Tropic

“Ask Tropic” anything about your spend data…and you shall receive. 😏 With our upcoming #AI assistant, Ask Tropic, finance and procurement teams can query information, take action, and surface insights across ALL their supplier data (think contracts, requests, ERP, usage, etc.). Here are a few commands to make finding information and automating tasks even easier 👇 ▶ “Show me my active suppliers with annual spend over $50K.” ▶ “Start a purchase request for new tools for the marketing team.” ▶ “Are we getting a competitive price on this contract?” ▶ “What negotiation strategies work best with this supplier?” ▶ “Is this order compliant with our procurement policy?” Ask Tropic is like having a #procurement expert on standby—and it turns out managing and reducing spend can be as fast and simple as asking a question and command. 💰 No more digging for answers or bouncing between tools. Learn how businesses are doing it: https://lnkd.in/dwVDtEMH

Listen to how a #CFO thinks when evaluating an AI-powered tool for his company’s tech stack 👇 ▶️ What are we hiring this tool or investment to do?  ▶️ Is the purpose of this tool to identify, ingest, classify, recommend, predict, act, or nudge? ▶️ Do we agree with this use of AI? ▶️ Is it duplicative to something else we are already doing? Don’t get distracted by the bells and whistles. Make sure to review what Russell Lester calls your “AI IN CONTEXT.” Address and evaluate how AI should be embedded in YOUR daily work and how it will work with YOU. Listen to the full recap of this convo in the comments! 🔗

Here's how 2025 will be different than 2024 and how it will impact procurement and sales. 2024 is a year a where there was massive focus on key financial metrics including EBITDA. I've met with dozens of leaders in finance, IT and elsewhere where cost reduction was a huge priority. (Sometimes at any cost). The change is where cost reduction is now switching to cost optimization. Why because the growth engines need to be fueled. I’m already seeing this. Businesses are spending money again.... strategically investing where the ROI is clear. ▶️ They are signing deals but making greater efforts to ensure they are getting a good deal. ▶️ They are only buying what they need and what is proven. ▶️ They are buying more from fewer suppliers. And procurement is as involved as ever. If the ROI is clear and the goals align with key business metrics, then the spend is getting approved. This is especially true for SaaS where top stocks have seen big increases and growth for these companies is accelerating. SaaS multiples aren’t that high but IPO pipeline is strong. Call me an optimistic, but 2025 is looking good!

Nothing like some customer love this holiday season in Buyer’s Paradise. 🎄🌴 We’re honored to be recognized as a leader in SaaS spend management, strategic sourcing, vendor management, and purchasing by G2! And an added bonus — Tropic was also named the top solution in G2's new #Procurement Orchestration category. We couldn’t be more grateful to our customers for the continued trust and support in our team. 💜 Check out the latest reviews: https://lnkd.in/e9QnhZ66

Listen to the 60 second video clip below to hear some ideas on how I’m leveraging AI to do more with limited resources. (A common theme in the world of procurement). It was awesome chatting about AI with both Steven and Russell and talking about examples where AI is already impacting the world of procurement and finance. Shoot me a DM if you want the link to the full episode!

1 good step to stop overpaying for #SaaS? Stuff your holiday stocking with a FREE SUPPLIER PRICE BENCHMARK. 🎅 We think it's the perfect gift for your budget–and bottom line. 😉💰 ...best enjoyed with some hot cocoa and a cozy fireplace. Go get that supplier price check for free (and instantly) here! https://lnkd.in/gwp8UeSy

Here are 3 PRACTICAL WAYS you should be using AI tech in #procurement right now 👇 1️⃣ Need to build or strengthen workflows and rules for your procurement process? Use an easy AI conversational interface and ask it to help you set it all up. 2️⃣ Got too much data to sift through in different formats (i.e. invoices, contracts, POs)? Let AI extract all the relevant info and turn it into structured, usable data. 3️⃣ Want insights from all that data and external market trends/pricing without digging for it? Let AI analyze your context/contract AND surface the anomalies and prescriptive insights to you as you need it. Your goal? Make faster, more informed and proactive decisions around spend. Always remember: AI should learn you and your tendencies + make technology work with you. Learn more practical ways #AI can help you in our latest playbook: https://lnkd.in/g9575S58

Nothing like giving companies better control over their spend...and being ranked No. 1 on G2's list of best Procurement Orchestration software. 💪💰 Thanks to G2 and Nathan Calabrese, MBA for the inclusion! With Tropic, teams are: ➡️ Driving org-wide process adoption through a simple user interface, custom intake, and dynamic workflows & approvals. ➡️ Gaining full visibility by having all contracts and spend data integrated in one place. ➡️ Monitoring spend proactively with pre-built reports that help them find and cut waste. We call that Buyer's Paradise. 🌴 Check out the list here: https://lnkd.in/gGu42SqS

This is my favorite report to look at. (It drives incredible value for me as a procurement leader and for the company). While it might seem simple, a view like this can transform reactive and tactical procurement to strategic and proactive procurement. I analyze this report at least once per week. And I review it with key executives once per month (in a monthly spend review).  🔵 Light Blue - decided not to renew - no further action needed.  🟢 Dark Green - Renewal complete.  🟠 Orange - In progress. (I review these in details on a separate tab).  🌑 Dark Blue - this is the focus. This represents expiring spend that I need to take action on. Questions for discussion: 🔸 Is the spend still needed? How critical is the expiring contract to the business?  🔸 What business objective does the spend support? 🔸 How open are the stakeholders to exploring other options? (Including how satisfied are they with the existing provider).  🔸 What trends, updates are occurring with the supplier or in the space (including competitors)? Check out how everything in December, January and February has been actioned (there is literally no Dark Blue). My goal is to action 120 days out. Some of the bigger deals or under-performing suppliers are much earlier than that.  These 120 days give the team time to explore alternatives, execute on sourcing strategies and negotiate effectively. It puts us in the driver seat. Does anyone else do anything similar?

In my experience, the most common reasons people try to go around procurement: 1️⃣ Lack of trust  2️⃣ Lack of understanding. This may come as a shock, but in my experience, a robust, comprehensive, thorough sourcing policy that rivals the US tax code both in length and complexity is not the answer. Besides being an occasional reference guide for a select few, most won’t read it. Strong communication and training certainly go a long way. But here is what I try to do: Step 1: Build a relationship (this helps strengthen trust). Step 2: Deliver a positive user experience that results in true value to the stakeholder. (This helps them see first hand). I have found that when stakeholders (and suppliers) experience strong procurement, they want more of it. It saves them time.  It gives them options. It empowers them with data to make decisions.  It helps them achieve their goals. And that is what will have them coming back for more.