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Why Automation of The Procure-to-Pay Cycle Is Critical?
Organizations across the world are facing the brunt of rising commodity prices and increasing procurement costs. Executives are hard-pressed to make a tangible difference to supply chain profits. But cost-cutting is adversely affecting investment decisions and chances of expansion across the board. Read further to know the top Reasons Why the Automation of the Procure-to-Pay Cycle Is Critical. Technology enables companies to look offshore for cheaper resources and raw materials. Procurement has become a more important process than it had been before and geographical boundaries to availability are diminishing. The procure-to-pay cycle is considered a crucial strategic operation, in which expenses need to be closely monitored. 10 Reasons Why Automation of Procure-to-Pay Cycle Is Critical Organizations need a comprehensive approach by which operations are aligned to lower procurement costs. Every department needs to be made accountable for its costs and effective use of assets. This is only possible through automation, which includes monitoring of requirements and expense optimization. It helps to procure the assets at competitive prices. Automation of your procure-to-pay cycle can bring immense benefits to minimal investments. Here are 10 of them. 1. Save time Automation means faster cycle times. An Aberdeen Group report found that organizations that have implemented e-procurement initiatives have halved their transaction cycle time. This means faster order processing, instant approvals, and better decision-making. The future belongs to organizations that have automated systems, as speed, efficiency, and effectiveness of procurement solutions provide a competitive edge in the market. 2. Save money Big savings are now possible with manual procurement fading into the future. Shortened procurement and fulfillment cycles reduce administrative costs and improve staff productivity. Employees can use their time more strategically instead of pen-pushing. Consolidation of orders from different departments results in manifold advantages like decreased cost per transaction, reduced maverick spend, increased negotiation power, and volume discounts. 3. Reduce errors Automation ensures better accuracy. Multiple receipts, documents, and bills are no longer in the picture as vendors log in their quotes and departments key in their requirements. Endless matching and re-submission of documents are no more the order of the day. Clerical errors are minimized and you can identify the best and worst-performing assets and other variables to plan for the future. 5. Be compliant Automated procure-to-pay solutions ensured standardized procurement practices, pre-negotiated pricing and real-time data that ensures compliance. Maverick spending comes down to zero as procurement managers look out to established vendors who provide better prices than the rest. Standardized equipment and products are bought only from vendors that ensure compliance across the board. 5. Improve negotiations Large volumes are open invitations for vendors who can provide discounts and still get better profit margins. When there is the consolidation of requirements from different departments, procurement managers and executives are better placed to negotiate stronger terms that deliver profits. 6. Get vendor visibility Automated procure-to-pay solutions provide better visibility to the procurement process and ensure single-window clearance. Vendors do not need to meet multiple stakeholders and fill up diverse forms just to quote the price. All they have to do is log in to the cloud-based system and fill up the electronic forms. 7. Be better informed Procurement policies can easily be accessed and any deviations can be instantly red-flagged. Executives, vendors, and agencies just need to access the procure-to-pay system for clarification about the process and polices to ensure compliance. 8. Communicate completely Procurement communication is never blocked as every transaction leaves an audit trail. The information that can be accessed immediately upon authorization and the entire pipeline is better managed. 9. Enhance control Executives and managers have access to real-time business data that can instantly refer to the financial health of their organizations. With automated procure-to-pay solutions, you can access all spending with the click of a mouse. Minute information that can change purchase decisions for the betterment of the company is available. Detailed control of the process helps limit spending and stick to the budget. 10. Gain the competitive edge Reduced costs, increased accuracy, better control, and transparency give you a smart, streamlined, resourceful supply chain. The smarter purchasing decisions boil down to better financial health that can give you a competitive edge in the market. Automation helps you to build a smarter procure-to-pay system. It is imperative that organizations move on from cumbersome manual operations to cloud-based automation systems to streamline their supply chain and procurement processes. Expensing platforms are easy to use and adaptable automated systems which facilitate procurement, invoicing, and expense management. With Expensing procure-to-pay systems, the procurement process becomes better streamlined, with faster cycle times and better control and visibility. Image Credit: stampli.com Read Also: Reasons to Support Nonprofit Organizations That Help Save the Environment How To Choose A Practice Management Software For Your Law Firm
READ MOREDetailsWhat Does Business Law State about Monitoring Employees?
