FNV customer case
FNV gains greater control and visibility over its Purchase-to-Pay process
Supporting the selection and implementation of a P2P system for the Netherlands’ largest trade union.
Trade union FNV wanted to make the entire procurement, contract management and financial administration process more user-friendly, while gaining better insight into expenditure, commitments and budgets. The union therefore decided to take a critical look at its system landscape, with the aim of transferring the Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) process to a new application. Spendlinq supported FNV throughout the project, from the preliminary research and software selection to the implementation and phased rollout of a new P2P solution.
The challenge
With almost 900,000 members, FNV is the largest trade union in the Netherlands. The organisation was struggling with an inefficient procurement process that lacked insight into current commitments, procurement expenditure and budgets. The ERP platform that aimed to support the entire P2P process was not perceived as user-friendly and its capabilities were limited. This led to an increasing workload in the Procurement and Finance departments and inefficiencies in the process. The organisation was also struggling with a proliferation of suppliers and invoices that often required manual processing.
Above all, FNV was looking for a user-friendly solution that would make the entire procurement process – from ordering, approval and receipt registration to invoice processing – simpler and more efficient. The new system would have to significantly reduce processing times and manual actions in order and invoice processing. Purchasing contracts would also need to be stored and managed centrally, with invoices directly linked to them. In this way, FNV aimed to gain better control of expenditure, contracts and budgets, while professionalising the entire ordering process.
The role of Spendlinq
Working closely with FNV’s Procurement department, Spendlinq supported the preliminary research, selection, implementation and rollout of the new system. The project included supervision of the selection procedure – from longlist to final supplier – and contracting support. In addition, Spendlinq was responsible for designing and defining the new processes, as well as coordinating with stakeholders, users and the software supplier to arrive at the optimum system setup.
A phased go-live approach was chosen for the implementation, allowing sufficient time to train key users and end users and to identify and configure department-specific processes. This approach also ensured that employees were actively involved and supported throughout the change process.
The solution
The new P2P solution supports the entire process, from ordering and approval to invoice processing, while enabling contracts to be stored and managed centrally. The system also offers integration capabilities with the webshops of contracted suppliers, making it easier for employees to order from the appropriate suppliers.
By bringing processes and information together in a single environment, the solution also provides better insight into expenditure flows and process and contract compliance.
The technology
The result
With the new way of working, FNV has further professionalised its P2P process and laid the foundation for greater control over expenditure, contracts and processes. Employees are better supported in their purchasing activities, while invoice processing requires fewer manual actions.
In addition, FNV now has access to more detailed information, providing insight into expenditure flows and facilitating the measurement of process and contract compliance. This helps the organisation to further optimise processes and better align supplier agreements with its needs.
About FNV
FNV is the largest trade union in the Netherlands. The organisation consists of an association of almost 900,000 members, the ‘work organisation’ and the affiliated unions. The (paid) employees of the work organisation support members with their questions. As an independent organisation, FNV represents the interests of its members in the field of work and income at local, national and international level, on its own or together with its strategic partners.
