There’s a movement under way in the world of procurement services that you might want to check out: Hiring some else to handle some of the procurement duties. Wait, you might think: Wouldn’t that cost more?

Not anymore. Finance and accounting outsourcing (FAO) and Procurement Outsourcing (PO) are creeping toward common ground. This spot in the middle is now known as Procure-to-pay (P2P).

Seeking other sources for handling the Procure-to-pay process is gaining steam, according to a new study called “Outsourcing the Procure-to-Pay Process,” conducted by the Everest Research Institute.

What’s fueling this trend? Companies are discovering they still have several pain points, even after outsourcing certain elements of the A/P process. Companies are still stuck dealing with supply chain challenges like mounds of paper invoices, the need for manual intervention when there’s a problem, poor data visibility and a sea of disputed invoices. Outsourcing these functions can offset the cost of the time it takes to handle these concerns, the study maintains.

There’s another reason the movement is growing: Businesses have a greater selection of outsourcing services suppliers. It’s a case of success breeds success: The more businesses that successfully outsource aspects of these processes increases the pool of suppliers.

Many companies are taking the big leap and trusting the whole P2P outsourcing process in technology created just for that purpose, according to the Everest study. Instead of existing “add-on” technologies, these solutions are designed with handling the end-to-end outsourcing process in mind.

Tags: outsourcing, procurement