Stakeholder Engagement for P2P Processes

Here’s the thing about procure-to-pay processes 

It’s not something you can do on your own

As with most business activities P2P involves the work of your procurement department, accounts payable staff, suppliers, and perhaps even your customers. 

So it’s no wonder that stakeholder engagement appears to be one of the favorite and most effective practices for optimizing procurement and payment operations.

But it’s really that important?

Short answer: Yes

Let’s see why 

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What’s Stakeholder Engagement?

Integration

That’s the simplest way to understand what stakeholder engagement is about 

For P2P processes, this means actively interacting with all the people with a say or who are important in your company’s procurement and financial departments. Aside from the suppliers you are working with, of course. 

The goal?

Have everyone aligned with your business’s goals 

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Why it’s important?

Well, to begin with, it certainly minimizes financial risks, like delayed payments or problems with your budget.  It also protects your supply chain from disruptions, giving you the resilience to all the challenges that could affect your company. 

If we were talking about values, we could say as well that promoting stakeholder engagement leads you to have better levels of transparency and accountability. 

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4 Techniques to Improve Stakeholder Engagement 

Begin focusing on your internal customers 

Yes, there’s no denying that suppliers are the rockstars of procurement, but do you ever stop to think about what would happen if you didn’t have a procurement department or financial professionals to handle every detail of your company’s operations? 

No?

You should 

Understanding the way your key departments for procurement and payments work is critical to building the kind of relationship that can push your processes to success. 

Ask questions and be open to receive feedback. 

For example, you could ask something like: What are your greatest challenges at this moment? 

The answer you’ll get will determine if it’s time to start optimizing your P2P operations.

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Tailor your approach 

Everyone is different, yes, even your stakeholders 

What makes wonders for Supplier A, might seem alien to Supplier C. 

The same goes for your staff, perhaps the way you handled a conversation with your procurement analyst, wouldn’t get you the same results with your accountant. 

People have different personalities and with that comes, different perceptions or goals- more of that in a second. 

So what’s a business leader to do? 

First, keep your empathy skills working, and secondly…learn how to address what matters for all individually. 

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Set goals 

Being a good leader and having open communication with your stakeholders doesn’t mean that you should sit back and let things run wild. 

Especially with your suppliers 

One of the most common mistakes procurement managers see is a laser focus on costs only. 

Cost-reduction is indeed important but it’s not the sole goal procurement departments should strive for. 

There are other metrics, that could be more essential for what your company wants to achieve. 

To set goals that really work, group your suppliers by categories. 

Are they high or low risk? Are they located in the same area?

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Set communication channels 

A pretty simple thing but one that sometimes is often overlooked 

After all, isn’t communication the basis of a good relationship?

Be sure that your stakeholders have an effective channel to reach out if needed. Ideally, you’ll want to have the kind of relationship that doesn’t require a problem rising to finally communicate with each other.  Procurement software for example, can help you with this by offering you a system where everyone who needs to know something is notified instantly.

How Can I Promote Better Communication with my Stakeholders?

See?

Communication is absolutely important 

But having defined a mechanism to have those conversations is only half of the job 

Set expectations early

Clearly outline goals, timelines, and responsibilities. When stakeholders know what’s expected, they’re more likely to contribute effectively.

Encourage feedback

Here’s a piece of old wisdom, listening is just as important as sharing information. So don’t forget to create opportunities for your stakeholders to voice concerns or offer suggestions. It could be something random that pops up during a meeting or you could develop a survey to gather their thoughts. 

Provide transparency 

Transparency is also another piece that can’t be missed in your relationship. Keep stakeholders updated on critical decisions and changes in the P2P process. This will reduce misunderstandings and reinforce trust.

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The 5 Values of Stakeholder Engagement 

Inclusivity

Remember what we said about empathy?

How do you need it to understand that everyone is different? 

Well, inclusivity goes beyond that and actually welcomes hearing all the different perspectives your stakeholders bring to the table. 

Transparency 

Just as we mentioned in some paragraphs above, the easiest thing to do when it comes to building a positive relationship with your stakeholders is to be honest. Let them know when it’s time to make a change or when a process needs to be updated, and if something surpasses your expectations, celebrate it together. 

Consistency

Don’t you love when everything goes according to plan?

There’s a high chance, your stakeholders share the same feeling.

Keep things reliable as much as possible, so the people you work with know what they can expect from your company. 

Relevance 

If your stakeholders see their interests being addressed, you can bet they will be more than eager to participate in the projects you lay out to keep growing. 

Adaptability

Our world is always changing and with things like automation and sustainability you can expect that your procurement processes will face some updates. So the best thing to do? 

Be flexible and open to unexpected changes 

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