Introduction

To stay competitive, you know how important it is to find new ways to streamline and save on your company’s operations.

Learning how leading companies handle commercial payments can give you deeper insights into where and how you can

improve. Help you understand how to run your Procure-to-Pay processes more efficiently. Enhance visibility into corporate

spend. Gain better control and compliance. And ultimately, help enable you to add more profit to your bottom line.

Visa commissioned Deloitte Consulting to conduct 90 in-depth interviews in with more than 60 global/multinational,

mid-size and large corporations as well as federal and local government agencies across the world. In 2010, Visa

commissioned Deloitte Consulting to update each of the following 28 Travel and Corporate Card Best Practices from the

comprehensive study to include current trends, updated case studies, and additional key findings. See the section entitled

“Study Methodology” for additional detail. The Visa Global Procure-to-Pay and Commercial Card Best Practices Study describes

how these organizations implement and optimize their Procure-to-Pay processes and commercial card programs. The

study gives you access to best practices for a variety of topics: Maximizing the benefits of purchasing and corporate card

programs. Streamlining travel and entertainment management. Taking advantage of the latest innovative best practices.

And automating the entire Procure-to-Pay process.

Each best practice is divided into three useful sections—a recommendation overview, a benefits outline and steps for

implementation—so you can quickly find the information you need. For more information on the Visa Global Procure-to-Pay

and Commercial Card Best Practices Study, contact your commercial banker.

Table of Contents

Create a Procure-to-Pay Shared Services Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Study Methodology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Note: Survey results, research and practice recommendations are intended for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for marketing,legal, technical, tax, financial or other advice. When implementing any new strategy or practice, you should consult with your legal counsel to determinewhat laws and regulations may apply to your specific circumstances. Visa is not responsible for your use of the information, including errors of any kind, orany assumptions or conclusions you might draw from its use. Much of the information contained in this document applies internationally, but a certainamount of information applies only to certain countries or regions. Although Visa tries to mark all country- and region-specific information with a countryindication, it does not warrant or represent that all information without indication applies internationally. You should check the applicability of anyinformation in this document to you or your organization.

Create a Procure-to-Pay Shared Services Organization

Leading organizations encourage a collaborative relationship between their

Procurement, Accounts Payable, and business functions to maximize the efficiency of

the entire Procure-to-Pay process. Leading companies typically drive the integration of

Procurement and Accounts Payable through the development of shared services

organizations. They encourage a close working relationship with the business units

they support through a variety of approaches including cross functional business

management teams, internal stakeholder councils, and business unit liaisons.

Shared Services

In most leading organizations, a tighter integration of Procurement and Accounts

Payable has been achieved through the adoption of a shared services model with

center-led management of the Procure-to-Pay process. This approach allows

organizations to standardize and streamline non-strategic activities, increasing the

quality of service provided to the company. Additionally, this enables Procurement and

Accounts Payables' joint participation on cross functional teams for initiatives such as

a purchasing card implementation, an e-Procurement upgrade, or strategic sourcing.

One multinational communications company integrated its Procurement and Accounts

Payable functions through the establishment of a shared services organization. The

shared services organization positioned the Procurement and Accounts Payable

functions as an integrated organization with aligned goals and objectives, helping drive

operational and process standardization initiatives. Leaders of both functions met on a

scheduled monthly basis to monitor progress and address issues such as the use of

preferred suppliers, contract and payment terms, and technology integration efforts.

A large U.S. utilities company found that the establishment of a shared services

organization improved its employee development. The organization found that by

allowing employees within the shared services organization to temporarily switch roles

amongst the various functions, employees developed a better understanding of

organizational Procure-to-Pay processes. Providing these development opportunities

led to increased employee productivity as well as increased employee satisfaction.

A multinational media and telecommunications company found that incorporation of

Procurement and Accounts Payable into a shared services organization allowed it to

streamline employee roles and responsibilities. Employee responsibilities were

reduced to a set of core tasks, allowing employees to focus on a narrower range of

activities dramatically increasing productivity. After one year, individual transaction

processing productivity within the Procurement function increased by 70 percent.

Cross Functional Business Management

Best practice companies also ensure that Procurement and Accounts Payable are

positioned to strategically assist both core and non-core business functions. A major

U.S. telecommunications company positioned its Procurement and Accounts Payable

CREATE A PROCURE-TO-PAY SHARED SERVICES ORGANIZATION

"Accounts Payable and

Procurement

representatives meet

regularly with business

unit leads. They give us

feedback on our

Procure-to-Pay

performance and advice

on areas for

improvement."Account Payable Manager,

Global Communications Company

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functions within its shared services organization to work with the Human Resources,

Marketing, and Finance departments on their supply chains processes. Procurement

and Accounts Payable worked with these functions to develop technology, tools, and

templates to streamline their supplier contracting, negotiation, and payment

processes. In addition, metrics were created such as the length of time from RFP

issuance to supplier negotiations to contract finalization. These metrics were used to

track and improve upon the performance of their functions.

