With the Feb ‘10 release of the Coupa’s new Expense Management solution, I thought it might be enlightening to do a little field research on what the general public felt about Expense Reports.  So I took to the streets of the SOMA neighborhood in San Francisco, armed with a video camera and a simple question, “How do you feel about expense reports?” The result is this highlight video.

Admittedly, there was very little method to the madness here. Basically, I was just looking for off-the-cuff, authentic answers from real San Franciscans. We ended up capturing quite a few opinions, with the overriding sentiment being that people wanted:

• Expense reports to be automated
• Expense reports to be mobile
• Simpler receipt management

Not really any surprises there, but each person had a unique way of expressing their pain points with preparing expense reports, and all were interested in hearing more about how Coupa’s combined Expense Management and e-Procurement SaaS solutions simplify all indirect spend matters. We’ll highlight the key features that make Coupa Expense Management unique in an upcoming post. In the meantime, check out the expense reporting and auditing demonstrations, and let us know what you think!

Greg Tennyson, CPO at Salesforce.com, gives a quick breakdown of how to calculate the savings from automating procure-to-pay transaction costs.

I recently had the opportunity sit down with  Greg Tennyson, the CPO at Salesforce.com, and ask him how he would quantify Coupa’s value.  A self-described tech buff, Tennyson has the impressive ability to put the most erudite aspects of Procurement (and other) tech processes in layman’s terms. He can make the complex seem deceptively simple, and was able to give me a back-of-the-envelope style estimation of the savings Coupa e-Procurement can help companies achieve.

Aside from Coupa e-Procurement being a true, multi-tenant SaaS provider, (and thereby adding value via the unique benefits a SaaS product can bring to an industry previously plagued by extensive deployments, customization, and lack of visibility)—Greg addressed the value of Coupa as it effects actual savings in Salesforce.com’s Procure-to-Pay transactions.

In the video, he defines his goal—to reduce transaction expenses so that they compete with Procurement Card transaction expenses. He then goes on to define the average p-to-p transactions expense as anywhere from $100 (according to Aberdeen) to $150 (according to ISM); and a Procurement Card transaction expense to be about $15-$20.

Then he does the math—he multiplies the number of transactions by the delta, and the outcome shows significant savings.

Is the number derived perfectly accurate? Of course not. There is no end to improving value estimates. But it does shed some much needed light on a controversial subject.

Got an opinion? Sure you do…everyone’s got one! Give us an idea of how you define value or estimate savings in procurement and spend management for your company. We’d love to hear from you.

Just one of the new videos on Cloud Spend Management now live on Coupa.com

With a New Platform Comes New Media and Testimonials From Salesforce.com, ON24, and Taleo

With the introduction of Coupa Smarter Expense Management, we moved into a whole new territory. Our platform evolved by merging both our category disrupting e-procurement solution with this new expense management offering, forming a single platform (Cloud Spend Management, or CSM) from which companies could manage both streams of spending from a single platform built atop a common approval workflow model, chart of accounts an more. Early reviews on the platform have been positive, with comments like “hip”, “procurement’s best friend”, and “greater visibility into future spending commitments” from the analyst community.

We’ve made our Cloud Spend Management features more visible across the site. Updates include a new global navigation tab on our homepage. The “Solutions” tab replaces the old “e-Procurement” tab, site-wide, so that visitors can easily find all e-Procurement, Cloud Spend Management, and Expense Management information in one section. Other new Cloud Spend Management content we encourage visitors to explore include:

• An overview and demonstration of Coupa Cloud Spend Management, available on demand.
• Product demonstrations of Coupa’s new expense reporting and auditing capabilities.
• The Top 5 Reasons to Choose Coupa Cloud Spend Management, featuring videos of Coupa CEO Rob Bernshteyn and several customers.
• The ProcureCon Indirect keynote speech on Cloud Spend Management, given by Coupa CEO, Rob Bernshteyn.

Plus, we’ve been out talking to more customers, and captured their stories on video. Check out the new montage featuring clips from Salesforce.com CPO Greg Tennyson, Taleo CFO Katy Murray and ON24 VP of Finance Eoin O’Connor. Each executive explores how Coupa has increased visibility into their indirect spending, and improved their purchasing processes. Highly recommended and chock full of insights we can all relate to! Remember, you can always watch all of Coupa’s customer testimonial videos here.

Last but not least, you may have noticed updates to the Coupa Cabana blog itself. Yes, we’ve refreshed the look of the blog and made it even easier for you to stay connected with us via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and RSS. And we’re introducing a new monthly newsletter this month that will feature the latest news from Coupa Cabana, Coupa product updates, industry news, and any promotional offers we have going. Sign up to receive the Coupa newsletter by entering your email in the little green box here in the right hand sidebar.

Stay tuned for more updates and be sure to connect with us today!

