Optimise your Supplier Spend with Analytics

Glantus is recognised as a high performer in the provision of analytics solutions for Accounts Payable and Supplier Spend. Here, we explain what best-in-class analytics looks like, how a platform approach enables optimisation, and share some advice on what to ask of software suppliers to ensure a successful outcome for your business. 

Glantus Recognised by Customers 

Glantus is rated as a High Performer on the G2 Grid for AP and Spend Analysis. Our position reflects the ratings and reviews that are regularly submitted by our customers from all over the world. It is great to be recognised in this way and inspires us to continuously innovate what we do, so that our customers continue to thrive. 

What is AP and Spend Analysis? 

Spend Analytics is the process of collecting, cleansing, classifying, and analysing expenditure data, for the purpose of one or all of the following: 

• Decreasing procurement costs 

• Improving efficiency 

• Monitoring controls and compliance 

Typically, this analysis is based on aggregated data from a company’s ERP systems combined with data extracts provided by the AP team. The data is likely to include low-quality master supplier data and mixed granularity information. Therefore, the insights derived are limited and not as impactful as they could (or should) be. 

AP Analytics is specifically focused on identifying payment errors, duplicates, fraud, and risk that the ERP systems will not highlight. The larger the organisation and the more systems involved, the greater the need for technology and specialist software to perform this task in a meaningful way.

Taking a Platform Approach 

Glantus provides an alternative approach, combining Spend and AP Analytics within a single centralised platform, DataShark. The solution connects to all existing transactional systems (ERP, Payments, etc.) and external sources (e.g., supplier statements) to consolidate the data at a common level, that enables forensic analysis of payments. 

Advanced pattern detection algorithms identify the issues and facilitate the streamlined recovery of lost revenue. DataShark can also monitor end-to-end process efficiency within the AP environment. 

This technology and data-led approach provides complete flexibility on the visual outputs and formats, to operationalise the data. This intelligent platform incorporates a range of Machine Learning (ML) and AI tools that are applied to the data to deliver continuous results and process improvements. The platform also includes a full suite of business intelligence tools that deliver self-service to the enterprise, unlike competitor software that offers more rigid reporting options.

Vendor Qualification Questions 

If you are considering the benefits of engaging with a vendor to deliver your AP and Spend Analysis, here are a set of questions that will help to ensure that you achieve the results that you are looking for: 

• How will you connect to my data and systems, will it be real-time or reliant on a data warehouse? 

• Is there a dependency on our employees providing information or dedicating time and resources to this? 

• How do you cleanse and categorise our suppliers and consolidate the data to a common granular level? 

• How do you process the information to identify errors, duplicates, and anomalies/potential fraud? 

• What is the process for recovering revenue that was paid incorrectly? 

• How do you protect us to ensure that suppliers are compliant with contract terms? 

• What sort of AP efficiency and benchmarking procedure do you provide and how can it be practically used to optimise our processes?