Purchasing management and the area of AP in companies have developed separately, even using different indicators which are at times in conflict. In general it seems that each one is related with a different part of the business. It is something which is so accepted in business, that it forms part of the culture of the different professionals involved under the maxim "that is how thing are done in the company."
Purchase Management and Accounts Payable
Ellen Leith, from AP News, comments that over the last year, conferences and debates in the sector have been addressing the issue of collaboration betweenpurchasing management and Accounts Payable within the framework of efficiency that AP processes currently require. And this is simply a reflection of a trend that is becoming established in the most innovative segment of the business world.
The economic crisis, along with the advances in management technology , have given a push to the growing concept of collaboration, and while in manual and traditional processes these two areas are completely isolated, automation and big data provide a better visibility and a common space in which the intersection of strategic decisions can have a major impact on the core business of the company.
Purchasing management and technology
For this reason, today it is impossible to conceive of a policy of progress and efficiency in a company if the Purchasing and Accounts Payable departments continue to operate independently of each other. It is not an easy transition to move from isolated and well-compartmentalized contexts to an interconnected environment, but once the cultural barrier has been overcome, in the end it is only a matter of technological implementation. And technology has been providing better tools at a lower cost to the sector.
An AP expert recently gave a very representative example of the situation that arises in companies that keep these two areas isolated. He said that these two departments are linked, whether they like it or not, by a bond that acts like a typical horse costume in which one person wears the front while another moves the rear. The person in the back is led by the other, but cannot see where they are going or contribute anything to the process, while the person in the front can see and decide where to go, but cannot see what is happening in the back or prevent the back from stumbling and both ending up on the ground.
Coordination between the purchasing and accounts payable departments will be key to a financial strategy that provides a more comprehensive overview and clearly benefits the company in terms of savings and results.