Last Week’s ProcureCon Indirect 2010 in Charolotte, NC had quite a few highlights. One major highlight–although unrelated to Procurement–was that it snowed in a part of the States known for its mild weather. That was big news and confounding to many local stores that closed down due the elements. (Meanwhile, the Chicago natives were laughing and shaking their heads at what they deemed “flurries”.) In terms of key topics, panel discussions covered a range of subjects, but a few--like organizational structure and building credibility with senior executive teams, were especially noteworthy. But the biggest highlight of all may have been Rob Bernshteyn’s keynote “The Next Generation of Spend Mangement”.

Those of us around the Coupa offices already know how convincing and entertaining Rob Bernshteyn, Coupa’s CEO, can be. But for the unsuspecting souls who witnessed his “Journey Through Time” keynote at the convention last week, Rob’s refreshingly un-corporate approach to presenting the past, present, and future of Spend Management was a real eye-opener. During the presentation, there were a few “oh no he didn’t” moments, and even more nodding heads. The feedback was fantastic, with many attendees calling Rob’s presentation “the best presentation at the entire conference”.

(SPOILER ALERT!) Here’s a brief synopsis of the presentation for those of you who like to read the end of the book first.

INTRO: Rob opens with the question: How can you spend smarter and save money? He answers his own question by noting that it’s impossible to answer that without thinking of the times we’re in.

PAST: This intro allows him to dive into his “Journey through Time”. He speaks to the technology, the people, and the pop culture, and the current events from post World War II all the way up to the 90’s. He clicks through images of the young Rolling Stones, gas guzzling cars, and land line phones. He points out that Procurement was just starting, and America’s economy was booming. It was kind of all administrative and less strategic. Key quote: “We had a seat a table, but it wasn’t the table we wanted to be at…We were a diamond in the rough.”

TODAY: Where are we now? Well, we may still be listening to the Rolling Stones, but they’re older now. The cars? They’re built for fuel economy. And the phones are as mobile as we are. This type of change is just as apparent in the Procurement world. Technology has changed, and with it comes something called SaaS. SaaS is a reaction to the enterprise software problems of the 90’s, where you spent millions and got little. Now with Cloud-based SaaS software, employees can contribute to the bottom line, and there is visibility into the budget that was never there before. There is super fast deployment and easy integration with legacy ERP systems. And all this is happening on the web so you can transpose information within the company with information on suppliers outside the company. These systems are highly flexible, social, and insightful. Key Quote: “Now Procurement has a seat at a table, and the right table. You have a chance to partner with the CFO’s and to not only be the diamond in the rough, but the jewel.”

FUTURE: What will happen in the future? Rob shows images of the hottest TV show called “American Idiot” instead of “American Idol”, the Rolling Stones looking especially geriatric and 3-D computer screens that pop images. The technology? Software will take advantage of artificial intelligence and become “smart”. We’ll be able to log on once online to have access to every site we need, and employees will have applications at their fingertips that empowers them to help control spend. And those who do manage their spend will be rewarded.  With revenue being so hard to come by,

Key Quote: “Procurement will have a a seat at the front of the table…The spotlight is on us in the Procurement realm today. We have an opportunity to seize the moment.”

Today’s post is the third in a three-part series by author, PI Window on Business host, and ProcurementInsights.com blogger, Jon Hansen. Part One of this series on Vendor Blogs can be found here, and Part Two on Interactive Intelligence can be found here.

Special Introduction to Procurement Professionals, from John:

Some may suggest that Social Media, the “Power of Publicity” and “Increasing Your Profile,” have very little to do with the world of procurement.  However, and as we are finding out, by not paying attention to these important areas of professional development it can, and often does have serious consequences regardless of your profession or area of practice.  Just ask the individuals whose expertise is in the areas of Lean and Six Sigma.

Amongst the first to be laid off in large numbers were those professionals whose very role was to drive the efficiencies and savings that were supposedly indispensable during an economic downturn.

As we have discovered in recent segments of the PI Window on Business Show, remaining part of the faceless herd no longer guarantees job security, let alone advancement within an organization.

It is within this renewed lens that I invite you to listen to my interview with Marsha Friedman. My own thoughts on the interview follow, below.

Why Purchasing Professionals Should Care About Personal Branding

There were many tremendous insights provided in my September 17th broadcast in which national radio show host, author and Public Relations Genius Marsha Friedman shared the “Three Step Method to Increasing Your Profile and Exploding Your Business” from her new book “Celebritize Yourself.”

One piece of advice that Marsha gave in terms of helping people to Stand Up and Stand Out in the ephemeral world of social media is to “write a book.”

While writing a book may be too ambitious a task or perhaps even a tad overkill for most purchasing professionals the strong underlying message is simply this: Have you done anything to build your personal brand and community of first level contacts?

As you know, it has always been my belief that purchasing professionals are more than the positions they hold in a company.  Like CIOs and CFOs, the artificially established historical boundaries associated with functional silos are becoming blurred.  This means that the traditional, and in retrospect narrow, definitions of one’s duties are ceding to a more holistic or enterprise-wide understanding of the many operational areas that were previously off limits.

Included in this broader horizon, is the need to effectively communicate and establish a brand presence with what is a diverse group of internal, as well as external stakeholders.  Many with whom the average purchasing professional has had little if any interaction.

