You can configure Canopy to manage any approval that may be required in the course of your relationship with a supplier. This article outlines some of the more common approval mechanisms that you may wish to consider adding to your Canopy configuration.
In this article we will cover:
Spend approvals
Most organisations have an ERP system, and we assume you are no different. Most ERP systems will incorporate a Purchase Order approval process, whereby specific spend requests are passed to the relevant people in the organisation for approval.
However a traditional PO request process can often be fairly narrow in scope, and may not offer the necessary context in which to make a spend decision.
Spend approval ultimately comes down to the question you are asking the approver to answer:
- Are you asking the approver to confirm they agree to spend an amount of money?
- Are you asking the approver to confirm they agree to spend an amount of money for a particular good/service?
- Are you asking the approver to confirm they agree to spend an amount of money for a particular good/service from a specific supplier?
Canopy offers a complimentary mechanism of spend approval by providing the context of where the spend will take place:
- who is the supplier?
- where they are based?
- what is their track record?
- what risks to they pose to our business?
- what are their ESG credentials?
Canopy does not substitute the PO process. Instead, it helps the approver to validate that the buyer has chosen the best supplier for the goods/services they wish to procure. And this is all done before you get to the administrative detail of issuing a PO and receiving an invoice.
For more information on how Canopy can support your spend approval process, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager.
Contract approvals
Canopy incorporates a Contract Management module which enables users to manage the contracts they agree with their suppliers.
For Legal Teams who do not run a dedicated Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) system, Canopy can incorporate contract approvals into the workflow.
There are two main benefits of involving Legal in the Canopy workflow:
1. Supplier information
Canopy provides Legal with knowledge and insight about the supplier, which may be material in the contractual terms they choose to offer. For example, if a supplier presents whose Financial Risk is High, you may opt for more favourable termination and payment terms. Similarly if a supplier does not conform to your contractual insurance indemnity levels, but presents as Low Risk, you may be more willing to negotiate.
2. Process alignment
Aligning the parallel processes of contractual negotiation, vendor due diligence and ERP onboarding is a common problem for most organisations. Instead, Canopy can act as a point of visibility to keep teams on track and ensure the necessary approvals are sought at the right time and in the correct sequence.
For more information on how Canopy can support your Legal Teams, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager.
ESG approvals
Most organisations have set clear targets for emissions, carbon reduction and sustainability goals. Canopy provides the means for this information to be collected directly from your supply chain, so that it may be properly reviewed, approved and reported on.
There are two types of approval:
- An internal approval, authorising for a level of ESG consumption to be undertaken
- An external approval, asking the supplier to declare the level of consumption, which is subsequently reviewed approved before it takes place
Both of these approvals can be achieved through Canopy.
For more information on how Canopy can support your ESG objectives, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager.
Other approvals
Canopy enables you to collect information from:
- Your supplier
- A buyer or other colleague
- A third party data source
And request that the information provided is approved by a relevant authority within your business.
As such, Canopy can be configured to manage any approval that involves this exchange of information.
For more information on how Canopy can support your Procurement objectives, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager.