Amex Aims For Spend Compliance With AP Solution

American Express is targeting its latest accounts payable solution toward corporate spend policy, and to help businesses remain compliant, the credit card giant is enlisting the help of SAP Ariba.

Reports on Monday (March 14) said American Express will be integrating procurement solutions from SAP Ariba to streamline accounts payable operations and automate the process of matching transaction data from American Express accounts to purchase order data from Ariba’s eProcurement solution, Spot Buy.

Doing so will not only encourage efficiencies in the procure-to-pay process but will also help corporations ensure that their purchase orders and payments are accurate and aligned with procurement rules.

This can be particularly difficult for uncommon procurement purchases, the companies said; for instance, presentation props or buying new furniture for the office is often a purchase that is few and far between.

“To effectively manage company spend, procurement departments need a clear view into what is being bought and from whom, especially on spend that is off-contract,” stated SAP Ariba Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy Joe Fox in a statement.

He added that these off-contract purchases can cost businesses up to $9 million per $1 billion in spend.

Ariba’s Spot Buy links businesses to a platform to find these kinds of items that remain within corporate policy.

“Visibility and control of supplier payments is a top concern raised by companies looking to gain predictability of cash flow and working capital needs to efficiently operate their business,” said David Desharnais, SVP and general manager of American Express’s B2B digital and commerce platforms unit.

Analysts are keeping a close watch on American Express this year as the company aims to cut costs by up to $1 billion; the company’s latest earnings report showed mixed performance as the strong U.S. dollar drove many of the challenges facing the company as of late.