Why Early IT Support is Key to Successful Procurement Systems Transformation Budget Approval
Procurement teams are no strangers to having their technology requests sidelined and being told to make due with customizing the existing tools and systems already installed within the organization. According to Gartner’s 2022 Accelerating Procurement’s Digitization Survey, procurement departments get the exact technology they need only 17% of the time. Even when the procurement department presents seemingly bulletproof business cases that showcase the ROI, savings, and operational efficiencies, these efforts often hit a wall. Deadlines slip, workloads increase, and procurement departments are left wondering why their critical technology initiatives continue to be acknowledged as critical but keep getting deprioritized for other organizational projects.
What are procurement departments missing in these business cases that consistently make them fall flat? The answer lies in understanding one of procurement’s most overlooked stakeholders: the IT department.
IT Isn’t Just a Gatekeeper—They’re the Architects of Enterprise Efficiency
In the modern enterprise, the IT department has become a gatekeeper not just because they control the technical landscape, but because they hold a strategic and financial seat at the table for the entire organization’s digital transformation. And procurement? We’re just one piece of that transformation.
Procurement teams often see IT stakeholders as a barrier to getting the tools they need. There’s a perception that the IT department just doesn’t “get” procurement’s unique challenges. But the reality is far more nuanced. IT DOES understand the broader issues of inefficiency, data silos, and process fragmentation that plague organizations. In fact, those inefficiencies are everywhere—not just in procurement, but across finance, HR, legal, and every other department that has to manage siloed systems and disconnected tools.
The IT department’s job is to think in terms of enterprise-wide solutions that integrate processes, data, and workflows. This is why IT becomes skeptical when procurement proposes what might be perceived as yet another niche system—another tool that adds to the sprawl of unconnected, purpose-specific solutions.
System Sprawl: The Hidden Cost of Procurement’s Technology Requests
Let’s talk about system sprawl. Every time procurement asks for a new tool, IT knows it means more systems to manage—more licenses, more integrations, and more maintenance. Each new platform adds complexity, security risk, and resource strain. IT isn’t saying “no” to procurement’s needs—they’re saying “no” to more fragmentation and technical debt.
Here’s where procurement teams go wrong: too often, they build business cases focused only on procurement’s needs. These cases tend to show how a particular tool will improve procurement’s efficiency or reduce costs in procurement’s corner of the business. But from IT’s perspective, that’s not enough. They need to see how this tool fits into the bigger enterprise picture.
The IT-Friendly Solution to Procurement’s System Sprawl
Here’s the good news: you can get IT on board by presenting them with a solution that doesn’t just solve procurement’s challenges, but rather solves challenges across the entire organization. Here is were highlighting the cross-functional benefits of a source-to-pay platform in your business case leads to greater stakeholder buy-in.
A source-to-pay platform is not just another tool to tack on to the already sprawling IT ecosystem. It is a comprehensive, cross-functional enterprise platform that consolidates multiple processes into one fully integrated system. Think of it as a pseudo ERP specifically built for all procurement related business activities. This is exactly what IT departments crave, a platform that centralizes data and documents, reduces the number of systems they have to manage, and ensures seamless data flow across departments using low-code/no code configuration tools.
The IT department no longer has to worry about fragmented tools spread across different departments. Instead an S2P platform brings all upstream and downstream procurement related activities from supplier management, contracts, and sourcing to PO creation, goods receipt, invoice and payment into a single system. It integrates easily with existing ERP systems and is built on a single code base and data model, which means fewer headaches for IT and far fewer touchpoints for security, data management, and compliance.
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Procurement’s Business Case Must Speak IT’s Language
If you want to win over IT, and get the technology you need, your business case has to present use cases and benefits beyond just procurement's needs. Remember, an S2P platform is not just another bolt-on tool to solve a niche problem; it’s an enterprise solution that will allow the IT department to retire numerous fragmented systems across several departments and consolidate their functionality under a single platform, quickly.
The benefits are twofold:
Your business case no longer presents as just procurement’s win, but rather as a win for the IT department too!
Early IT Involvement is Non-Negotiable
If procurement teams conduct solution evaluations in isolation, they’ll continue to hit roadblocks. The key to generating a successful business case is early IT engagement. Don’t wait until the eleventh hour to involve IT. Bring them into the process from the very beginning. This allows IT to assess potential complexities, such as integration points with existing ERP systems, and ensures they have a clear understanding of the overall scope of the project.
Early engagement also enables the IT department to contribute to a more realistic budget. Procurement often underestimates the internal labor costs IT will need to support a new platform—costs that can be double that of the external implementation partner fees. By bringing IT into the conversation early, you avoid nasty surprises down the line and build a business case that is realistic, actionable, and—most importantly—approved.
Building a Cross-Functional Business Case
A successful business case for a source-to-pay platform should not just focus on procurement’s needs. Procurement leaders must take the time to understand how their technology request impacts other departments, such as finance, accounting, compliance, legal, quality, manufacturing lines, and down-stream revenue generating operations which rely on the speed of procurement. The truth is, procurement doesn’t operate in a vacuum. Procurement’s processes touch every corner of the business, and by framing the business case in those terms, you not only secure IT’s buy-in, but you also win over key decision-makers across the organization.
For example, finance leaders will be particularly interested in how an all-encompassing centralized source-to-pay platform streamlines cross-functional workflows related to the procurement lifecycle, improving visibility, auditability, SOX compliance, and control over spend data. Legal teams will see the value in consolidating supplier contracts and compliance documentation in one system, reducing risk. And let’s not forget the C-suite—highlight how a single-code based source-to-pay platform supports broader strategic goals like supplier consolidation, supply chain traceability, ESG initiatives, faster audits, cost savings, and operational agility.
Reframing the Conversation
Procurement teams are stuck in a frustrating loop, constantly struggling to get the technology they need. But the solution is clear: it’s time to reframe the conversation. Procurement’s success is not just about making a business case for procurement—it’s about making a business case for the entire enterprise. And that starts with early engagement and buy-in from the IT department.
When you are ready to begin building a business case for a source-to-pay platform, don’t just focus on what the software will do for procurement. Show the IT department how it will reduce system sprawl, streamline integrations, and free them up to focus on higher-value projects. Show finance how it will improve spend visibility. Show compliance how it will ensure process controls and reduce risk across the board. Show the entire organization how it supports their broader initiatives.
That’s how you win. That’s how you get stakeholder budget approval to invest in the technology you need. Remember, engage the IT department early, build your business case to bring efficiencies and ROI to multiple departments across the organization and show how those impacts will benefit operations, revenue, and finance. Seeking solutions that benefit the entire organization will ensure your requests for technology investments gain the support and approval they deserve.