Occasionally, we come across many individuals that are conflicted about the role monitoring applications have to play in the day to day office routines and activities. The most common question asked deals with the boundaries and limits that are “bendable” with the installment of monitoring applications. And the answer is simple; monitoring applications and software programs are legal and frequently advised to be installed in any firm or company. Here is why. Legal but… Monitoring or spy applications are legal in any court of law across the world. However, there are some regulations that need to be upheld by the employers’ side before installing monitoring software around the company premises. These guidelines include: Informing Employees Beforehand When it comes to employee monitoring applications, every court of law strictly states that the employees should be clearly notified about being monitored. The best way to accomplish this is via policies and guidelines that should be always kept on display within office premises. These guidelines should clearly explain every element of the employee monitoring intervention put forth by the company. Moreover, even when the firm decides to take on new employees, they should adjust a clause in the contract which makes it mandatory for every person being hired to sign a nondisclosure stating that they are alright with being monitored on company-related matters. Only Limited to Company Owned Gadgets Monitoring software programs tend to give employers an unwarranted power over the employees. And to protect the employee's interests, legal guidelines regarding monitoring apps clearly state that the spying should be only limited to company-owned gadgets. This means that every information coming in and going out through the company-owned gadgets are company property. The guidelines placed around the office premises should also clearly pinpoint this clause so that it poses as a reminder at all times. Furthermore, it is also recommended that the employers get their employees to sign a nondisclosure agreement that clearly states that all information on the company owned gadgets is company property. This means it can be used by the company in court if need be as well. Using Reliable Technological Sources When another’s a source of income and image in the business world is on the line, it is always best to be careful and use reliable technological sources and software programs rather than the usual cheap ones. The expensive yet well-reputed ones can be easily programmed and altered according to the specific needs of the company, hence always used for easy access and usage. Balancing is key Putting so many restrictions and highlighting many stingy clauses regarding monitoring applications like TheOneSpy mobile spy software around the office can definitely scare an employee and hence hinder their overall productivity. This is primarily due to the lack of rapport that should be there between the employee and employer to help increase profits as employee motivation grows. Therefore, it is always recommended by experts to use a system that is similar to a token economy where the employees are given some leeway and flexibility in some areas while at the same time restricted in some too. For example, allowing them access to specific social media sites during a few designated hours of the day. Never Resort to Open Slander It is never healthy to insult or accuse an employee openly among their peers. And with monitoring applications installed, there will be many times that the system may show you red flags which in reality are nothing but some mishap with the coding of the monitoring application itself. Therefore, rather than losing your cool and openly slandering a perfectly loyal employee, it is always best to take them aside or discreetly conduct a further investigation either with their knowledge of it or without it. This is because an employee can otherwise sue you for slandering their image followed by wrongful termination which would prove bad for your company’s image. The law about monitoring applications is specifically made to protect both the employees as well as the employers in case of any mishap or misunderstanding between the two parties. While it may look like the employers have all the power with monitoring applications installed, but in reality, analysis has shown that monitoring applications have been found to be more useful to employees. For example, if an employee faces discrimination at the hands of another employee or employer, they can use the backup made by monitoring applications to highlight the wrongful act in court.
READ MOREDetailsHow to Write and Design an Article that Attracts to Your Business
For some people not introduced into content marketing can cost them visualize how to write an article for a corporate blog or a personal blog, you can achieve persuade and attract new customers for a business. The truth is that we can do before you start to analyze some keys do have to pay attention to two important preconceptions: 1- Such articles are not only written but also designed the visual part will be crucial to a potential new client you can do go through the whole cycle/sales funnel. 2- If we pay close attention to these practices we will be well aligned with the latest trends in digital marketing: - Google has increasingly given more and more important to the content after the last update to its search algorithm, you can review it in the article: "The most important previous notions for search engine optimization" - You'll get more engagement with the new batch of digital consumers, "What is a prosumer? Why is it important to be your business thrive? Our mission for these articles is that your potential customer goes through all this funnel since it realizes it has a need to generate a sale (it is very interesting to see what before was considered as marketing has changed now). Read More: How To Ensure You Have The Perfect English To Enhance Your Blog DESIGNING AND WRITING AN ARTICLE THAT ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS YOUR BUSINESS The keys are: 1- Locate the subject carefully finding the meeting point between what solves your product or service and looking at your potential customer’s internet: here's an essential task because you can find totally ineffective situations: - Write about a topic related to your product that no one searches the network - Write about something that people look but it costs relate to your product. If the link does not look natural, users will not make this leap for you 2- layout very well to the article: Article should be attractive at first glance and easy to navigate it. For this I recommend the following: - Insert images and videos to be - Short paragraphs, indents and bold to introduce the user to scan it easier 3- Take time to find a memorable title: this I know it's difficult but try to comply with all this: to generate interest, short, with a clear message and that goes in line with what is sought in the network and thus solves your product or service. 4- eye with the first part of the article: we all know that your final intention is to attract customers but if you're going to live very simply be a publicity article and more users will input. Focus on the user's need which is why visiting your text, if you do not you will be disappointed and will never trust you. Once resolved there's your opportunity to present the part that interests you. 5- Put dedication in search engine positioning of publication (SEO): Belief me when I say that the best thing that can happen is that your article out the first Google when users seek to solve a particular issue. That is an open tap into your website. To do this wisely use keywords, the URL is friendly, uses tags and get some relevant links pointing to your post. 6- Do not distract the user !: try to be careful not to introduce links to other websites, if you put references, photos or videos that everything is within your website. 7- well the end of the article with a call to action: When you have provided the information needed by the user searches for a way to call for action to be recorded in your database or give a sales page. It is more effective if you use some incentive like a gift (ebook, coupons ..) or a discount for new customers. Once you have built this article only have to promote it to see the impact on the user and correctly measure if you can connect with potential customers optimally. Read More: How To Write An Effective Resume That Get Noticed? How To Write An Effective Dissertation
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