Wednesday 5th March, 2014

This year, for the first time APN had a stand at the eWorld Purchasing & Supply conference at the QE11 Conference centre in Westminster yesterday. Jostling for position as it was with the lunch tables, and being the friendly sort, I welcomed a steady stream of lunch visitors to my table. Feeling a little bit like Forrest Gump at the bus stop, only in reverse, I proceeded to hear a succession of stories from the vendor's side and then a bit later, from the attendees.

You find out a lot when you listen. But one of the things which struck me most of all was what each one of them said as they sat down - "Accounts Payable News, that's quite specific". "Yes" I said "and...no." And even if it is, it's no more specific than Procurement. What the question really meant was - "I can't imagine that there'd be that much news to talk about in accounts payable."

So, we got talking. And after only two or three sentences, the light began to dawn, the connections began to make form, and by the time the next person sat down, the previous person left with (I hope), at least a slightly better understanding of how accounts payable is an integral part of the purchase to pay process, with its own role to play in making the shared KPIs work between the departments. I'm not saying that my lunch partners didn't already know some of that - it's just that P2P collaboration is still just a buzzword for many people - an idea and practice with vastly fluctuating levels of penetration across different organisations and sectors.

However, take a look at the issues we talk about in APN and have a look at the issues others talk about in mainly procurement focused publications, and it doesn't take long to see there are several areas of cross-over. And with the rise in P2P technology acting as a conduit for even closer connectivity - offering greater visibility, better spend management and access to alternative methods of supply chain finance for example - that's something which is set to increase.

In fact, it was something which a few of the speakers touched on in their presentations, more of which later - and more about some of those lunchtime conversations too.