Procure-to-Pay and Commercial Card Program Optimization. Presented by: Randy Qualle - TransAlta Shaun East - Scotiabank

Transcription

1 Procure-to-Pay and Commercial Card Program Optimization Presented by: Randy Qualle - TransAlta Shaun East - Scotiabank

2 Conducting an AP Analysis September 2007

3 Agenda TransAlta Corporate Profile Commercial Card Program Scope Infrastructure & KPIs AP Tool Process Definition TransAlta s use of the AP Tool Overview of Results / Opportunity Next Steps How to participate Questions

4 TransAlta- Corporate Profile Almost 100 years in the Power Business 50 Power Plants / 9000 Megawattssufficient for nearly 4 million homes Core business is generation and energy marketing International player in power generation marketplace Several industry awards

5 Generation 8468 MW of capacity GWh - avg plant avail of 90% 50 facilities Canada, USA, Mexico, Australia 3 surface coal mines Mix of coal 58%, gas 29%,hydro 9% 18.6 million tonnes of coal mined million GJ of gas consumed

6 Energy Marketing 115,682 GWh of electricity, million GJ of gas traded Focus on enhancing returns of generation assets, disciplined approach Arranging transmission, capacity, and scheduling of movement Focus is long term contracts, new products, strategic growth opportunities

7 TransAlta- Commercial Card Program Scotiabank since 1999 Approx 1200 Cards Approaching Annual Transactions Annual Spend approaching $12MM Bar Codes used for Expense Report reconciliation / Pathway Net SAP / Document Imaging System

8 TransAlta s Infrastructure Card Usage Statistics Card Usage Ratio 50% Monthly Card Spending $1M(CAD) Monthly Spending Per Card.8K Spending Per Transaction.3K

9 TransAlta s Infrastructure Central Purchasing function that manages the processes for acquiring goods and services. Competitive bidding Negotiating Contracts Purchasing Inventory and warehouse management Parts data management

10 TransAlta s Infrastructure Payment and Processing Centralized invoice processing Canada, USA and Mexico SAP ERP 2005 Purchase Order Driven KPI based on on-time performance; cost per invoice; payment settlement performance

11 TransAlta Infrastructure KPI Annual Volumes 120,000 75% Purchase Order 95% $$ settled electronically (still issue to many cheques) 87% on time payment (net 30 days) Processing cost/invoice $ % of invoices are less than $1K

12 The VISA AP Tool Analysis

13 Scotiabank / Visa AP Tool Analysis- what is it? Vital tool for improving efficiency and reducing costs Scotia expertise & resources Discover opportunities for improvement Achieves fast, measurable results

14 The analysis process consists of five steps involving TransAlta, Scotiabank, and VCA Step Description 1 TransAlta provides data Data includes A/P data and, optionally, card transaction data Analysis requires all 10 data elements (see template) 2 Scotiabank obtains data and submits to VCA Scotiabank assists TransAlta in collecting and verifying all required data elements Scotiabank electronically submits data to VCA in an encrypted format via a secure connection to VIM (Visa Information Management) 3 VCA performs analysis VCA cleanses and formats data as needed VCA processes A/P data to match suppliers against VCA s Merchant Profile Database (Supplier Matching Service) VCA applies data to the A/P Tool to generate reports 4 Scotiabank receives reports VCA notifies Scotiabank by once analysis is complete Scotiabank downloads reports through VIM and determines recommendations to make to TransAlta based on Scotiabank s understanding of client s needs 5 Scotiabank presents findings to TransAlta Scotiabank delivers customized findings and recommendations for card program expansion to TransAlta

15 The analysis is performed in three phases: Data cleansing, supplier matching, and A/P tool analysis Data Cleansing Data tables are reformatted as needed A unique list of supplier names is generated from data tables Multiple payments against a single invoice are consolidated Supplier Matching (SMS) Suppliers are matched against VCA s Merchant Profile Database to identify which suppliers accept Visa cards as a form of payment A/P Tool Analysis Transaction data is grouped by supplier and sorted by transaction volume Transaction data is grouped by spend category and/or business unit and sorted by transaction volume Cardable transactions are identified and summed by supplier, spend category and business unit, based on data about cardaccepting suppliers A/P processing cost savings are computed Reports are generated

16 The A/P Tool produces reports on card value, migration targets and metrics The three types of reports generated by the A/P Tool provide a number of views into an organization s spend in order to identify opportunities for cost savings. The reports answer the following questions regarding card program expansion: Report Category Quantifying Card Program Value Questions Answered What are the operational savings offered by commercial cards? What are the rebate opportunities offered by commercial cards? Identifying Migration Targets Which suppliers accept cards but are currently paid by other forms of payment? Which spend categories have the most transactions that could be paid by card? Which business units & cost centers make frequent cardable transactions and what are the gains of migrating those transactions to commercial cards? Setting Migration Metrics and Benchmarks What is the cash flow and ROI for an expanded commercial card program over the next three years? What should the program include at each phase of expansion?

17 Scotia & TransAlta to work together to execute findings True working partnership Low dollar transactions eliminated New spend categories identified and new purchasing efficiencies realized Increased knowledge of Company spending

18 TransAlta s use of the AP Tool Recognition that the card program could be under-utilized AP Analysis to serve as foundation for business case to key stakeholders SCM, Audit, Finance will have to get onboard to execute recommendations from analysis Development of a project plan for execution / Scotia to partner

19 Suspected there were opportunities to Target non PO spend Eliminate multiple payment methods for individual suppliers Through revising RFP requirements To rationalize vendor table To reduce TransAlta process costs To maximize program rebate potential

20 Results- How large is the opportunity? * $565MM in spend with VISA vendors * 32% of all company spend

21 Results- Lost Opportunities- Accept VISA but paid via other methods

22 Over 61,000 transactions available on top 75 Visa Accepting Suppliers

23 Nearly 51,000 transactions / $18MM in cardable transactions <$2500

24 Additional opportunity through targeted approach to non-accepting vendors

25 AP Analysis confirmed strong possibilities for success & program optimization Significant spend with Visa-accepting vendors Lost opportunities- Visa Vendors paid by other methods Huge opportunity to eliminate transaction process costs- especially at transactions <$2500 Opportunity to target non-accepting vendors where metrics attractive to do so

26 Turning the findings into actions- making it happen Formal presentation of results to stakeholders by Scotiabank / Visa Business Case for execution of recommendations developed Obtain required approvals / sponsors Mutually develop project plan in line with Company goals

27 The process is not complete yet there are other benefits to be realized Ongoing plans to strengthen relationship Continue increasing card use Improve supplier participation & data flows Reduction in paper based transactions Leverage SAP infrastructure Posture for possible acquisitions

28 What can the VISA AP Tool Analysis do for your Company / Program? Contact your Scotiabank Relationship Manager No charge for this service Take your program to the next level Drive tangible process savings Demonstrate the strategic value of this payment tool Draw attention to the value of the program and your role

29 Questions / Discussion Thank you Randy Qualle TransAlta Corporation randy_qualle@transalta.com