The Coupa Fast 5: Looking to the Future of Spend Management

Here we are in February, and the predictions for 2015 keep on coming. We just couldn’t resist these last two on expense management and the trend away from traditional ERP systems, two themes that are near and dear to our cloud-y little heart. After this we’re done – promise.
On to ideas for setting the wheels in motion to make some of these predictions come true: More supplier innovation, and building the role of CPO into a more strategic one, for starters.
What Does 2015 Hold for Travel and Expense Management? - CPO Rising
For a long time, companies have punted on T&E management because it’s represented such a small slice of the pie in terms of overall spending. But with business travel growing rapidly, non-strategic, bandaid solutions won’t cut it. Christopher Dwyer issues a call to arms, saying “the time has come for the business world to realize the true strategic value of processes, data, intelligence and capabilities related to this category.” We agree!
Five Catalysts Accelerating Cloud ERP Growth in 2015 - Forbes
PwC predicts that investment in traditional ERP systems will decline 30% by 2016, while investment in SaaS solutions will more than double. To support new business models, enterprises are integrating cloud-based and legacy ERP applications to create hybrid systems that can scale to meet new customer demands, writes Louis Columbus in Forbes. These systems can save up to six times the cumulative amount of capital invested in traditional ERP systems. Read the full article for more details.
Supplier Collaboration Comes Before Supplier Innovation - Vizibil
Everyone agrees that supplier innovation is critical to maintaining a competitive advantage. But if your company culture isn’t conducive to collaboration, forcing innovation can be like forcing a square peg into a round hole. Successful innovation requires “deliberate collaboration” on the part of all stakeholders. Procurement leaders from share their wisdom on building collaborative relationships.
Stop Paying Suppliers Late And Offer Them Choice - Procurement Leaders
The first step to supplier collaboration has got to be making sure suppliers get paid. With yet another giant enterprise in the news for lengthening supplier payment terms, Ellen Leith of Accounts Payable News takes a hard look at who really wins with this practice. It may make the enterprise appear more financially stable, but the practice actually introduces risk and poisoned supplier relationships into the business. Going up against a Goliath isn’t easy, but Leith suggests that suppliers can address this issue proactively, by working with these buyers to incentivize on-time payments.
What is a CPO, Really? - SpendMatters
Spend Matters recently launched a new site just for CPOs. They’re starting from the very beginning with an in-depth series attempting to define the modern CPO role by top contributors Pierre Mitchell and Michael Lameroux. Their definition: The highest- ranking leader in the organization that has the accountability and authority to influence supply across the organization. There’s a lot of responsibilities that roll up to that impressive definition, as they detail in this article.