Supply chain and maintenance requirements, risks and challenges

Solar panels have moved from niche sustainability initiatives to mainstream infrastructure across Australia and New Zealand. Residential rooftops, commercial office buildings, hospitals, warehouses, shopping centres and industrial facilities are increasingly integrating solar into their asset base, driven by rising energy costs, sustainability targets, regulatory pressure and corporate ESG commitments.

While the conversation often focuses on installation costs, rebates and energy savings, far less attention is given to what happens before and after installation. The reality is that solar panels are part of a complex, globally connected supply chain and represent long-life assets that require structured maintenance, data, governance and operational planning to deliver their promised returns.

For both residential owners and commercial asset managers the real challenge is not whether to install solar, but how to manage the supply chain risks, operational complexity and long-term maintenance obligations that come with it.

This article explores:

• How the solar panel supply chain actually works
• Where supply chain risk sits for Australia and New Zealand
• The hidden maintenance and asset management challenges
• The differences between residential and commercial solar operations
• Why many solar investments underperform expectations
• How organisations can design more resilient, lower-risk solar operating models
• How Trace Consultants can help

The solar panel supply chain: more complex than it appears

At first glance, solar panels appear to be a relatively simple product. Manufactured offshore, shipped to Australia or New Zealand, installed locally, and then left to generate energy for decades. In practice, the supply chain is far more complex and exposed to risk.

Global manufacturing concentration

The majority of the world’s solar panels and key components are manufactured offshore, with heavy concentration in a small number of countries. This creates several challenges for downstream markets such as Australia and New Zealand:

• Long lead times and limited flexibility
• Exposure to geopolitical and trade policy changes
• Currency volatility impacting landed costs
• Limited ability to rapidly switch suppliers
• Quality variability across manufacturers and batches

For commercial projects in particular, procurement decisions made early in a project can lock organisations into specific technologies and suppliers for 20–30 years, with limited recourse if performance issues emerge later.

Upstream component dependencies

Solar panels are only one part of the system. A typical solar installation also depends on:

• Inverters and power electronics
• Mounting systems and structural components
• Electrical cabling and switchgear
• Monitoring and control systems
• Energy storage (increasingly common)

Each component often comes from different suppliers, with different warranties, service lives and replacement cycles. Without an integrated supply chain view, organisations can easily create fragmented systems that are difficult to maintain and costly to operate over time.

Supply chain risks specific to Australia and New Zealand

Australia and New Zealand face unique challenges due to geography, scale and market structure.

Distance and logistics complexity

Long shipping distances increase:

• Freight costs
• Exposure to shipping delays
• Risk of damage in transit
• Dependency on ports and international logistics capacity

For large commercial projects, delays in one component can halt entire installations, leading to cost overruns and missed commissioning timelines.

Market fragmentation

The solar market includes a wide mix of:

• Manufacturers
• Distributors
• Installers
• EPC contractors
• Maintenance providers

Many organisations select suppliers based on upfront cost rather than long-term operating capability. This often results in:

• Poor documentation handover
• Inconsistent asset data
• Limited clarity on warranties and performance guarantees
• Weak accountability once installation is complete

Installation is only the beginning: the asset lifecycle challenge

One of the most common mistakes organisations make is treating solar panels as “fit and forget” assets. In reality, solar systems behave more like distributed infrastructure networks that require active management.

Performance degradation over time

Solar panels degrade gradually, but performance loss can accelerate due to:

• Dust and debris accumulation
• Bird droppings and organic matter
• Shading changes from surrounding development
• Electrical faults and inverter failures
• Weather exposure and micro-cracking

Without structured monitoring and maintenance, underperformance can go unnoticed for years, eroding financial returns and undermining sustainability targets.

Maintenance is often underspecified

Many residential and commercial solar installations lack:

• Clear maintenance schedules
• Defined performance benchmarks
• Ownership of monitoring and reporting
• Budget provision for inverter replacement
• Planned access strategies for rooftop systems

For commercial buildings, these gaps are amplified by safety requirements, access constraints and competing maintenance priorities.

