Throughout any business the use of products and services is extensive, be it as part of the main production process or as part of an operating expense towards the support of the main business activity. Ironically, the treatment of data around these key aspects of business process are rarely addressed with any consistency. However, by utilising a central data repository for these, usually termed as a product catalogue, enables the business to have a consistent view of spend across products and services.
Benefits to the business include more effective controls on:
- View of spend on products and services across all aspects of the business
- Consistent visibility on travels and expenses across the business
- Consistent visibility on temporary staffing
Why bother, well simply put if it is left to Business Units they will likely post things into approved budgets, from a financial aspect, which is perfectly acceptable, but how can the business gain full leverage of spend is not visible. A catalogue enables the business to gain visibility, but still allows the different aspects of the business to post expenditure against approved budgets.