Complexity does not always equal sophistication
Welcome back to "The Middle of the Pack", a series of tips for Coupa Software clients to get from lagging to mediocre, before striving for best in class.
Chapter 2 of the approvals mini-series touches on the danger of complex approvals. The shortages caused by the pandemic have in many ways moved procurement out of the back office and firmly into strategic partner status, but the workflow in the image harkens back to the days of being considered transactional. What to do? Consider these options:
Self approval limits: No matter how small that limit might be, the approval volume reduction will automatically endear you to frontline managers who see almost every requisition, expense report, invoice and pochange request. Empower users and enjoy the benefits.
Minimum position: On the opposite end, for high-priced purchases that are generally the result of extended pre-planning, this approval method skips everyone below a given job grade and goes directly to the key stakeholders.
Specific approver plus management hierarchy: A hybrid option, combining stakeholders up front with orgchart on the back-end, with additional flexibility for managing everyone in the middle.
Keep it simple. Complex doesn’t always equal sophisticated. Oftentimes, it simply means a hot mess
Welcome back to "The Middle of the Pack", a series of tips for Coupa Software clients to get from lagging to mediocre, before striving for best in class.
Chapter 2 of the approvals mini-series touches on the danger of complex approvals. The shortages caused by the pandemic have in many ways moved procurement out of the back office and firmly into strategic partner status, but the workflow in the image harkens back to the days of being considered transactional. What to do? Consider these options:
Self approval limits: No matter how small that limit might be, the approval volume reduction will automatically endear you to frontline managers who see almost every requisition, expense report, invoice and pochange request. Empower users and enjoy the benefits.
Minimum position: On the opposite end, for high-priced purchases that are generally the result of extended pre-planning, this approval method skips everyone below a given job grade and goes directly to the key stakeholders.
Specific approver plus management hierarchy: A hybrid option, combining stakeholders up front with orgchart on the back-end, with additional flexibility for managing everyone in the middle.
Keep it simple. Complex doesn’t always equal sophisticated. Oftentimes, it simply means a hot mess