Building Better Business Foundations: Why an ERP Needs Procure-to-Pay to Truly Shine

Imagine you’re building your dream home. You start with solid footings and a strong frame – that’s your ERP. It keeps everything standing and connects core parts of the business. But step inside and you quickly realise that without lighting, appliances, flooring and all the finishing touches, the house isn’t actually comfortable or truly usable.

That’s where a Procure-to-Pay (P2P) solution comes in. If the ERP is the shell, P2P is everything that makes the building practical, efficient and safe to live in. It brings the detail, control and visibility that most ERPs simply aren’t designed to handle on their own.

Many organisations rely on ERPs for finance, HR and reporting. But when it comes to managing the full procurement lifecycle, those same systems can feel clunky, inflexible and hard for buyers to use. Pairing your ERP with a modern P2P platform turns a basic foundation into a connected, transparent and fully functional environment for purchasing.

The Foundation: What ERPs Do Well

ERP platforms excel at centralising core business data. They provide a single view of things like financials, payroll, inventory, asset records and budgeting. A university, for example, might use its ERP to manage enrolments, staff payments and high-level budget allocations. A government department might rely on it for grants, HR and statutory reporting.

Where ERPs can struggle is in the detail of day-to-day procurement. Workflows for sourcing, evaluating suppliers, approving purchases and tracking contract performance are often bolted on as generic modules. That can mean poor usability for buyers, limited flexibility and gaps in visibility – especially when you need to balance compliance, supplier engagement and value for money.

The Fixtures & Fittings: Why Procure-to-Pay Matters

Trying to manage sourcing, supplier vetting, approvals and invoices through spreadsheets and email threads – even if your ERP records the final payment – is slow and risky. It introduces unnecessary manual effort, makes it hard to prove compliance and leaves you with incomplete data for decision-making.

A dedicated P2P solution complements your ERP by focusing specifically on the procurement journey. It supports structured workflows for requisitions, approvals, purchase orders and invoice matching, with built-in business rules and audit trails. Routine tasks are automated, buyers get a clear pathway to follow, and finance and procurement gain much richer insight into spend before and after commitment.

Real-World Benefits Across Sectors

Healthcare: In a large hospital network, the ERP may handle rosters, patient billing and financial reporting. A P2P platform helps procurement teams quickly identify compliant suppliers, manage preferred arrangements and stay aligned with government procurement rules. It can automate renewals and keep contracts, pricing and supplier performance in one place, reducing maverick buying and last-minute scrambling.

Education: Universities and TAFEs often have central budgets but highly decentralised buying. Departments purchase lab equipment, IT services, learning resources and more. A P2P system gives staff a simple way to buy from approved suppliers and contracts, while procurement maintains oversight and finance gains early visibility of committed spend.

Government: State and local government bodies carry a high bar for probity and transparency. ERPs manage payroll, grants and funding allocations, but audits focus heavily on how goods and services were sourced and awarded. A P2P solution helps enforce policy-based decisions, records the rationale behind selections and makes producing audit-ready reports significantly easier.

How It All Comes Together

The real power comes when ERP and P2P are tightly integrated. The ERP provides the master data and financial backbone, while the P2P platform manages the operational side of procurement. Together, they create:

• Better data quality: Key values like contract amounts, POs and invoices flow consistently between systems, reducing duplication and errors.
• Closer collaboration between finance and procurement: Finance teams can see committed spend earlier in the cycle, improving forecasting and cash management.
• Stronger risk management: Visibility of contracts, supplier performance and compliance checkpoints helps identify issues sooner.
• Richer supplier insights: P2P tools make it easier to segment suppliers – for example, by ESG, local, social or Indigenous status – and track progress against targets.
• Faster, more consistent cycles: Standardised workflows cut down on delays, rework and confusion for both buyers and approvers.

Final Thoughts: Completing the House

You wouldn’t build a house and stop at the foundation. Without the final touches, it would be liveable but feel unfinished. Similarly, organisations that rely solely on an ERP system are missing the operational depth a P2P platform brings.

Adding an integrated P2P platform turns that solid but basic structure into a complete home – one where procurement is easy for buyers, transparent for leadership and aligned with compliance and strategic goals. If you want your ERP to truly shine, it’s worth thinking beyond the foundation and investing in the tools that bring procurement to life.