Progressive implementation and continuous improvement

Another week - another iPOS for SunSystems eProcurement client management workshop. This organisation really has its head screwed on:
- senior management level (director) project sponsor
- believes that progressive implementation is the pragmatic way to improve the business
- a focus on continuous improvement "and in our business that improvement means iPOS" (this is an enterprise whose demands for cost control and quality service delivery far outweigh the revenue generation function).

So what are they focussing on improving this year?

Approx 10,000 of their supplier invoices last year - over 30% of their purchasing spend - were generated before the purchase order - oops, plenty of maverick spending there but now at least they have all purchasing going through the one channel. With a single source of truth in the data they now have the opportunity to report and reflect on their users' buying habits and supplier delivery patterns.

Big improvements will be made in contract adherence when the culture of "PO before invoice" for the workforce and "no PO-no payment" for their suppliers becomes business as usual.

Great opportunities for administrative cost reduction and efficiencies in supplier invoice processing when they can be loaded from PO rather than punched in like last year.

Supplier rationalisation is another likelyhood, and while we're at it let's punch-out to the online catalogs of major suppliers and a preferred buying hub, hence outsourcing the administratively demanding catalog management to the suppliers. And maybe some new contract negotiation based on actual volumes.

Good days ahead for this client and a great opportunity for all stakeholders as some potential merger style activity is on the radar.