1 of a ten part series that examines key operational aspects of the so-called "Purchase To Pay" value chain
By Independent Contributor, Peter Alkema - Head: Purchase to Pay at ABSA
Posted by Editor at 8:43 AM