Residential vs commercial solar: different scale, different risks

While the underlying technology is similar, the operational challenges differ significantly between residential and commercial solar.

Residential solar considerations

Residential solar owners often face:

• Limited visibility of actual system performance
• Dependence on installer-provided apps and data
• Difficulty sourcing maintenance support years after installation
• Inverter failures outside warranty periods
• Roof access and safety constraints

Many households assume solar will simply “work forever,” only discovering issues when electricity bills rise unexpectedly.

Commercial and institutional solar challenges

Commercial buildings introduce far greater complexity:

• Large rooftop or car-park installations
• Multiple inverters and connection points
• Integration with building management systems
• Compliance with safety and access regulations
• Coordination with existing maintenance contractors
• Governance over asset performance and reporting

For asset owners with large portfolios such as property groups, healthcare networks, education campuses or logistics operators, solar performance becomes a portfolio-wide supply chain and asset management problem.

Data, visibility and control: the missing link

A recurring issue across solar deployments is the lack of integrated data and performance visibility.

Fragmented monitoring systems

Solar monitoring platforms are often:

• Proprietary to the installer or manufacturer
• Poorly integrated with other building systems
• Limited in historical data retention
• Not aligned to financial or sustainability reporting

This makes it difficult for executives and asset managers to answer basic questions:

• Are systems performing as expected?
• Which assets are underperforming and why?
• What maintenance interventions deliver the best ROI?
• How does solar performance vary by location or asset type?

From sustainability initiative to operational asset

As solar becomes embedded in core operations, organisations must shift from viewing it as a sustainability add-on to treating it as critical infrastructure requiring:

• Clear ownership
• Defined operating models
• Performance KPIs
• Integrated maintenance planning
• Lifecycle cost management

Maintenance and workforce challenges

Maintenance is one of the most underestimated aspects of solar performance.

Skills and capability gaps

The solar maintenance workforce faces challenges including:

• Shortages of qualified technicians
• Geographic dispersion of assets
• Inconsistent service quality
• Limited capability to diagnose system-level issues

For organisations managing multiple sites, relying on ad-hoc maintenance arrangements can lead to inconsistent outcomes and rising costs.

Access, safety and compliance

Commercial solar maintenance often requires:

• Height safety systems
• Traffic management for car-park installations
• Electrical isolation procedures
• Coordination with site operations

These constraints increase maintenance costs and complexity, making planned, preventative approaches far more effective than reactive fixes.

Why solar investments often underperform

Despite strong business cases, many solar investments fail to achieve expected returns due to:

• Poor supply chain decisions at procurement stage
• Lack of standardisation across assets
• Inadequate data and monitoring
• Under-resourced maintenance models
• Weak governance and accountability

The result is lost generation, rising operating costs and frustrated stakeholders.

Designing a better solar supply chain and operating model

To maximise value from solar investments, organisations need to think beyond panels and rebates.

Key principles include:

• Designing supply chains with long-term maintainability in mind
• Standardising components where possible
• Embedding data and performance reporting from day one
• Aligning maintenance models to asset criticality
• Planning for replacement and end-of-life scenarios

This requires the same discipline applied to other complex supply chains, not a one-off installation mindset.

How Trace Consultants can help

Trace Consultants supports organisations across Australia and New Zealand to design, optimise and operate complex supply chains and asset-intensive operating models, including those involving renewable energy infrastructure such as solar.

Support typically includes:

Supply chain and procurement strategy

• Assessing solar component supply chain risks
• Supporting supplier and technology selection decisions
• Evaluating total cost of ownership, not just upfront cost
• Designing procurement strategies that balance resilience, cost and performance

Operating model and asset management design

• Defining ownership, governance and accountability models
• Designing maintenance strategies aligned to asset criticality
• Integrating solar assets into broader facilities and infrastructure operating models

Performance, data and reporting

• Defining performance KPIs and benchmarks
• Supporting data and monitoring strategy design
• Enabling visibility across asset portfolios
• Supporting sustainability and energy performance reporting

Workforce and maintenance planning

• Assessing maintenance capability and resourcing models
• Designing preventative maintenance frameworks
• Supporting workforce planning and scheduling approaches

Trace brings a practical, independent and solution-agnostic perspective, helping organisations move beyond installation-focused thinking to sustainable, long-term operational performance.

