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In today’s fast-paced and increasingly competitive business landscape, organisations are under constant pressure to optimise operations, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. One of the most effective ways to achieve these goals is by automating the procure-to-pay (P2P) process.
The P2P cycle encompasses all the steps involved in acquiring goods and services—from requisition and purchase orders to invoice processing and final supplier payment. While many businesses still rely on manual or semi-automated processes, this approach is often fraught with inefficiencies, errors, and delays. Automation offers a transformative solution that, thanks to technological advancements, is no longer reserved purely for the biggest organisations. Businesses of all sizes are seeing benefits from automating the P2P cycle.
P2P automation uses digital tools and software to streamline workflows and integrate each stage of the procurement and payment cycle. It reduces the need for manual intervention, enabling real-time tracking, seamless communication, and data-driven decision-making.
Manual P2P processes are time-consuming! From approving purchase orders to matching invoices, each step can take days or even weeks when done manually. Automation dramatically speeds up these processes by streamlining workflows, instantly routing purchase requisitions to approvers, and invoice matching and processing occurring in a fraction of the time. This means faster order fulfilment, fewer bottlenecks and timely supplier payments reducing late payment penalties. Automating the accounts payable process can increase productivity by 60% and reduce purchase-order-processing times by a staggering 83%.
Human errors are a costly issue in manual P2P workflows and it’s been found that 3-5% of invoices contain errors due to manual data entry. The work needed to correct those errors can cost between £30-£50 each. Making errors is certainly costly work! Incorrect data entry, duplicate payments, and invoice mismatches can not only lead to financial losses but also strained supplier relationships and poorer service and less competitive deals and rates. Automation minimises these risks by ensuring consistency and accuracy across the entire workflow.
Automated systems provide greater visibility into company spending helping to drive cost savings and stronger supplier relationships. Procurement teams can analyse trends, spot inefficiencies, reduce maverick and enforce compliance with contracts and preferred suppliers. Maverick spend accounts for 80% of a company’s overall spending which is a concerning figure for businesses.
P2P automation creates a digital trail for every transaction, making it easier to ensure compliance with internal policies and regulatory requirements. With centralised records, audits become less stressful, smoother and more transparent.
By removing repetitive tasks from employees' workloads, automation frees up time for adding strategic value to the business and making better use of employee talent. Procurement and finance teams can focus on supplier negotiations, process improvement, and long-term planning rather than chasing down paper invoices or approvals, making for much more efficient teams.
The shift toward P2P automation is not just a technological upgrade—it’s a strategic business decision that has become a business ‘must’ in 2025. Companies that embrace automation gain a competitive edge through operational efficiency, reduced costs, and better decision-making.
If your organisation is still grappling with slow, manual procurement and payment processes, now is the time to explore P2P automation solutions such as Opera 3 SE.
Contact us today to see the Procure-to-pay automated solution, available with Opera 3 SE, in action and start seeing actionable results straight away.
Posted On: July 10, 2025
