Transforming Procurement: A Source-to-Pay Assessment and Solution Design

Headquartered in the United States, this large sport organisation plays a key role in the sports entertainment sector. As the organisation and its related entities continue to grow and mature, the client recognised and identified the need to optimise and enhance its source-to-pay function via a Workday maturity assessment.

The client needed a trusted partner to develop a strategy and detailed plan to execute an end-to-end sourcing and procurement solution and design utilising the Workday platform. The solution focused on the following four key areas:

• Spend analysis
• Business process analysis
  • Framework/ process areas assessed included:
    • Sourcing and category management, contract management, procurement, accounts payable, supplier master file governance, supplier management, and procurement function governance and enablement)
• Business/organisation structure (sourcing and procurement target operating model)
• Technology assessment

The overarching objectives of the engagement’s desired benefits and outcomes were to have more timely financial insights that enabled agile decision-making, streamline processes, improve operational efficiency and accuracy, and improve adherence to regulatory requirements and enterprise initiatives.

Identifying the pain points

Several years after its initial Workday implementation, the client conducted a Workday maturity assessment, during which procurement functionality was de-prioritised. As a result, end users experienced pain points using their current instance/configurations for their source-to-pay processes/functions. The client’s leadership also noted that less than 10 percent of company spend was captured and tracked via a PO, and most of the organisation was not currently complying with nor adopting the established sourcing and procurement processes and policies.

Additional pain points and improvement opportunities identified included:

• Inefficient procurement processes: The existing S2P cycle was bogged down by manual interventions and inconsistent procedures across different departments.
• Data visibility issues: The absence of consolidated data and related analytics led to poor visibility into spending patterns and hindered strategic decision-making.
• Compliance risks and inconsistencies: With outdated processes and lack of governance, there was an increased risk of non-compliance with internal policies and external regulations.
• Technological challenges: The client’s current version of Workday did not support their source-to-pay policy and processes, causing frustration and a resistance to change within the organisation.

Developing a future state strategy

To address these challenges, Protiviti’s approach encompassed a thorough current state assessment, strategic future state solution design from a people/target operating model, process, and technology perspective, followed by developing a detailed implementation roadmap.

The current state assessment consisted of documenting over 150 detailed observations of the current state through stakeholder interviews/workshops and process walkthroughs where we identified critical areas of opportunity where improvements could significantly impact the organisation and the S2P functions in ways such as efficiency, cost savings, staff productivity, cycle time, and compliance. We then developed future state S2P processes, incorporating leading practices/ and recommendations tailored to both the unique needs of the client and the sports entertainment industry. Additionally, we developed recommendations for technological enhancements to utilise Workday’s robust capabilities to automate and optimise key functions like supplier onboarding, invoice processing, and payment executions.

We also crafted and designed a new target operating model for sourcing and procurement that closely aligned with the client’s broader organisational goals such as cost leadership and operational excellence. This included a transition plan from their current fully decentralised procurement operating model to the recommended hybrid, – centrally-led procurement operating model.

To support the strategic future state solution design and the client’s future needs related to maturing its S2P function, we developed and delivered a phased implementation roadmap that outlined quick wins, prioritisation, key tasks and activities to implement each phase, resource requirements, timelines, change management, training and roll-out plans, and expected organisation impacts/ROI.

Results delivered

As a result of our partnership, the client is now enjoying a number of benefits, including:

• Enhanced efficiency: By identifying bottlenecks and inefficiencies, process improvements were introduced to streamlined operations, reducing the time and effort required for procurement activities.
• Cost reduction: A detailed analysis helped to uncover areas where costs can be minimised, such as through supplier consolidation, negotiation of better terms, and reduction of maverick spending.
• Improved spend visibility: Improved and greater transparency into spending patterns across the organisation will/has enhanced visibility, supporting more informed decision-making and strategic planning.
• Strengthened compliance and risk management: By incorporating compliance checks throughout the procurement cycle, the client improved adherence to internal policies and external regulations, reducing legal risks.
• Automation of manual processes: By automating repetitive tasks within the S2P cycle, errors will be reduced, freeing up resources for strategic tasks, and speed up overall operations.
• Better supplier management: Effective supplier management tools within the future state solution design will help to improve relationships with suppliers by ensuring timely payments, maintaining accurate data, and facilitating communication.
• Data-driven decision making: With consolidated data within Workday, the client can harness analytical tools to perform deep dives into procurement/spend data which aid in making more accurate forecasts and better business decisions.
• Scalability for growth: As the client grows and matures, its procurement needs become more complex; our future state operating model and related solution design scales accordingly to accommodate this growth without significant additional investment or disruption.