Looking ahead: solar as core infrastructure

As energy costs continue to rise and decarbonisation accelerates, solar will increasingly be treated as core infrastructure rather than optional enhancement.

Organisations that succeed will be those that:

• Understand the full supply chain behind their assets
• Invest in maintainability and data visibility
• Design operating models that scale with portfolio growth
• Actively manage performance across the asset lifecycle

Solar panels may sit quietly on rooftops, but the supply chains, maintenance models and decisions behind them determine whether they truly deliver value. For Australian and New Zealand organisations the opportunity is significant, but only if solar is managed with the same rigour as any other critical supply chain investment.

Thinking about solar beyond installation?

If your panels are already on the roof but performance, maintenance and accountability feel unclear, that’s a signal worth paying attention to. At Trace Consultants, we help organisations treat solar like the long-life infrastructure it is. That means clearer ownership, smarter procurement decisions, better data, and maintenance models that actually protect returns over time.

Get in touch with one of our experts to understand where risk sits in your solar supply chain and how to build an operating model that delivers reliable performance, not just good intentions.

Investing in Supply Chain Technologies – What Options Exist

Across Australia and New Zealand, supply chain leaders are being asked to do more than ever before. They are expected to reduce cost, improve service, manage risk, support sustainability goals and respond quickly to disruption — often with limited additional resources.

Technology is frequently positioned as the answer.

Vendors promise greater visibility, smarter decisions, automation, and resilience. Boards and executives see technology as a lever to modernise operations and future-proof supply chains. Yet despite significant investment across the region, many organisations remain dissatisfied with the outcomes.

Systems are implemented but under-used. Tools generate data but not insight. Planning platforms struggle to gain adoption. Operational teams revert to spreadsheets and workarounds.

The issue is rarely the technology itself. More often, it is how technology is selected, designed and embedded into the supply chain operating model.

This article explores the main categories of supply chain technologies available today, how they are typically used, where organisations see value, and what needs to be considered before investing.

Why supply chain technology investment has accelerated

Several forces are driving increased investment in supply chain technologies across the region.

Persistent disruption

Supply chain disruption has become the norm rather than the exception. Volatile demand, supplier instability, labour shortages and transport constraints have exposed the limitations of manual planning and fragmented systems.

Rising cost pressure

Inflationary pressure has increased scrutiny on:

• Inventory levels and working capital
• Transport and warehousing costs
• Procurement spend
• Labour productivity

Technology is increasingly seen as a way to improve efficiency without reducing service.

Higher service expectations

Customers, patients, students and internal stakeholders expect faster response times, greater transparency and more reliable service — all of which require better data and coordination.

Maturing digital capability

Cloud platforms, low-code tools and integration technologies have lowered barriers to adoption, making advanced capability more accessible than in the past.

The risk of “technology first” thinking

While investment is increasing, many organisations approach supply chain technology in the wrong order.

Common pitfalls include:

• Selecting tools before defining the problem
• Replicating broken processes in new systems
• Underestimating change and adoption effort
• Over-engineering solutions for current maturity
• Implementing multiple disconnected tools

Supply chain technology should enable better decisions and execution — not add complexity.

Core categories of supply chain technologies

Supply chain technology is a broad landscape. Understanding the main categories helps organisations focus investment where it will have the greatest impact.

Demand planning and forecasting technologies

Demand planning tools aim to improve forecast accuracy by combining historical data, statistical models and business inputs.

They support:

• Sales forecasting
• Demand sensing
• Scenario planning
• Alignment between commercial and operational teams

Modern tools often incorporate machine learning to detect patterns and respond to changes more quickly than manual approaches.

However, value is heavily dependent on:

• Data quality
• Clear ownership of the forecast
• Integration with supply and inventory decisions

Without these foundations, forecasting tools often become expensive reporting layers rather than decision-making engines.

Inventory optimisation technologies

Inventory optimisation tools focus on balancing service levels with working capital.

They support:

• Safety stock calculations
• Service level targeting
• Multi-echelon inventory optimisation
• Network-wide inventory visibility

These tools are particularly valuable for organisations with:

• Large product ranges
• Long or variable lead times
• Multiple stocking locations

Success depends on aligning inventory policy with real service requirements rather than theoretical targets.

Supply planning and advanced planning systems

Supply planning technologies help organisations determine how to meet demand given capacity, constraints and supply availability.

They are commonly used in:

• Manufacturing
• FMCG
• Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
• Complex distribution networks

These tools enable:

• Constraint-based planning
• Scenario analysis
• Trade-off evaluation between cost, service and capacity

The challenge lies in maintaining data accuracy and avoiding excessive complexity that planners cannot realistically manage.

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) and Integrated Business Planning (IBP) platforms

S&OP and IBP platforms are designed to align demand, supply, finance and strategy.

They support:

• Cross-functional planning
• Executive decision-making
• Scenario modelling
• Financial reconciliation

Technology alone does not deliver S&OP maturity. Value is realised when tools reinforce clear governance, accountability and decision rights.

Procurement and spend analytics technologies

Procurement technologies have evolved significantly in recent years.

Key capabilities include:

• Spend visibility and classification
• Category analytics
• Supplier performance tracking
• Contract management
• Procure-to-pay workflows

Spend analytics tools are often the starting point for cost reduction programs, providing insight into:

• Fragmented spend
• Contract leakage
• Supplier concentration
• Demand management opportunities

Procurement tools are most effective when tightly aligned with operational demand and service requirements.

Warehouse management systems (WMS)

Warehouse management systems underpin:

• Inventory accuracy
• Picking and packing efficiency
• Labour productivity
• Order fulfilment performance

Modern WMS platforms support:

• Automation integration
• Advanced picking strategies
• Real-time visibility
• Performance tracking

However, warehouse technology must align with:

• Physical layout
• Volume profiles
• Workforce capability

A mismatch between system design and warehouse reality is one of the most common causes of underperformance.

Transport management systems (TMS)

Transport management systems are used to plan, execute and monitor freight movements.

They support:

• Carrier selection
• Route optimisation
• Freight cost visibility
• Delivery performance tracking

For organisations with significant freight spend, a well-configured TMS can deliver both cost and service improvements.

The biggest challenge is integration — with carriers, warehouses and order systems.

Workforce planning, rostering and scheduling technologies

Labour is one of the largest cost drivers in supply chains.

Workforce technologies support:

• Demand-based labour forecasting
• Rostering and scheduling
• Skill mix optimisation
• Productivity tracking

These tools are increasingly used across:

• Warehousing and logistics
• Manufacturing
• Healthcare and aged care
• Service operations

Value is maximised when workforce tools are integrated with demand and volume forecasts rather than operating in isolation.

Asset management and maintenance technologies

Asset-intensive organisations are investing more heavily in asset management systems.

These tools support:

• Asset registers and hierarchy
• Preventative maintenance scheduling
• Reactive maintenance tracking
• Compliance and reporting

Improved asset visibility enables better planning, reduced downtime and more informed capital decisions.

Low-code, no-code and workflow automation tools

One of the fastest-growing areas of supply chain technology is low-code and no-code platforms.

These tools enable organisations to:

• Automate manual workflows
• Capture operational data
• Build lightweight applications
• Integrate systems without heavy custom development

They are particularly effective for:

• Bridging system gaps
• Supporting frontline teams
• Rapidly deploying targeted solutions

Used well, they complement core enterprise systems rather than replacing them.

Visibility, control towers and analytics platforms

Supply chain visibility tools aim to provide end-to-end insight across:

• Demand
• Inventory
• Orders
• Transport
• Suppliers

Often referred to as “control towers”, these platforms aggregate data from multiple systems and present it in a single view.

