How to choose your S2P Platform for 2025

A source-to-pay (S2P) platform is a crucial tool for modern procurement operations, allowing procurement efforts to be streamlined and integrated across the entire life cycle.

From sourcing to payment, it offers key benefits such as enhanced visibility and control over spend, as well as better compliance and risk management, while providing real-time insights into procurement performance.

By centralising procurement activities, S2P platforms give organisations the ability to achieve greater strategic value, cost savings and operational excellence in their procurement functions. 

Here, Procurement Magazine offers some suggestions for CPOs when it comes to choosing a modern, cloud-based, smart S2P system. 

Major players in S2P

Coupa: The CPO fan favourite​​​​​​​

• Known for its user-friendly interface and comprehensive suite
• Key customers include Hilton, P&G, Uber and Nestle
• Offers AI-powered spend optimisation and risk management
• US$6tn in global cumulative transactional spend from a network of more than 10 million buyers and suppliers.

GEP SMART: A transformative platform driving innovation​​​​​​​

• Intelligent end-to-end procurement software solution that drives strategy and execution at the category level
• Clients include Honda, Costa Coffee and Macy’s
• Strong focus on AI and advanced analytics.

Jaggaer One: Enhancing purchasing, sourcing and contracts​​​​​​​

• A pioneer within the Autonomous Commerce sector
• Strong emphasis on supplier collaboration and risk management
• 1,200 global employees obsessed with helping customers create value, transform their businesses and accelerate their journey to Autonomous Commerce.

Ivalua: Encouraging scope for Gen AI integration​​​​​​​

• 360° supplier information and activity insight
• Customers include Booking.com, IKEA and Körber
• Unparalleled project management and transparency

Zycus: Comprehensive S2P suite with strong AI capabilities​​​​​​​

• Enhance the end-to-end procurement lifecycle
• AI-powered assistant for guided buying and contract authoring
• reduce manual efforts, saving valuable time and minimising errors.

ZIP: New kids on the block developing an intake and orchestration fanbase​​​​​​​

• A market leader when it comes to spend orchestration  
• Clients include Reddit, Snowflake and Canva 
• Three cutting-edge AI tools: an AI assistant, document extraction and input automation 

Synertrade S2P: Optimising indirect procurement​​​​​​​

• Accelerate S2P is a cloud-based suite designed to automate up to 80% of procurement processes through its core modules: Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), Source to Contract (S2C) and Procure to Pay (P2P), streamlining these key areas. 
• Remaining 20% integrates with best-of-breed specialists to complete the S2P cycle.
• Robust, end-to-end solution ensures comprehensive procurement management and optimisation.

Other recommended S2P players include

• Proactis Rego
• Esker Source to Pay
• Medius Spend
• Corcentric S2P
• Procurify 
• ORO Labs
• Penny

Finding the right S2P

These S2P systems are not only exciting and innovative, but reliable and dependable too. 

And you don't just have to take our word for it. Their incredible ratings and eye-catching customer success stories do most of the talking. 

CPOs would be wise to visit their websites, read the reviews and check out the demos before committing to their next S2P investment. 

What's more, you can hear much more about some of these game-changing solutions by attending Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE London, which is being staged at the Business Design Centre on 24-25 Sept. 

Procurement Magazine's perspective is that the industry is moving beyond traditional, high-cost incumbents to a place where the next generation is becoming increasingly influential. 

S2P: Boosting procurement's speed and efficiency

Businesses should ensure they understand how these aforementioned S2P platforms fit into their ERP, sit on the cloud and boost the overall speed and efficiency of the procurement function. 

And don’t forget to ask about the generative AI capabilities which hold great potential for the S2P process.

Investment in Gen AI has the potential to bring proactive risk management, process automation and enhanced decision making.

“In an increasingly uncertain world, instant access to accurate information is vital for mitigating and managing risk and empowering organisations,” said Deloitte in a study last year. 

Supply chains worldwide are growing increasingly intricate, spanning numerous suppliers and their extended networks. Industries like defence, aerospace, manufacturing and automotive face mounting complexities as supply chain risks evolve rapidly. 

Gartner reports that 53% of supply chain leaders struggle with complexity hindering change implementation. To address this hurdle, businesses require adaptable technology capable of providing transparency and managing escalating intricacies.

That's why selecting a suitable S2P platform for 2025 requires alignment of the platform’s features with organisational needs, industry trends and the evolving technology landscape. 

Here’s how procurement professionals can approach this process:

1. Assess business needs and growth

According to recent industry statistics, organisations leveraging S2P platforms experience up to a 30% reduction in procurement costs and a 40% improvement in process efficiency – ensuring seamless operations and strategic insights.

To obtain similar results for their companies, leaders should look at the platform and assess whether it can handle the growth, both in terms of the volume of the procurement operation and supplier relationships.

Will it adapt to your specific needs as well as the future procurement strategies you will look to implement?

