EXECUTIVE INSIGHT
“ Having all of this data in one place gives a much higher level of visibility and control ”
spend , for example where our preferred suppliers aren ’ t being used , giving us better control and visibility of which businesses we are transacting with .
Q . WHAT SPECIFIC ISSUES WAS THE PROCUREMENT FUNCTION FACING ?
» Previously there wasn ’ t a standardised purchase to pay ( P2P ) solution available across Mitie , which caused a high reliance on the manual processing of invoices . Since implementing our solution , Coupa , into the Mitie business we ’ ve been able to overcome this . Eighty-nine percent of purchase orders are now electronic and we ’ ve eliminated more than 270,000 generic order emails being sent unnecessarily – as well as the time and efficiency benefits for the business , this has also meant we ’ ve saved 54 trees worth of paper and by digitising our P2P processes .
Q . HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT STARTING THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ?
» Our first step was to implement a single digital platform for all our procurement processes , leveraging technology wherever possible to remove unnecessary
manual tasks and create a more efficient , quicker procurement system . This has included migrating our systems and data to the cloud , rolling out smart devices and using data analytics to better inform and adopt our procurement strategy .
As a provider of specialist services ourselves , we understand the importance of bringing in external support for areas outside of our own expertise . After a vigorous tendering process , we chose Coupa as our digital supplier platform across the organisation to help us with the problems that we had identified . As with any transformation project , it ’ s important to get buy in at all levels – our original business case was approved by the Board , but we also worked with colleagues throughout Mitie to get their support in rolling out Coupa to our colleagues .
18 April 2024