Pre-Conference Workshops: Monday, February 22, 2010

8:00 - 11:00 Workshop A: Leveraging The Procure-To-Pay Business Partnership To Reduce Costs And Optimize Cash Management

7:45 Registration

The P2P cycle can have a tremendous impact on cash and working capital. At no time is it more important to refine your P2P function and need to tap into this cycle of opportunity by tackling it at the source. And in today’s economic climate, every dollar counts, but, with your resources stretched to capacity, how can you realistically achieve these things, especially when upper management sees these processes as a distraction and not a core competency? The answer: Leverage the Procure-to-Pay business partnership to reduce costs and optimize cash management by integrating "back office" transactions and using P2P data for analysis, enabling technology, and establishing business partnerships. Learn how to communicate the value of P2P by generating "value added" reporting and analysis.

What will be covered:

  • Leveraging Next Generation P2P automation to enable Strategic Sourcing and impact working capital.
  • Learn that Strategic Sourcing is an ongoing process and not a "one time event."
  • Why is Strategic Sourcing one of the most important tools in the P2P Toolbox?
  • The challenges of electronic invoice payment and presentation (EIPP)
  • Learn about the various payment options
  • We'll discuss EIPP adoption challenges
  • The P2P business partnership will be explored in detail
  • How can Procurement and AP work together as true partners.
  • We'll discuss a case study where Procure and AP are part of the same organization.

How you will benefit:

  • Obtain added value from the P2P business partnership
  • Understanding P2P cycle as an integral part of the Finance Supply Chain and how P2P can be optimized
  • Leverage contract, supplier, pricing and payment data as a foundation for key financial discussions
  • Realize tremendous cost saving opportunities when suppliers are properly leveraged through Strategic Sourcing analysis

Chris Doxey
VP Business Development
BUSINESS STRATEGY, INC.

2:30 - 5:30 Workshop B: Best Practices In Social Commerce: Maximizing The Value Of Buyer-Supplier Relationships Through Integrated Communication Networks

11:00 Registration – Lunch will be served

It is no secret that we are all operating in a buyer’s market where many suppliers have little choice but to accept longer payment terms, termination clauses and price reductions. But, as signs are beginning to suggest that the economy is improving, how will these dynamics change? Regardless, it is important that both sides are satisfied, but to do so requires managing relationships which is near impossible for companies with as many as tens of thousands of suppliers – most of whom supply the same products and services anyway! Suppose that you are able to whittle your vendor master to a discrete list of suppliers with the distinct ability to form personalized relationships that will help set expectations upfront as to what both sides can offer the other.

What will be covered:

  • How to effectively and efficiently mine through your supplier base, develop scorecards based on spend analytics and create a consolidated master file with significantly reduced touch points and redundancies
  • How to transform vendors into strategic suppliers that can provide you with multiple products and services
  • How to engage with and add value to buyer-supplier relations by communicating your corporate imperatives and understanding your supplier needs
  • How to formalize the social network with technology and drive automation to improve your standing with suppliers

How will you benefit?

  • Best practices on vendor consolidation and management
  • Understand how to build a social network and automate the supplier network
  • Maximize the supplier and buyer relationship
  • Improve the supplier base and elevate strategic posture

Mary Ellen Mitchell
VP Strategic Accounts
Ketera Technologies

2:30 - 5:30 Workshop C: Applying Advanced Metrics & KPIs To Evaluate And Improve Upon Your Procure-To-Pay Processes

2:15 Registration

Whether your part of a newer or more mature P2P organization, success and failure will always rely on your distinct ability to measure your efforts so that you can constantly improve upon them. Without an accurate barometer in place, your efforts are likely to be squandered and this is as important now as it ever has been – especially as the economy starts to rebound. BasWare, in cooperation with The Hackett Group, has developed a model that addresses 3 specific business critical processes: Purchasing, Accounts Payable and Travel & Expense Management – all of which have been used by some of the most successful companies to create more sustainable P2P practices. The model serves closely analyzes the entire endto- end process in the following areas: (1) costs; (2) quality; (3) productivity; (4) strategic alignment; and (5) employee and supplier-specific issues.

What will be covered:

  • How to achieve cost savings and enable business agility by understanding the key game changing P2P KPIs necessary to get you there
  • How to gain increased control over spend in all areas
  • How to ensure stakeholder support and build sustainable processes endto- end with quality performance-based metrics

How will you benefit?

  • Realize process efficiencies by developing a personalized organizational model of the KPIs discussed
  • Increase overall control of company spend with business dashboards
  • Maximize supplier value and implement Procurement solutions around specific metrics attained in AP

Atul Mangla
Senior Business Process Consultant
BASWARE, INC.