Are features tailored for the industry you operate in, allowing you to stay compliant, sustainable and have complete control over the risk management of your suppliers?

2. Evaluate key features and modules

A comprehensive Source-to-Pay (S2P) suite integrates and streamlines the entire procurement process, encompassing everything from sourcing to payment.

It covers the full lifecycle, including spend analysis, supplier selection, contract management, requisitioning, invoicing and payments, all within a unified platform that ensures seamless data flow and a consistent user experience. 

Advanced analytics capabilities provide insights into spending patterns and supplier performance, while supplier collaboration tools facilitate engagement through self-service portals and collaborative sourcing features.

Intelligent automation enhances efficiency with automated workflows and AI-driven spend classification, alongside cognitive capabilities for contract analysis and risk assessment.

Compliance and risk management are integral, offering built-in controls to ensure policy adherence and supplier risk mitigation, while mobile accessibility allows for on-the-go approvals and access to procurement data from any device. 

Additionally, the configurability of S2P suites enables customisation of workflows to meet specific organisational needs, while robust integration capabilities with ERP systems and third-party data sources ensure scalability as organisations grow.

By combining these elements, a comprehensive S2P suite empowers organisations to optimise procurement processes, drive cost savings, improve compliance and enhance supplier relationships effectively.

3. Sustainability and ESG compliance

S2P platforms include features that track supplier sustainability, carbon footprint and ethical sourcing with its advanced transparency, pivotal at a time when procurement teams are expected to assist with all business strategies and not just with cost savings. 

They also help with ESG metrics, from reducing paper waste as processes are digitised, to allowing businesses to find more eco-friendly suppliers through advanced analytics and scorecards.  

4. Focus on user experience

Coupa is a hugely popular tool – not only due to its industry-leading offerings, but also its user-friendly interface.

Once a new S2P platform has been adopted, the ideal scenario is that team members are able to adjust almost immediately and find quick wins. 

If the tools on offer are easy to use, inevitably procurement professionals will be better positioned to capitalise and enhance efficiency. 

5. Technology infrastructure

Cloud-based S2P technology offers tremendous strategic value by providing a single source of truth and helping organisations manage all spend and suppliers.

Effective S2P increases supply chain observability and improves collaboration with suppliers when it comes to mitigating risk, innovating, improving sustainability and more. 

6. Security and compliance

When data is such a valuable asset, it is vital your tools offer security for your own. 

Take the Ivalua Platform, which is built on a single code base with a highly-configurable cloud.

The solution is highly flexible and can be tailored to all business requirements, allows firms to scale up or down and be assured of the highest security and performance standards, irrespective of the device.

By centralising procurement processes on a secure platform, S2P solutions significantly reduce security risks associated with manual processes, disparate systems and paper-based workflows. This comprehensive approach to security helps organisations protect sensitive data, prevent fraud and maintain compliance throughout the procurement lifecycle.

7. Cost vs. value

While there may be initial cost outlays when first installing a S2P system, including licensing, implementation, integration and ongoing maintenance costs, companies should look at the long-term value derived from automation, efficiency and reduced procurement cycle times.

JAGGAER argues: “Value is created by identifying the optimal allocation of spend across the ideal supply base – the right supplier, right price, right time. With a single, unified solution for your S2P process, companies reduce process leakage and benefit from higher levels of value capture by managing the data, internal workflows and all transactions with suppliers including the reconciliation of invoices.

"Together, value creation and value capture extend beyond savings to help the business recognise additional benefits including increased cash flow: free up working capital through contract compliance, invoice matching and accounts payable activities, reducing total spend and improving cash management for both cost savings and cost avoidance."

Companies should consider pricing and subscription models, as well as pay-as-you-grow pricing, to manage upfront investment risks.

8. Vendor support and innovation roadmap

With choosing an S2P, it's vital to look at the vendor, its market position, history of innovation and financial stability – as well as its roadmap, both the place it has travelled from with recent announcements and what its future holds.

A study by Basware found that 51% of IT respondents thought the business applications they were providing were of advanced capability, compared with only 30% or so of business professionals. 

Because of this, the future S2P landscape is not another version of the end-to-end suite idea. It's actually an eclectic multi-platform strategy that combines platforms with a specific domain and specific functionality.

More so, it’s interesting that, even though the main suite providers have grown and made acquisitions, they actually haven't grown their market share relative to the specialists.

9. Ecosystem and marketplace integration

S2P platforms should easily integrate with other software solutions, such as ERP, CRM and payment platforms, as well as providing direct access to procurement marketplaces or supplier networks, broadening sourcing options.

Take the integration of Microsoft's AI technology and Zycus, which has seen the duo edge closer to creating the world’s first Gen AI S2P platform.

The pair are turning the idea of Gen AI-powered S2P into reality, which will harness the power of advanced AI to revolutionise end-to-end S2P processes, offering unprecedented efficiency, compliance and ease of use.

Meanwhile, platforms like AWS have countless apps to help users gain complete control of the procurement process. 

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