I work in a retail procurement team and feel the business would benefit from centralised visibility of spending. How can I make the case for this?

This is a common problem in many retail organisations. All too often the business has entirely disparate accounts payable systems that are often incompatible – which means that no one can see exactly who in the company is spending what with whom.

For instance, if a buyer in the organisation is responsible for buying packaging, but is unable to see all suppliers being used by other employees in the business, then that buyer will find it very difficult to rationalise expenditure with that supplier and negotiate better deals.

Greg Watt, retail category manager for procurement services provider BuyingTeam, says: “If all the information is in one place it gives the whole picture. Better data means you can save money and you’re more in control.” The solution, though, is very different depending on what retailers want to achieve with centralised information and can range from an inexpensive month-long solution to a far more costly two-year overhaul of the entire procurement system.

He says: “It could be that you just need to invest time in cleaning up the system.” This could involve simply assigning a technology-focused employee or drafting in a contractor for a set period of time to look closely at how the different procurement teams can work more closely together and share vital information.

Now may not be an ideal time for an expensive overhaul of the procurement system, but retailers can be assured that any attention they do devote to the creation of a more centralised system will be time and energy well spent. This is a common problem in many retail organisations. All too often the business has entirely disparate accounts payable systems that are often incompatible – which means that no one can see exactly who in the company is spending what with whom.

For instance, if a buyer in the organisation is responsible for buying packaging, but is unable to see all suppliers being used by other employees in the business, then that buyer will find it very difficult to rationalise expenditure with that supplier and negotiate better deals.

Greg Watt, retail category manager for procurement services provider BuyingTeam, says: “If all the information is in one place it gives the whole picture. Better data means you can save money and you’re more in control.” The solution, though, is very different depending on what retailers want to achieve with centralised information and can range from an inexpensive month-long solution to a far more costly two-year overhaul of the entire procurement system.

He says: “It could be that you just need to invest time in cleaning up the system.” This could involve simply assigning a technology-focused employee or drafting in a contractor for a set period of time to look closely at how the different procurement teams can work more closely together and share vital information.

Now may not be an ideal time for an expensive overhaul of the procurement system, but retailers can be assured that any attention they do devote to the creation of a more centralised system will be time and energy well spent.