Revolutionizing procurement processes with PwC Canada and SAP

PwC Canada worked with a leading logistics and freight company to transform their procurement processes using SAP Spend Management. Delivering over a quarter of a billion packages annually, this company aimed to improve spend management and streamline their processes and procurement operations.

The company faced several challenges, including limited visibility in the source-to-pay process, fragmented data across systems and inadequate spend analytics capabilities. Manual and limited automated approvals, along with a subset of suppliers that weren’t digitally integrated, further complicated their procurement process.

We collaborated closely with them to design and implement SAP Ariba's comprehensive procure-to-pay suite, including modules for sourcing, contracting, supplier life cycle management and procure-to-pay processes. The swift implementation impressed this organization, and they valued the knowledge transfer for ownership post-implementation. The company is now leveraging these modules as part of their normal business operations. They’ve achieved significant improvements in efficiency and compliance.

The project was a phased implementation of the SAP Ariba Spend Suite, covering analysis, planning and execution. Using this approach, we successfully launched comprehensive modules for sourcing, contracting, supplier life cycle management, supplier modular questionnaire and supplier performance management, as well as tools to streamline procure-to-pay processes.

The plan combined human creativity with digital solutions, tailoring SAP Ariba modules to meet the company’s specific needs. The phased rollout, executed over one year, enabled each segment of the procurement process to be refined to align with the overarching strategy. We provided ongoing support and comprehensive training to enhance user adoption and proficiency.

Automation reduced manual data entry and processing time by 45%, boosting productivity and compliance with company policies. Improved efficiency led to shorter lead times and faster order processing, enhancing operational integrity. And enhanced vendor management capabilities strengthened supplier negotiations, driving cost savings and fostering strong, sustainable vendor relationships.

The SAP Ariba implementation resulted in significant gains for this organization, helping them achieve benefits that offset the project’s costs by the second year. Over five years, net positive benefits will likely total approximately $9 million.

Post-implementation, the focus remains on continuous improvement through data analytics to refine processes and increase efficiencies. We’re providing continued advisory services to help this organization maintain their innovative procurement operations.