Value comes from:

• Exception-based management
• Faster response to issues
• Better coordination across functions

Without clear use cases, however, they risk becoming expensive dashboards with limited operational impact.

How to prioritise supply chain technology investment

With so many options available, prioritisation is critical.

Organisations should consider:

• Where performance is constrained today
• Which decisions are slow, manual or poorly informed
• Where data gaps create risk or inefficiency
• What capabilities the organisation can realistically adopt

Technology should be sequenced to support maturity rather than overwhelm it.

The importance of integration and architecture

Technology value is rarely created by a single system.

Most supply chain improvements depend on:

• Data flowing between systems
• Clear master data governance
• Simple, stable integration architecture

Fragmented technology landscapes increase cost and complexity while reducing insight.

Change management and adoption

One of the most underestimated aspects of supply chain technology investment is change.

Successful adoption requires:

• Clear ownership and accountability
• Training aligned to real workflows
• Visible leadership support
• Early demonstration of value

Without this, even the best technology will fail to deliver its potential.

Measuring return on investment

Supply chain technology ROI is often overstated upfront and under-measured after implementation.

Effective measurement focuses on:

• Decision quality improvement
• Cycle time reduction
• Inventory and working capital outcomes
• Service performance
• Labour productivity

Technology should be assessed on outcomes, not activity.

How Trace Consultants can help

Trace Consultants supports organisations across Australia and New Zealand to invest in supply chain technologies with confidence and clarity.

Our support commonly includes:

• Supply chain technology strategy and roadmap development
• Business case development and investment prioritisation
• Independent technology selection and vendor evaluation
• Operating model and process design
• Data and integration planning
• Implementation support and change enablement

We focus on aligning technology investment with real operational needs, ensuring systems support better decisions, not just better reporting.

As a technology-agnostic advisor, we help organisations choose solutions that fit their context, maturity and ambition — rather than chasing tools for their own sake.

Final reflections

Supply chain technology investment is no longer optional. The question is not whether to invest, but how to invest well.

Organisations that succeed:

• Start with clear problems, not products
• Design processes before systems
• Sequence investment based on maturity
• Focus relentlessly on adoption and outcomes

Those that struggle often do the opposite. In an environment of ongoing disruption and pressure, technology can be a powerful enabler — but only when grounded in operational reality and supported by disciplined execution.

Procure to Pay Systems – From Business Case to Selection and Implementation

Across Australia and New Zealand, Procure to Pay (P2P) systems are increasingly seen as a cornerstone of modern finance and procurement operating models. When implemented well, they provide visibility over spend, enforce governance, streamline workflows, and reduce the administrative burden on teams. When implemented poorly, they can become expensive systems that frustrate users, slow down purchasing, and sit alongside spreadsheets and workarounds.

The challenge is not a lack of technology. The P2P market is crowded with solutions promising automation, compliance, analytics and control. The challenge lies in making the right decisions at the right time – starting with a clear business case, followed by disciplined system selection, and culminating in a well-governed implementation that genuinely changes how the organisation operates.

This article provides a practical, end-to-end perspective on Procure to Pay systems: what they are, why organisations invest in them, where programs typically fail, and how to approach business case development, selection and implementation in a way that delivers lasting value.

What is Procure to Pay – and why does it matter?

Procure to Pay refers to the end-to-end process that governs how organisations request, approve, purchase, receive, and pay for goods and services. In its simplest form, it spans:

• Requisitioning and approvals
• Purchase order creation and management
• Goods and service receipt
• Invoice processing and matching
• Payment and financial posting
• Reporting and compliance

In many organisations, these steps are fragmented across emails, spreadsheets, shared inboxes, finance systems and manual controls. This fragmentation creates risk, inefficiency and a lack of transparency over spend.

A well-designed P2P system provides a single workflow and system of record that connects procurement policy, supplier catalogues, approvals, invoicing and payment into one controlled process.

For CFOs, it improves visibility and financial control.
For procurement leaders, it supports compliance and category management.
For operational teams, it simplifies how they request and receive what they need.

