The Internal Customer Experience in Purchase-to-Pay
Do you have the right team and tools to deliver increased stakeholder satisfaction?
Canon Business Process Services is pleased to provide you with important research from The Hackett Group on how 80% of purchase-to-pay organizations rate increasing internal stakeholder satisfaction a top priority. While purchase-to-pay organizations understand the need for internal customer-centricity, the path to get there remains unclear for some. The next generation of purchase-to-pay organizations will require a new type of talent, one that is adept with technology, able to speak the language of the customer, and skilled to navigate complex organizations in order to meet the needs of internal customers.
The Shift to Internal Customer Satisfaction
In the last several years, purchase-to-pay leaders have been pressed to provide greater value to their stakeholders. At the same time, pressure from executives and the need to attract and retain millennial talent have prompted a reordering of priorities. According to the findings of The Hackett Group’s 2016 Purchase-to-Pay Key Issues Poll, top objectives now include stakeholder satisfaction and process quality.
The Top Objectives of Purchase-to-Pay Organizations
Next Steps
The next generation of purchase-to-pay organizations will require a new type of talent, one that is comfortable with technology, able to speak the language of the customer, and knowledgeable enough to navigate complex organizations in order to meet the preferences of its internal customers. Purchase-to-pay staff will need to ensure that clients are satisfied, while also guiding them toward better performance. Here are four steps for getting started:
- Identify the key stakeholders for every high-value activity and ensure a purchase-to-pay team member is assigned to each. Determine the best cadence for interaction with individual stakeholders.
- Define a customer-centric mission for the purchase-to-pay organization that focuses on high-value/high-return activities. Obtain team acceptance of this mission statement and associated initiatives.
- Take steps to “market” purchase-to-pay’s new mission and value proposition through internal communication channels. The message should clearly articulate the focus on internal customers.
- Use data to understand and anticipate requisitioner needs to design an easy-to-use purchase-to-pay process and equally simple inquiry resolution process.
By Amy Fong and Laura Gibbons of The Hackett Group
Published in Purchase-to-Pay Process Perspective, Management Issue
Available for download with permission.