As recounted here on Supply Excellence and on Ariba Exchange (as well as on Twitter — #aribalive), this Ariba Live season held a host of insights into how companies big and small and from all corners of the globe are buying better, selling more efficiently, and managing cash more intelligently. Yet, one of the best things about Ariba Live is the unofficial sidebar discussions with executives and practitioners in more casual settings — like private meetings, over dinner, and at the bar. Here are just a few of the more useful (and appropriate) insights I gleaned from those chats:

• Lock the back door to stop savings leakage: A cocktail conversation with the global sourcing director for a multinational beverage company reinforced the importance of closing any back door connections between suppliers and business executives. “When we first began our sourcing program we uncovered many unsanctioned negotiations going on between [legacy] suppliers and our business units,” recounted the sourcing exec.  “We took a dual approach: working with finance to only pay approved and contracted suppliers, and working with the businesses to develop supply and drive savings for their biggest [spend] categories. Now the business unit leaders are our biggest champions.”
• Beware stand-alone e-invoicing programs: In a private session with Ariba’s supplier steering committee, an executive from one global IT equipment provider lamented that the e-invoicing programs of his customers sometimes create more inefficiency and slow down payment. “Solely issuing an invoice electronically doesn’t make the process more efficient,” argued the supplier. “It just gets rid of some the paper. Unless the buyer has digitized the PO [purchase order] as well, I can’t get paid any faster. In fact, I have to do extra work to get the paper PO and call the AP [accounts payable] department to help them reconcile the digital invoice with the number on the approved, paper-based PO.” Other suppliers agreed, recommending that buying organizations think of the big picture (and bigger procure-to-pay process) when launching e-invoicing programs.
• Create a tax-advantaged SaaS subscription: Over Argentinian steaks in Amsterdam one night (I still don’t get the Netherlands-Argentina connection), a senior finance executive at a global publishing company shared with me how his company was able to slash the tax bill for its subscription-based software by more than 70% by analyzing individual users and their locales. “Because SaaS is a service, it either is not subject to sales tax in certain jurisdictions or subject to sales tax, but at a lower rate [than big-city headquarters],” explained the finance exec. “We ensured that sales tax on SaaS is based on user locations and not to an assumed ’ship-to’ address” based on company headquarters or where the contract was signed.
• Beware reneging suppliers: A discussion in a CPO-only session revealed that, with recovery improving some supply markets, “we are seeing first signs of suppliers not being willing to perform [agreed upon services] at the prices established [during the recession] as increasing volumes allow them to get better margins elsewhere.” CPOs reported that these dynamics are causing some to begin to consider more longer-term and risk-reward-sharing contracts.

While not a comprehensive log of all the discussions and strategies exchanged this Ariba Live season, the above provides some valuable food for thought as you plan your future spend management and IT investment initiatives.