Internal Councils

Some companies have developed internal councils composed of key representatives of

Procurement and Accounts Payable and major internal Procure-to-Pay stakeholders

and end-users. These councils meet on a regular basis to discuss Procure-to-Pay

initiatives and to provide feedback on the Procure-to-Pay process. One multinational

technology company with an internal shared services organization developed a

"Procure-to-Pay" council that met on a quarterly basis. Members of the council

included the heaviest users of Procure-to-Pay services in addition to key

Procure-to-Pay representatives. The council meetings enabled the Procure-to-Pay

function to better understand the needs of its customers in order to ensure continual

improvement of its services.

Business Liaisons

An alternative to Procure-to-Pay councils used by some organizations is the

assignment of Procurement and Accounts Payable liaisons to work with individual

business units to help set goals, provide training, and evaluate new opportunities. A

global manufacturing company created a team of key Procure-to-Pay representatives

that met with each individual business unit on a quarterly basis. During these

meetings, the Procure-to-Pay liaisons discussed the business units' Procure-to-Pay

needs, which enabled the development of customized holistic Procure-to-Pay solutions

for each business unit. These solutions typically involved the selection and

implementation of appropriate technologies in addition to improved supplier

management and consolidation.

Options for Best Practice Adoption

Best practice companies typically adopt a combination of the following options to

strategically align the Procurement and Accounts Payable functions within a shared

services organization with the needs of the company.

CREATE A PROCURE-TO-PAY SHARED SERVICES ORGANIZATION

Multinational

organizations ensure that

Procurement and

Accounts Payable

liaisons include

representatives from key

operating countries or

regions.

2

Option I Option II

Options for Adoption Include shared services

representatives from Procurement

and Accounts Payable on

cross-functional teams and initiatives

Assign shared services

representatives from Procurement

and Accounts Payable to meet with

business unit representatives on a

regular basis

Benefits• Improves efficiency and

organizational adoption of

technology implementations and

Procure-to-Pay initiatives

• Increases Procure-to-Pay process

efficiencies and service quality

• Improves ability to support

strategic business needs

Key Considerations• Must determine cross-functional

teams and initiatives requiring

Procurement and Accounts

Payable representation

• Must determine type of

interaction (e.g., council or

business liaison)

• May require significant time from

resources in Procurement and

Accounts Payable

Benefits

The study results demonstrate that strategically positioned Procurement and

Accounts Payable functions within a shared service organization offer a number of

benefits.

Category Benefit Obtained

Cost Savings and Process

Efficiency

Strategic positioning of Procurement and Accounts Payable results in

cost savings and increased process efficiencies through the streamlining

and standardization of Procure-to-Pay activities.

Supplier Management Increased collaboration between Procurement, Accounts Payable, and

business units encourages the development of initiatives that improve

supplier sourcing, negotiations, and contract management.

User Satisfaction Increased Procurement and Accounts Payable alignment with

organizational needs increases user satisfaction.

Implementation Steps

There are a series of actions steps necessary to strategically position Procurement and

Accounts Payable within a shared services organization.

CREATE A PROCURE-TO-PAY SHARED SERVICES ORGANIZATION

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# Description of Action Step

1 Gain senior management support for the evaluation and implementation of a shared

services organization

2 Establish a cross-functional team to evaluate the implementation of a shared services

organization

3 Assess the current organization structure, process, supporting technology

4 Determine the shared services organization options, including the role of the Accounts

Payable and Procurement functions

5 Develop a business case to support organization structure recommendation

6 Implement the organization structure; ensure business unit liaisons exist for each of the

functions

7 Align success of Procurement and Accounts Payable functions with the overall business

goals

8 Conduct internal surveys with business units to measure their level of satisfaction and

effectiveness

CREATE A PROCURE-TO-PAY SHARED SERVICES ORGANIZATION

4

Study Methodology

The objective of the Visa Procure-to-Pay and Commercial Card Best Practices Study

was to better understand the changes in the segment and to gain a comprehensive

understanding of best practices across the Procure-to-Pay process and within the

commercial card program. Visa commissioned Deloitte Consulting to conduct 90

in-depth interviews in the summer of 2007 with more than 60 global/multinational,

mid-size and large corporations as well as federal and local government agencies

across the world. In 2010, Visa commissioned Deloitte Consulting to update each of

the following 28 Travel and Corporate Card Best Practices from the comprehensive

study to include current trends, updated case studies, and additional key findings. The

evaluation of the Procure-to-Pay process included sourcing, order placement, payment

and settlement, reconciliation, control and audit, and reporting activities. For the

commercial card management process, the assessment focused on practices related

to the purchasing and corporate card program strategy, management, and reporting.

Interviewees included Regional Controllers, Chief Procurement Officers, Directors of

Strategic Sourcing, Procurement Managers, Accounts Payable Managers,

Global/Regional/Local Commercial Card Program Managers and Travel Managers.

Study participants had a range of commercial card programs in place including

purchasing card, corporate card and commercial “one” card programs with each of the

top three card providers: Visa, MasterCard and/or American Express.

STUDY METHODOLOGY

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