Purchase-to-Pay process in UiPath Process Mining

Introduction

Purchase-to-Pay is the process from a buyer’s perspective of buying, receiving, paying and accounting for goods. The process starts with a purchase request and ends with the payment of the invoice and includes all confirmation and checking steps in between. It is one of the core processes in an organization and is typically performed by multiple departments. The most important artifacts of the Purchase-to-Pay process are purchase orders, receipt of the goods and the invoice.

Note: Purchase-to-Pay is also known as Procure-to-Pay.

Steps in the Purchase-to-Pay process

Purchase-to-Pay covers the following main processes in the procurement lifecycle.

• Buying;
• Delivery;
• Payment.

Note that the Delivery and (parts of the) Payment processes are usually done in parallel.

See illustration below for an overview of the steps in a typical Purchase-to-Pay process.

Below is a description of the main steps in the Purchase-to-Pay process.

Process step	Description
Buying	The process starts with a buyer from the company who wants to buy some goods. The buyer requests the purchase, using a purchase requisition. Procurement is involved to get the best deal. This could mean negotiation for a new contract or adapting to an already available contract. Procurement converts the requisition to a purchase order and makes sure the missing information is filled where needed. Procurement approves the purchase order (PO), which is then sent to the vendor.
Delivery	The warehouse department (if available) waits for the goods to be received. When goods arrive, the inventory is checked and updated. The goods are received by the initial buyer, who accepts the goods.
Payment	The finance department awaits the invoice to be received. When the invoice arrives, it is administrated. The invoice is paid by accounts payable. Accounting administrates the payment.

iProcess Insights

The above process describes an ideal scenario in which the buyer gets the goods of good quality in time with the best possible price. However, in many cases there will be differences and deviations to this.

A significant portion of the operating costs within a company is spent in managing the Purchase-to-Pay process. The greater the inefficiencies in the process, the greater the risk of a negative impact on the business’s cash flow. Managing a consistent Purchase-to-Pay process provides a reliable and healthy company.

Purchase-to-Pay activities impact operations throughout the organization such as inventory management and supply chain management. Optimizing the Purchase-to-Pay process eliminates inefficiencies and can lead to benefits throughout the entire organization.

With UiPath Process Mining you get more insight in the actual execution of the Purchase-to-Pay process, and detailed information to analyze the order statuses, the delivery of the goods and the invoices.

Monitoring the Purchase-to-Pay process in AppOne

With UiPath Process Mining, you get insight in how your Purchase-to-Pay process actually performs. For example, how long it takes for a purchase request to become an actual Purchase Order, how long it takes to process the Purchase Orders, and most important to what extent are you paying in time. For all steps in the process, AppOne provides insights into the throughput times.

With AppOne you can easily monitor your Purchase-to-Pay process to check the progress and quality of the process on a regular basis. If deviations are detected, you can take action to improve or change the process or parts of the process. Default KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and Tags are defined for the Purchase-to-Pay process, which enable you to keep an overview of the process.

With KPIs you can measure for example the number of Purchase Orders handled, or the total amount paid in a certain period. Moreover, with AppOne you can easily compare between periods of time.

Tags are properties that are important for the Purchase-to-Pay process and help you to monitor the performance. Tags indicate inefficiency, rework and policy or SLA violations.