As cost reduction becomes more and more important, leading procurement software can help you keep costs down.  

Since the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc across the world, the damage has been plain to see. For procurement, playing a part in rebuilding organisations and building resilience to protect against further risks meant a heavy – and on-going – focus on cost reduction. 

According to the latest Deloitte Global Chief Procurement Officer Survey, 74% of CPOs reported that driving operational efficiency was one of their top priorities, whilst 71% wanted to improve margins via cost reduction. Another important priority was digital transformation, which regular readers of this blog will know is the quickest route to achieving both cost reduction and operational efficiency for a business. 

In this article, we explore how procurement spend analysis can help you achieve, and why implementing leading procurement software is a key step towards saving money. 

Why should you conduct ongoing spend analysis?  

So, what part does spend analysis play? Simply put, knowing what you are spending your money on allows you to make informed decisions that benefit your business. Your spending should support your overall objectives and analysing your financial data to ensure this is happening is crucial to managing your spend. 

However, your results will only be as good as the data you are analysing. Using a digital tool such as the Atamis Spend Analysis Module will ensure you are collecting the correct data. It also categorises it so you can easily analyse your spend by, for example: 

  • Supplier 
  • Business department 
  • Contract 
  • Cost centre 
  • Approver 

5 Benefits of Conducting a Procurement Spend Analysis 

1. Organisational-wide spend visibility 

Spend analysis gives you a cohesive view of spend across your organisation to enhance your understanding of where you are spending your money and what on.  

From there you can make cost savings and make informed purchasing decisions. For example, you will be able to identify who in your organisation is not using your agreed procurement process and reduce the opportunity for maverick spending. 

2. Highlight opportunities where your organisation can save money  

Analysing your spend will allow you to see your organisation’s spending patterns. Once you know where you are spending your money you can weed out expensive suppliers and reduce overspend.  

You may see that different departments within your organisation are communicating separately with the same supplier. This gives you an opportunity to control this spend centrally and strengthens your position to negotiate company-wide discounts and reduce costs. 

Spend analysis can also improve your payment processes. It can highlight any duplicate payments you are making as well as any you may have missed. Late payment fees can be avoided which in turn improves your supplier relationships. 

3. Helps your organisation become more efficient 

Digital spend analysis tools can improve organisational efficiency. By centralising your spend data and using one system to manage it, you reduce the number of different processes in play. You also lessen the chance of missing crucial information to inform your decision making. 

You can standardise and automate the creation of your spend documentation such as invoices, purchase orders and receipts. Not only will this free up your employees to focus on more important work, it speeds up your financial processes. 

4. Keeps you compliant  

All financial matters are subject to regular audits, whether it be for industry regulatory or legal reasons. Your spend analysis tool provides a central repository for all your financial data as well as providing an audit trail of spend.  

You can also demonstrate that you are following your organisation’s documented processes and procedures, reducing the time and cost it takes to prepare for an audit. 

5. Improves your supplier risk management 

If one of your key suppliers goes out of business, it can cost you dearly, from both a financial and reputational damage viewpoint. By analysing your supplier spend, you can identify potential issues earlier and put measures in place to reduce your reliance on them and mitigate any financial impact. 

Discover Leading Procurement Software from Atamis 

In summary, spend analysis allows you to make data-driven decisions that can help your organisation save more money. It also provides information to drive your strategic decision making, adding value at the very highest level – and atAtamis, our software is designed to help you take back control.  

Our leading procurement software gives you visibility at every stage of the procurement process, from pipeline planning and tender management to contract and supplier management, helping you to keep costs down and drive value. 

If you’d like to learn more about our leading procurement software and how it can help you analyse your organisation’s spending, get in touch today at info@atamis.co.uk. Alternatively, request a demo to see the power of our software for yourself.   

Get a Demo