The value is not just transactional efficiency – it is better decision-making across the organisation.

Why organisations invest in Procure to Pay systems

While each organisation has its own drivers, common motivations for investing in P2P systems include:

• Lack of visibility over spend, particularly indirect and services spend
• Poor compliance with procurement policies and preferred suppliers
• Manual invoice processing driving cost, delays and errors
• Limited ability to enforce approvals and delegations
• Supplier dissatisfaction due to late or inconsistent payment
• Audit findings related to controls and segregation of duties
• Pressure to reduce operating costs without cutting service

Increasingly, P2P systems are also seen as an enabler for broader transformation – supporting strategic procurement, better contract management, and more robust ESG and compliance reporting.

The reality: why many P2P programs underdeliver

Despite the clear value proposition, many Procure to Pay implementations fail to deliver their promised benefits. In some cases, organisations end up with a system that technically works, but is poorly adopted, heavily customised, or bypassed entirely.

Common causes include:

Weak or generic business cases

Business cases that focus purely on licence costs and high-level efficiency assumptions often fail to build genuine executive alignment or set realistic expectations.

Treating P2P as a technology project

When P2P is led solely as an IT implementation, process design, operating model alignment and change management are often underdone.

Selecting systems before defining requirements

Jumping to vendor demonstrations without clarity on what the organisation actually needs leads to mismatched solutions.

Over-customisation

Excessive tailoring to replicate legacy processes undermines standardisation, increases cost and complicates future upgrades.

Underestimating change management

P2P changes how people buy, approve and engage with suppliers. Without structured change and engagement, resistance is inevitable.

Understanding these pitfalls is critical before embarking on the journey.

Step 1: Building a robust Procure to Pay business case

A strong business case is the foundation of a successful P2P program. It does more than justify investment – it aligns stakeholders on what success looks like and why change is necessary.

Clarifying the problem to be solved

Effective business cases start with a clear articulation of current pain points, supported by evidence rather than anecdotes. This might include:

• Process mapping to identify inefficiencies and duplication
• Analysis of invoice volumes, touchpoints and exception rates
• Spend visibility assessments, particularly for indirect categories
• Compliance gaps against procurement policies and delegations
• Audit findings or risk exposures

The goal is to create a shared understanding of the current state and the cost of doing nothing.

Defining benefits beyond cost savings

While efficiency savings are important, P2P business cases should also capture qualitative and strategic benefits, such as:

• Improved governance and control
• Faster cycle times for requisition to payment
• Better supplier relationships
• Stronger data for procurement and finance decision-making
• Reduced reliance on key individuals and workarounds

These benefits are often more durable than short-term headcount reductions and resonate strongly with executive stakeholders.

Establishing realistic assumptions

One of the most common weaknesses in P2P business cases is overly optimistic assumptions about automation rates, compliance uplift or behavioural change.

A credible business case is conservative, transparent and grounded in the organisation’s maturity, culture and operating environment. It clearly articulates what needs to change operationally for benefits to be realised.

Step 2: Defining requirements before going to market

Once the business case is endorsed, organisations should invest time in clearly defining their requirements before engaging vendors.

Understanding the operating model

P2P systems must align to how procurement and finance actually operate. Key questions include:

• What level of centralisation or decentralisation is required?
• How will approvals work across different spend types?
• What categories require catalogues versus free-text purchasing?
• How will services procurement be managed?
• What role will procurement play versus finance?

Without clarity on the operating model, system selection becomes guesswork.

Distinguishing “must haves” from “nice to haves”

Not every feature matters equally. Clear prioritisation helps avoid over-engineering and keeps selection focused on what will genuinely drive value.

This discipline also prevents vendors from steering conversations towards features that sound impressive but are rarely used.

Considering integration and data architecture

P2P systems do not operate in isolation. Integration with finance, ERP, contract management and supplier master data is critical.

Requirements should explicitly consider:

• Data ownership and governance
• Master data management
• Reporting and analytics needs
• Future scalability

Ignoring these considerations early can create long-term constraints.

