A Rethink to Purchase-to-Pay:
Efficient, Transparent, Compliant
Standardized approvals, improved commitment management, and greater transparency in the procurement of long-term services through optimized purchase-to-pay processes.
The Mainzer Stadtwerke (Public Utilities) is a regionally based provider of energy, mobility, and infrastructure services. It supplies Mainz and the surrounding region with sustainable electricity, gas, heat, mobility solutions, broadband technology, and innovative services..
The stated objective for this project was to establish efficient and standardized approval and procurement processes. Different approval policies across business units resulted in a high level of manual effort and low transparency, while at the same time there was a lack of uniform management of services and recurring transactions. The goal was to optimize S/4HANA Flexible Workflows and, through structured control mechanisms, ensure proper budget allocation, audit-proof approval processes, transparent commitment management, and sustainable cost control in procurement.
Efficient and audit-compliant procurement and budget management through the optimization of purchasing processes and flexible workflows in S/4HANA
Project Objective
The goal and objective of the project were to optimize S/4HANA Flexible Workflows and to ensure the targeted use of billing plans, purchase contracts, and limit orders.
Requirements and Implementation
Approval workflow for purchase requisitions:
A standardized and transparent approval workflow for purchase requisitions has been implemented across all company codes. The flexible workflows have been standardized and integrated with HCM Organizational Management.
In addition, handover functions for purchase requisitions, visible attachments in My Inbox, an enhanced restart logic, and automatic email notifications were implemented to ensure a stable, audit-proof, and efficient approval process.
Purchasing Optimization:
The project streamlined the procurement of services and recurring services, making the process more transparent. By implementing billing plans, the project established a cross-month, accrual-based commitment management system.
Long-term services such as maintenance are managed through purchase contracts with annual order creation, while limit orders are used for flexibly and budget-controlled processing of variably priced, recurring services
By partnering with Consilio, we were able to comprehensively optimize our purchase-to-pay processes. In addition to revising the flexible workflows, we also implemented practical, system-compliant solutions for managing accounts payable through invoice schedules, utilizing purchase contracts, and placing orders within budget limits. This has led to lasting improvements in transparency, efficiency, and budget control.
Key Benefits of the Project
- Enhanced budget and cost control through cause-based, cross-month commitment management using billing plans
- Reduction of budget overruns through the targeted use of limit orders for variable services
- Clear mapping of long-term maintenance services via purchasing contracts with annual order creation
- Improved forecasting and liquidity planning through early visibility of financial obligations
- Significant time savings through transparent approval workflows for purchase requisitions
- Reduced rework through transparent and error-free processes
