Cognitive Procurement Automation
Automating the procure-to-pay process, reducing cycle times by 60% and ensuring 95% compliance with spending policies.
Executive Summary
A global enterprise deployed a cognitive procurement platform that guides employees through buying and automates back-office processing. The system reduced cycle times by 60%, achieved 95% policy compliance, and freed 40% of procurement staff for strategic work.
Background & Context
Enterprise procurement is often a source of friction rather than value. Employees bypass complex purchasing processes ('maverick spend'), missing negotiated discounts and creating compliance risks. Meanwhile, procurement teams drown in paperwork—processing invoices, matching receipts, chasing approvals—leaving no time for strategic sourcing. The companies that can automate transactional procurement while maintaining control gain significant cost advantages.
The Challenge
A global enterprise had a fragmented procurement process. Employees bypassed policies ('maverick spend'), creating security risks and missing out on negotiated volume discounts.
The procurement team was buried in paperwork—purchase orders, invoices, and vendor contracts—leaving no time for strategic sourcing.
Vendor onboarding was slow and painful, taking weeks to approve new suppliers.
Our Approach
We built a cognitive procurement platform that makes the right path the easiest path. A chatbot guides employees to approved vendors and products. Purchase orders are generated automatically with smart routing for approvals. AI matches invoices to POs and receipts (3-way match) and schedules payments. Spend analytics identify savings opportunities.
Solution Workflow
The diagram below shows how our Cognitive Procurement platform guides employees through buying and automates the procure-to-pay process.
The Solution
Syvoq built a Cognitive Procurement platform that guides employees through buying and automates the back-office grunt work.
- Guided Buying: Chatbot interface helps employees find approved goods and services or initiates a sourcing request.
- Automated PO Generation: Converts requests into Purchase Orders automatically, routing for approval based on budget thresholds.
- Invoice Processing: Uses AI to match invoices to POs and receipts (3-way match) and schedules payment.
- Spend Analytics: Categorizes spend data to identify savings opportunities and consolidate vendors.
Key Technologies
Training & Deployment
The NLP models were trained on the company's procurement policies and historical spend data to understand categories and intent.
The invoice extraction model was trained on millions of invoice layouts to ensure high accuracy.
Technical Architecture
ERP Integration
Syncs seamlessly with SAP/Oracle for financial recording.
Procurement NLP
Understands procurement jargon and SKU descriptions.
Approval Workflows
Dynamic routing engine for approvals based on hierarchy and cost.
The Impact
Procurement became a strategic partner rather than a bureaucratic hurdle.
Process Efficiency
- •Reduced procure-to-pay cycle time by 60%.
- •Automated 80% of low-value purchasing transactions.
- •Onboarded new vendors 2x faster.
Strategic Value
- •Reduced maverick spend to < 5%, saving 15% on indirect spend.
- •Improved vendor relationships through timely payments.
- •Freed up 40% of procurement staff capacity for strategic negotiations.
Frictionless Buying
Buying software for the office should be as easy as buying a book online. We brought consumer-grade UX to enterprise procurement.
Key Takeaway
Automation brings control and speed to procurement. By making the right path the easiest path, you ensure compliance and savings naturally.
Take control of your spend.
Learn how Cognitive Procurement can drive savings and compliance.