P2P Implementation

Why so many P2P implementations fall short of expectations

Procure-to-pay implementations are rarely derailed by a lack of ambition. Most projects start with a clear business case: reduce manual work, gain visibility over spend, and give buyers a system that actually supports how they work. Yet a striking number of these projects end up delivering far less value than promised, sometimes after budgets that run into the millions.

The gap usually doesn’t come from the technology itself. It comes from what happens between the initial vision and the go-live date: workarounds introduced to accommodate legacy habits, stakeholder concessions made under time pressure, supplier pushback on new processes, and resource constraints that force scope cuts. By the time the system goes live, it can end up looking functionally similar to what it was meant to replace.

Procurement teams are uniquely positioned to avoid this trap

Unlike many other enterprise software rollouts, P2P systems put procurement professionals in the driver’s seat as primary stakeholders. This is both an opportunity and a responsibility. Because procurement teams understand the sourcing strategy, the supplier landscape, and the day-to-day realities of purchasing, they are better placed than almost anyone else in the organization to spot early warning signs of an implementation going off track.

This means the conversation about a new P2P system shouldn’t start with feature lists or vendor demos. It should start with a clear-eyed assessment of the sourcing strategy the system is meant to support, and the specific pain points it needs to solve for buyers, approvers, and suppliers alike.

Change management: the make-or-break factor

Even a well-designed P2P system will underdeliver if the people who are supposed to use it don’t adopt it. Change management is often treated as an afterthought, squeezed into the final weeks before go-live, when it should be a core workstream from day one.

This includes preparing internal stakeholders for new approval workflows, communicating early with suppliers who will need to adapt to new processes, and setting realistic expectations about what will change and when. Skipping this step is one of the most common reasons implementations end up watered down through last-minute compromises.

Learning from real implementation experience

Theory only goes so far when it comes to avoiding these pitfalls. That’s why this webinar features Leigh Bowen, a Senior Procurement Consultant who has worked at Accenture and is currently consulting for BycgenIT and KPMG. Drawing on hands-on experience across multiple P2P implementations, Leigh shares practical insight into what separates a successful rollout from one that quietly disappoints everyone involved.

What you’ll take away from this session

The deck covers four key areas that any organization planning a P2P implementation should think through: how sourcing strategy shapes system requirements, what a well-scoped P2P deployment actually looks like, the practical steps involved in implementing a P2P system without losing sight of the original business case, and how to build a change management plan that gets stakeholders on board rather than working around the new system.

Whether you’re just starting to evaluate P2P solutions or already mid-implementation and sensing the project is drifting from its original goals, this content is designed to give you a framework for course-correcting before costly compromises become permanent.

Download the deck for free

While the recording of this session isn’t available for technical reasons, the full deck is free to download and captures the key takeaways from the discussion. Fill in the form to get your copy and start applying these lessons to your own P2P project.