Procurement plays a vital role in business performance, yet many companies still rely on outdated systems and manual processes that leave them vulnerable to inefficiencies and rising costs. A lack of visibility and poor process design not only disrupts operations but can also severely impact your budget, supply chain, and overall competitiveness.
These inefficiencies often lead to poor inventory management, reputational risk, and slow decision-making all stemming from unreliable or inaccessible data. However, with the right tools and workflows in place, these challenges can be effectively resolved.
Maverick Spending
Maverick spending when employees or departments purchase goods or services outside of approved procurement channels is one of the most common (and costly) issues businesses face. It can make budgeting unpredictable, diminish negotiating power with suppliers, and introduce non-compliant purchases into your system.
This type of off-contract spending often occurs when procurement processes are not clearly defined or enforced, or when approval workflows are too slow to meet operational needs.
The solution begins with implementing standardised purchasing policies and robust approval systems. FMIS’ purchase to pay solutions provide enhanced visibility and control by supporting customisable purchasing forms, historical spend tracking, and approval routing based on product type or department. Full audit trails for receipts, changes, and invoice matching help ensure accountability at every step.
By tightening procurement controls, your business can minimise rogue spending and maintain better alignment with budgets and financial goals.
Manual Processes
Manual procurement workflows such as paper-based purchase requests, spreadsheet vendor lists, or email-based approvals are not only time-consuming but also error-prone. These inefficiencies can lead to duplicated orders, delayed purchases, missed discounts, and frustrated staff.
Worse still, manual systems are ill-suited to scale as your business grows. When teams are bogged down with routine administrative tasks, it becomes harder to focus on strategic procurement, supplier negotiations, or cost-saving opportunities.
With FMIS’ purchase to pay software, you can digitise and automate procurement tasks such as blanket order creation, change order management, vendor authorisation, and PO allocations. Automating these workflows eliminates bottlenecks, speeds up approvals, reduces human error, and improves procurement agility.
Inaccurate Data
Accurate data is the foundation of a strong procurement strategy. When decisions are based on outdated or incomplete information, the consequences can be severe from paying too much for goods to missing out on supplier discounts or failing to detect supply chain risks.
Outdated systems often require manual input, which increases the chances of errors. Moreover, disconnected platforms make it difficult to conduct spend analysis, monitor compliance, or evaluate supplier performance.
FMIS’ procurement solution allows you to automate data capture across the procurement lifecycle, storing it in a centralised platform with built-in reporting tools. With access to real-time, reliable insights, your procurement team can make more confident, strategic decisions whether that’s identifying cost-saving opportunities or mitigating supply chain risks.
Poor Inventory Control
Procurement and inventory management are two sides of the same coin. If your procurement system doesn’t align with real-time inventory levels, the result is often under- or over-stocking. Either scenario leads to inefficiencies: overstocking increases holding costs, while understocking disrupts production or order fulfilment.
Proactive inventory planning is essential, and that starts with data-driven procurement practices. FMIS’ purchase to pay system supports direct pegging of inventory to sales orders or work orders, generates alerts for shortages, and initiates production work orders or kit builds for non-stock items.
For businesses that need deeper inventory integration, FMIS’ stock and inventory management software extends these capabilities further offering end-to-end control, real-time stock visibility, and accurate replenishment automation.
Lack of Visibility
A lack of visibility in procurement can result in missed opportunities, uncontrolled spending, and delayed responses to supply chain disruptions. It can also prevent businesses from taking advantage of bulk purchasing, early payment discounts, or supplier consolidation all of which can lead to significant cost savings.
Visibility also plays a critical role in risk management and compliance. Without a clear view of procurement workflows and vendor activity, it’s nearly impossible to ensure adherence to contractual terms, regulatory standards, or ethical sourcing policies.
FMIS’ purchase to pay solution provides end-to-end visibility across the procurement lifecycle. It allows you to audit assets and inventory efficiently, maintain an up-to-date asset register, and minimise unnecessary orders. While the system enables tracking of asset locations and internal transfers between company sites, it does so through system-level data and audit trails not GPS or carrier-level tracking eliminating potential confusion about real-time transit tracking.
With access to full invoice registries, supplier performance analytics, and linked reporting workflows, your business gains the transparency needed to manage procurement more strategically.
Overcome Procurement Process Challenges
Procurement challenges such as maverick spending, manual processes, inaccurate data, and poor inventory control are more than operational headaches; they’re barriers to growth. But these obstacles aren’t insurmountable.
With the right tools, you can gain better visibility, enforce compliance, streamline processes, and build a procurement system that does not frustrate your business strategy.
FMIS provides a scalable purchase to pay solution designed to meet these challenges head-on. By bringing automation, integration, and real-time insight into your procurement workflow, FMIS empowers you to take control, cut costs, and drive sustainable business growth.