This of course doesn’t mean ignoring the indigenous or traditional aspects of purchasing.  What it does mean is that we now have to view the world though a more enlightened lens that takes into account a bigger role on a much larger stage.

The challenge however is that the stage is becoming increasingly crowded which means that standing out and securing your future requires considerably more than just being good at your job.  Here of course, is the rub: Fear of self-promotion is the problem.

According to a recent study, “The fear of self-promotion is a condition in which even highly competent people receive far less in position, compensation and recognition than they feel they deserve. Doing the best job doesn’t always get the best rewards. Those rewards tend to go to people who promote themselves, what they’ve done and what they can do.”

Now I am not talking about the get up on the soapbox and broadcast yourself to the world mindset.  As the international guest panel of experts on my June 4th segment “The Psychology of Social Networking” stated with absolute certainty, telling the world how great you are will get you nowhere in a hurry.

It is therefore important to remember that those individuals who are most adept at leveraging social networking and social media start off by becoming involved in a group or a community of mutual interest.  They then look for ways to make a contribution to the group or community as a whole by responding to questions and sharing expertise.

In the process, these individuals build a reputation for making a positive contribution and, as a result establish their personal brand as experts in their respective areas of practice.  In short, personal branding is getting involved and delivering value to those with whom you come into contact and associate with on a regular basis.

Think of social networking as an accelerated multiplier in that it enables you to reach more people in a short period of time from the convenience of a single location. You just add the value.

Over the next few days, we will be blogging from the ProcureCon Indirect conference in Charlotte, NC, where Coupa is a sponsor.

Organizational Structure, Building Credibility, and the Art of Procurement Transformation

This morning’s highlight (aside from Rob Bernshteyn’s presentation – more on that later), was a panel discussion featuring procurement executives from Invesco, MetLife and Illinois Tool Works, moderated by Bill Schaefer of IBM Procurement Services.  The panel discussion covered a range of topics – but two in particular were noteworthy:

• Organizational Structure. Bill asked the panelists where they are with their current organizations, and where they’d like to be, and all three advocated the benefits of not falling beneath the CFO and his organization.  Now three data points does not constitute a trend, but it is interesting to get the viewpoints of three particularly well-spoken and successful procurement executives on why the proper organizational structure and alignment is so critical achieving the objectives of the Procurement and Sourcing organization. Though all three were quite respectful of their Finance counterparts and allowed that operating from within the CFO’s organization can be effective under certain circumstances, they were unequivocal in their belief that in their current roles, falling outside of the CFO’s sphere has been particularly helpful in aligning their efforts with the business units they ultimately support. One rolled up to a vice chairman of the board, another to the SVP of IT and Operations, and the third to the COO. All three cited alignment with the business as the primary benefit – primarily because it connected them directly with the operational staff in each business unit, versus the Finance lead or Controller in each group. And one cited that aligning under the COO was very effective in positing the procurement organization as one of the driving forces in ensuring that the businesses operated within their budget allocations. I saw a lot of nodding heads in the audience, and can’t help but wonder if the procurement profession as a whole wouldn’t be better served by similar moves to align procurement and sourcing under a more operationally-oriented part of the organization?
• Building Credibility. Almost all business programs will include organizational behavior as a core discipline, but many business students will be dismissive of those “soft skills” classes. But the three procurement leaders featured in this morning’s panel made clear collaboration, communication, and partnering skills are absolutely essential in building credibility with senior management for their respective organizations. So what does that mean? All three advocated hiring for deep category expertise, because without that, procurement is “just a clerk processing orders.” To truly drive value, the procurement organization must be staffed with professionals who understand their customers’ business, and who align their efforts with the business’s objectives. It’s not sufficient to hire category expertise, however. MetLife AVP of Global Procurement Brad Costedio made clear that you need to be conscious of hiring people who can “gel” with their counterparts in the business groups, because without that, “you’re not going to get anywhere”, even with deep category expertise. Chris Duchene, VP of Corporate Strategic Sourcing at Illinois Tool Works went one step further and explained how important it is to not speak like a consultant outsider – you have communicate in a way your business partners can understand (i.e. in other words, save “strategic sourcing analysis” for procurement conferences), and engage with them in the procurement and sourcing process. And above all, don’t be confrontational – disruptive folks can be a killer. And Mike McHale, CPO of Invesco, advocated that you lavish praise on your business group customers and let them take the credit for your joint successes. Because if you do, you’ll be surprised by how the word gets out about the value the Procurement organization provides. As details of successful projects find their way around the organization, the model naturally moves from “push” (where Procurement pushes its way into the business group to affect change) to “pull” (where the business groups ask for the procurement organization to help them), and you win over the hearts and minds of your business group counterparts across the organization. So to be truly transformational, your procurement leaders must be well-schooled in how to leverage influence. A strong lesson indeed!

Stay tuned for more from ProcureCon Indirect. The next post will be a recap of Rob Bernshteyn’s presentation and his “journey through time” of spend management technology.