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Optimizing Procure-to-Pay with Embedded Analytics in SAP (Proactive Spend, Inventory & Sourcing)

By October 5, 2025November 13th, 2025No Comments

Operational analytics empowers stakeholders with real-time insights to drive smarter, faster decisions across procurement, Cost controlling, Finance, Plan to Manufacturing, sales and distribution—ensuring timely delivery of customer orders and other business operations.
Embedded within SAP S/4HANA transactions, it eliminates delays by providing live data during key moments such as supplier selection, order quantity optimization, or invoice approvals
SAP S/4HANA comes with a wide range of pre-built embedded analytical applications tailored to various business operations. Organizations can choose the apps that best align with their specific processes and roles. Additionally, businesses have the flexibility to build custom analytical applications allowing them to address unique reporting needs, KPIs, or operational scenarios.

Why embedded analytics for P2P: Embedded analytics in Procure to Pay delivers real-time insights within procurement transactions, enabling users to make data-driven decisions instantly. Powered by SAP S/4HANA it enables users to make faster, data-driven decisions—such as selecting reliable suppliers, optimizing order quantities, and managing inventory efficiently, it ensures high-speed analysis on any device, without disrupting workflow. By seamlessly integrating analytics into daily workflows, it enhances operational efficiency, reduces risks, controls costs, and drives continuous improvement across the entire procurement process. SAP Help Portal
As part of SAP S/4HANA Embedded Analytics, several powerful analytical applications are available to support real-time decision-making across the Procure-to-Pay (PTP) process. This section highlights key embedded analytical apps relevant to PTP, including Procurement Overview, Slow or Non-Moving Materials, and Accounts Payable Overview, among others. Each app is designed to provide role-specific, real-time visibility into procurement performance, risks and bottlenecks, helping organizations optimize operations, control costs, and enhance supplier collaboration.

Start with Procurement Overview : The Procurement Overview app offers a comprehensive view of procurement activities within a project. It consolidates key information on purchase orders and purchase requisitions, enabling users to monitor and manage procurement processes efficiently. This app supports timely decision-making by providing visibility into the status and progress of procurement documents and related activities, helping ensure smooth project execution. surface cards for overdue POs, approvals, contract utilization, supplier issues, and more. Prioritize by relevance and drill straight into the underlying apps to act. Add or extend cards for your categories and plants.

1. Anchor the process on role-based overview pages

SAP Help Portal and SAP Help Portal

Core KPIs/apps to pin

  • Purchasing Spend / Spend Dashboard for supplier, country, and group comparisons—launch from a KPI tile and drill to detail. SAP Help Portal+2SAP Help Portal+2
  • Accounts Payable Overview for due buckets, aging, Invoices posted and working-capital views; link to line-item apps. SAP Help Portal+1

2. Make inventory signals proactive (avoid expedites & stockouts)

Use Monitor/Manage Material Coverage to see shortages by segment and resolve with planned actions.

Pair with Stock – Multiple Materials

Inventory Turnover Analysis to balance service vs. holding costs and spot slow

The Slow or Non-Moving Materials app in SAP S/4HANA helps inventory managers monitor and analyze materials that are not being consumed over time. It enables time-based investigations into stock movement, helping identify excess, obsolete, or idle inventory.

SAP Help Portal+3SAP Help Portal+3SAP Help Portal+3

Pro tip: Bring these as cards onto the OVP so planners and buyers share the same early-warning signals. Fiori OVPs are designed exactly for this “see & act” pattern. SAP Help Portal

3. Wire in Situation Handling for true “proactive” P2P

Turn on Situation Handling templates to alert teams about issues like quantity deficits in supplier delivery, missing confirmations, or low RFQ quotations—right in the user’s inbox with navigation to fix. You can also automate follow-ups using BTP workflows and business rules when situations trigger. SAP Help Portal+4SAP Help Portal+4SAP Help Portal+4

4. Close the loop from Sourcing to AP

5. Governance & operating model

  • Authorizations & data protection: SAP S/4HANA embedded analytics apps are organized by business roles, which group relevant catalogs, spaces, and pages to control app access and display on the SAP Fiori Launchpad. Administrators assign and customize these roles to ensure users see the right apps for their job functions. While users can personalize their Launchpad by rearranging or hiding tiles, predefined spaces and pages help streamline workflows and improve efficiency across different roles and responsibilities. SAP Help Portal+3SAP Help Portal+3SAP Help Portal+3
  • Model lifecycle: Govern CDS views/queries (Query Browser, View browser,Custom Analytical Query), naming, owners, test data, and change control. SAP provide many CDS views of the type dimension and cube that can be used as data sources to build analytical queries. The Custom CDS Views app uses a guided process, similar to a wizard. No coding is needed. SAP Help Portal SAP Community
  • Architecture choices: Start with embedded analytics; add embedded SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) stories when you need richer visuals or cross-domain stories on the same live model. SAP Help Portal Scribd

6. Implementation sprint (30–60 days)

  • Value map: Select ~12 KPIs (cycle time PR→PO, PO automation rate, contract utilization, price variance, on-time payment, days of supply). Tie each to a standard app/CDS view. SAP Help Portal
  • Configure OVPs & KPIs: Enable Procurement/Finance overview pages and Spend/Inventory tiles; set evaluations and filters. SAP Help Portal
  • Situations & workflow: Activate 2–3 high-value templates (e.g., quantity deficit, missing confirmations) and approvals. SAP Help Portal
  • Self-service: Train power users on View/Query Browser to create governed ad-hoc queries. SAP Help Portal+1
  • Operate: Weekly KPI review; monthly model cleanup; quarterly role/privilege audits.

Result: A P2P stack that warns early (situations), visualizes clearly (OVPs/ALPs), and lets teams fix issues in-flow—compressing cycle times, balancing inventory, and improving sourcing outcomes. SAP Help Portal

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