What is Touchless Procure-to-Pay (P2P)?

Procure-to-pay (P2P) is one of your most important business processes, spanning almost every business activity. From supplier research and negotiations to master data and contracts, everything must transition smoothly to P2P purchase orders, delivery, invoicing, and final payment for goods and services received. Yet, the reality is that P2P remains a mystery to many, if not most, of the key players involved. 

What is touchless Procure-to-Pay (P2P)?

Touchless P2P focuses on digitizing and automating P2P processes and can be defined as:

• Enabling the purchase and payment for goods or services with as few human touch points as possible 
• Asking for inputs only when the system doesn’t have them or cannot calculate them
• Allowing suppliers to populate their information into existing templates that are then uploaded to the digital platform 
• Eliminating the need for non-value-added processes, such as supplier escalation and queue monitoring

What does touchless P2P look like? 

When you successfully automate P2P, it becomes seamless—a process that executes in the background with minimal intervention by your team. 

Imagine a consumer-like experience where your suppliers can directly set up and manage accounts.  Internal users can see negotiated contracts, use digital workflows to be more productive, and make more informed decisions. It’s easier for all participants to do what’s right rather than subvert controls, so exceptions, fraud, and waste just fade away. 

By digitizing your P2P processes for a touchless experience, you:

• Increase visibility into all supplier and payment processes 
• Deliver a better user and supplier experience
• Focus employees on higher-value customer service activities
• Reduce fraud, cost, and operational waste
• Establish clear end-to-end ownership and accountability

Learn How Clearsulting And Coupa Can Help You Reach Touchless P2P Nirvana

What is the value of touchless Procure-to-Pay?

With touchless P2P in place, your C-suite leaders finally get the data they need to set strategy and drive operational efficiency programs. Your users enjoy their jobs more and make better financial decisions. And your suppliers are happier because they’re getting paid on time and improving their working capital.

Create a winning vision for touchless P2P

Today P2P is only possible because the technology exists to drive it. And touchless P2P is only possible when that technology meets process. Achieving touchless P2P starts with a powerful technology platform. It also takes planning—from gathering requirements and developing a business case to re-architecting processes—combined with creating master supplier data and building a robust culture of continuous improvement. This is what Coupa’s touchless P2P partner, Clearsulting, specializes in.

With touchless P2P, chief procurement officers (CPOs) have a real opportunity to make step-change improvements across the procurement agenda. They can break down data silos that exist by developing an end-to-end strategy, setting up their teams to be successful in any market condition, and positioning procurement to be more strategic in the long term. 

For a deep dive into touchless P2P, download our eBook, How to Reach Touchless Procure-to-Pay Nirvana