A fully implemented procure-to-pay healthcare solution can dramatically revolutionize workflows and functionality from ordering and purchasing to inventory management to invoicing and accounts payable. Replacing manual, error-prone processes with automation—particularly a custom solution that considers the needs of a specific organization—provides cost savings that can be maximized and measured by:
- Identifying and defining targets for cost savings. Most healthcare organizations spend large sums in predictable areas that can be tracked for opportunities for greater spend efficiency.
- Targeting deliberate cost avoidance. With accurate spend reporting through e-Procurement, non-essential spend can be identified and eliminated.
- Contract compliance monitoring. Tracking contracts saves money lost when invoices don’t match agreed-upon terms.
- Identifying total cost. With procure-to-pay automation, non-inventory costs such as delivery fees, timed payments, and one-time expenses can be identified and accurately accounted for.
- Creating organizational alignment. Back-office procurement activity and the executive finance office can work better together with accurate spend data and real-time budgeting insights.
The day-to-day functionality of procure-to-pay solutions goes hand in hand with robust support and updates from the right software solution provider. Working with a solution provider with concentrated expertise in healthcare is key. Understanding the rhythms, range of supply needs, and staffing responsibilities of organizations from senior living to physicians’ offices to ambulatory surgical centers to management groups requires expert people to go along with expert technical solutions.
In the field of automated healthcare procurement solutions, little matters without robust support. Responsiveness to your particular needs, when you need it most, is key, along with ongoing updates, supplementary training, and open lines of communication.
Crucial areas of functionality and support to look for include:
- Reporting and Alerts. Procurement professionals do their best work when they’re armed with the best data. Automated procure-to-pay should provide a combination of robust reporting, segmented with customizable terms, along with automated alerts such as a warning when allocated budgets are in danger of being exceeded.
- Flexibility in Vendor Arrangements. You may have established relationships with trusted vendors. Or you may wish to learn about suggested vendors or information about group purchasing organizations. Whatever the case, you should have the flexibility and agency to make your own choices (and change your mind if need be).
- Easy to Learn and Use. You may have staff involved in the procurement process who do so as a secondary responsibility; if that’s the case, the procure-to-pay automated solution needs to be simple to incorporate into their workflows. And in today’s often unstable workforce market, training in new users without errors and interruptions can be crucial.
- Mobile and Tablet Apps. Your procurement team needs to be mobile, flexible, and able to pivot when daily circumstances change and the unexpected occurs. Robust tech options mean you can customize and strengthen your workflows.
- Strong Data Security. Breaches mean lost time, revenue, and trust. Powerful data security is a must.
- Flexible Functions. From ordering to invoicing and accounts payable, you can’t find yourself locked into rigid functions that rob you of flexibility, time, and potential cost savings.
- Support Across All Areas. In addition to being able to get a representative on the phone when you’re facing a challenge with your e-Procurement, you’ll need updates, deeper training for staff that need it, ongoing education, and multiple ways to get in touch with your procure-to-pay solution provider.
Functionality and Support: Your P2P Automated Solution with Procurement Partners
Procurement Partners provides the only healthcare-focused procurement, inventory management, and AP automation platform for administrators and clinical providers across the continuum of care. Procurement Partners solutions are the only all-in-one procure-to-pay platforms that provide the freedom to buy from any supplier, through any GPO contracts and are openly integrated into any financial and other operational systems. Some highlights of Procurement Partners automated solutions functionality include:
- Mobile App and Scanning. With all functions available on mobile devices, Procurement Partners solutions create the flexibility to perform crucial functions throughout your organization without requiring access to a computer.
- SimpleAP. Procurement Partners’ accounts payable automation solution pairs with existing procurement and supply chain management solutions to deliver digital transformation, efficiency, and integration across the procure-to-pay process.
- Templates. By creating a predetermined list of items needed for purchase, eliminate the guesswork in ordering, save time searching for routine items needed for your organization, and eliminate many staff turnover and training challenges.
- Accurate Spend. Track all orders and invoices across one integrated system including general vendor spend, service POs, trunk stock, and consignment items. Track through PO type, GL code, category, department, physician, cost center, and many more.
- Business Reviews. Link procurement with finance and business strategy with a clear sight of spend trends, end-user activities, facility goals, and best industry practices.
- Punch-out. Order with ease from outside vendors when unforeseen circumstances arise.
The Right Support
Procurement Partners prides itself on offering responsive, impactful, and knowledgeable support of our procure-to-pay solutions. For us, it’s an ongoing relationship that we constantly look for ways to strengthen. Our human experts back up our expert software to maximize results, keeping our focus on promoting our customers’ streamlined processes, ease of use and swift resolving of challenges, and support practices that promote savings and shore up the bottom line.
Procurement Partners procure-to-pay healthcare solutions are part of best operational practices for our more than 1,000 customers across 12,000 locations. Our industry-leading support includes:
- No Additional Fees. With Procurement Partners, no additional equipment is needed, and no fees are added beyond the subscription costs for our procure-to-pay solutions.
- Responsive Support Across Multiple Platforms. Sometimes there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for responsive support. Procurement Partners makes it easy to reach us with multiple means of contact, including phone, email, and chat.
- Continuing Education. Procurement Partners offers educational support such as our live Master Classes, which offer a deeper dive into high-level functionality for our procurement technology solutions.
- Open, Honest Communication. Nobody is happy when things go wrong, but Procurement Partners practices transparency and communication whenever difficulties arise such as brief service outages.
- Online Support. Recorded tutorials and webinars promote convenient support and learning on your terms, and on your schedule.