Step 3: Procure to Pay system selection

With requirements defined, organisations can move into a structured selection process.

Creating a level playing field

A disciplined approach ensures that all shortlisted vendors are assessed against the same criteria, scenarios and assumptions. This avoids decisions being driven by presentation quality rather than substance.

Looking beyond demonstrations

Vendor demonstrations often show idealised scenarios. Selection teams should test how systems handle real-world complexity, exceptions and edge cases relevant to their organisation.

Understanding total cost of ownership

Licence costs are only one component of cost. Implementation effort, configuration, support, internal resourcing and ongoing change all contribute to the true investment required.

Assessing vendor fit, not just product fit

Long-term success depends on more than functionality. Vendor stability, local support capability, implementation ecosystem and product roadmap all matter – particularly for Australian and New Zealand organisations operating in smaller markets.

Step 4: Implementation – where value is won or lost

Implementation is where many P2P programs struggle. Success depends less on technical execution and more on how well the organisation manages change.

Process first, system second

Implementation should reinforce standardised, future-state processes rather than replicating legacy ways of working. This often requires difficult conversations about policy, authority and accountability.

Governance and decision-making

Clear governance is essential to manage scope, resolve trade-offs and avoid uncontrolled customisation. Decisions delayed during implementation inevitably surface later as cost or usability issues.

Change management and user adoption

Procure to Pay systems affect a broad user base, many of whom do not see procurement or finance as their core role. Effective change management focuses on:

• Clear communication of “what’s in it for me”
• Simple, intuitive user journeys
• Role-based training
• Early engagement of influential users

Adoption is not automatic – it must be designed and managed.

Measuring success post-go-live

Organisations should define success metrics early and track them after go-live. These might include:

• Adoption and compliance rates
• Invoice cycle times
• Exception handling volumes
• User satisfaction
• Realisation of business case benefits

Without measurement, it is impossible to know whether the system is delivering value.

Procure to Pay as an enabler, not an end in itself

A P2P system is not the destination. It is an enabler for stronger procurement, better financial control and more informed decision-making.

Organisations that see P2P as a foundational capability – rather than a one-off system implementation – are better positioned to leverage it for:

• Strategic sourcing and category management
• Contract compliance and leakage reduction
• Supplier performance management
• ESG and regulatory reporting

This requires ongoing ownership, continuous improvement and alignment with broader business strategy.

How Trace Consultants can help

Trace Consultants supports Australian and New Zealand organisations across the full Procure to Pay journey – from initial business case through to selection and implementation support.

Our approach is grounded in a few key principles.

Independent and solution-agnostic advice

Trace is not aligned to any P2P software vendor or implementation partner. This ensures that recommendations are based solely on what is right for your organisation, not on selling licences or services.

Business-led, not system-led

We focus on clarifying the operating model, processes and governance first – ensuring that technology supports the business rather than dictating it.

Practical experience across procurement and finance

Our team brings hands-on experience across procurement, finance and supply chain, allowing us to bridge the gap between strategy and execution.

Structured selection and implementation support

From requirements definition and vendor evaluation through to implementation governance and benefits tracking, Trace provides end-to-end support to reduce risk and maximise value.

When should organisations revisit their Procure to Pay capability?

Common triggers include:

• Poor visibility over indirect or services spend
• Increasing invoice volumes and processing costs
• Audit or compliance issues
• Supplier dissatisfaction
• Growth, restructuring or system upgrades
• A desire to mature procurement capability

If these challenges sound familiar, it may be time to step back and reassess whether your current P2P capability is fit for purpose.

Final thoughts

Procure to Pay systems can deliver significant value – but only when approached as a business transformation, not a technology purchase.

The organisations that succeed are those that invest the time to build a clear business case, define what they actually need, select the right solution for their context, and manage implementation with discipline and care.

For Australian and New Zealand organisations navigating cost pressure, compliance requirements and increasing complexity, getting Procure to Pay right is not just about efficiency – it is about control, confidence and capability for the future.

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