Although procurement and AP are different stages of the same process, both areas tend to operate in silos, observes Katrina DeProfio-Carroll, a P2P global process owner. While the two departments’ day-to-day goals and the metrics they measure success with differ on the surface, they both have the same overarching objective — to make sure the organization has what it needs when it needs it, which necessitates keeping the vendors happy by paying their invoices on time.

DeProfio-Carroll realized that the disconnect between departments in her organization was creating issues, and began by opening lines of communication. Those conversations ultimately informed process improvements designed to relieve pain points on either side of the aisle, but she notes that the important first step was listening and not taking those critiques personally.