A procure-to-pay system manages the creation and approval of a requisition, the purchasing communication (purchase orders sent to suppliers), receiving, and the payment (settlement) for goods and services. “Procure-to-pay” literally defines the different procurement processes an employee takes to acquire goods and/or services.

Accounts payable is one component of the overall procure-to-pay (P2P) process, focused on the receiving of invoices and arrangement of payment to the supplier. P2P includes the initial user requisition, managerial approval, and creation of the purchase order as well. The accounts payable process is usually the last step of P2P, and often the most manual, requiring the printing, signing, and mailing of payments to suppliers.

A procure-to-pay software solution manages the procurement process from requisition creation through invoice settlement. A source-to pay-solution includes the capability to formally engage new suppliers, generally through an RFP/RFQ process. Often this will include negotiating a contract. It had been previously thought that a single solution to manage the source-to-pay process was optimal. Many organizations are now choosing a best-in-class approach with separate technologies for sourcing and procurement, reducing software supplier-related risk.

We help public sector and private sector organizations avoid tedious RFP and contract negotiation processes while still enjoying in-policy savings. Public sector customers (government agencies, schools, higher education institutions, non-profits) use Varis to easily find and purchase on sharable contracts that have already undergone a competitive bidding process. Private sector organizations and others that are exempt from the competitive bidding process can take advantage of pre-negotiated Varis Connections supplier contracts and start saving right away.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) and business to business (B2B) purchasing generally differ in the level of controls associated with the buying process. A B2C purchasing process is designed to be easy for a casual user to visit a site, find a product, and buy that product.

By contrast, a B2B purchasing process requires more control. The procurement organization works hard to negotiate with suppliers for goods and services at competitive prices. Buyers need to see those products to ensure purchases are made on contract and that the organization is realizing their negotiated savings. Unfortunately, most B2B purchasing technology is built for control, making buying complex for the casual shopper.

We offer the best of both worlds. With all the controls of the B2B purchasing process, and the user-friendly interface of a B2C website, the Varis experience helps improve user adoption and increase on-contract spending.

That’s the question we asked ourselves before starting Varis. That’s why we designed a system made for casual buyers, not just highly trained procurement professionals. Legacy systems have let the need for auditability and control drive the user experience, rather than developing an easy-to-use shopping experience that supports control and auditability.

At Varis, we’re focused on building a buying experience that even the most casual user will love with outstanding controls and auditability that will satisfy your toughest finance and accounting stakeholders.

The main reason that organizations try to control off-contract spend is because it typically costs them money. Buyers will typically pay a higher price overall for items bought outside of negotiated discounts. Rogue spending also makes it hard to ensure purchases fall within policies, whether that’s preferred items (a particular laptop model supported by IT, for example) or spending limits on purchases (a laptop must cost less than a certain amount).

In the long term, off-contract spending can impact an organization’s ability to negotiate contract terms by undermining buying power. For instance, if a supplier agreed on a 15% discount based on $50,000 of anticipated spending and $10,000 of spending in that category goes to non-contract suppliers, the supplier may not offer the same renewal rate.

A category manager is a dedicated associate trained in a certain set of products or services. As a member of the procurement team, they are experienced in knowing the pricing, market, and industry of that product set and negotiating favorable contracts with suppliers. Very large organizations can employ teams of category managers to oversee direct and indirect spending, but smaller organizations often have to prioritize their most strategic categories and aren’t able to realize as much savings.

Varis Connections help organizations fill those gaps by offering pre-negotiated contracts across a range of categories. These suppliers have been vetted to provide high levels of customer service, a broad selection of category coverage, and support diversity initiatives.