BMO Financial Group Spend Dynamics Addresses Procurement Challenges.

By Nikita Saharia Chaturvedi

BMO Financial Group and a Hogg Robinson Group company have partnered to launch a new expense management tool for BMO corporate card users. The new tool called Spend Dynamics helps manage, capture and report on spending on corporate cards. It will be available this spring.

“BMO has entered into a long-term agreement with SpendVision to provide the tool to our customers,” Steve Pedersen, Vice President of Corporate Payments at BMO Financial Group, tells My Purchasing Center in a new podcast interview. BMO had also worked with Hogg Robinson Group on the government of Canada T&E business that launched last year, Pedersen adds.

With the new tool, BMO is looking to address some procurement challenges. These are:

Information. Companies need as much information as possible to manage and optimize their spending. This reporting needs to also be flexible enough for companies to do ad hoc analysis to really dig into the data to identify opportunities. “Our Spend Dynamic tool has this flexibility in addition to a standard suite of reports which we believe is an important benefit,” Pedersen says.
Policy compliance. Once optimized rules are determined, ensuring compliance to these rules is important. Spend Dynamics allows users to put greater controls into their programs, Pedersen says.
Acceptance. Many companies would like to pay for purchases with a credit card, however, not all suppliers accept the payment tool.
Spend Dynamics is an effective way to overcome these challenges, Pedersen tells My Purchasing Center. Spend Dynamics provides a full suite of capabilities with a user interface that is intuitive to navigate. The tool has context sensitive help capabilities throughout–users will be able to navigate through activities they are undertaking.

Spend Dynamics comes with ad hoc reporting capacities in conjunction with a standard suite of reports allowing users to better manage their program. It has a full expense module that comes with full workflows; spend wizards, GL coding, alerts and notifications. Spend Dynamics is also designed to be mobile friendly which will enhance its ease of use and accessibility.

In the interview, Pedersen says that corporate Cards are a valuable payment tool. “Corporate cards are one of many payment capabilities and they may not always be the best solution. Procurement should consider each supplier and circumstance to determine the applicability of a corporate card.

“Clearly cards allow supplies to be paid more quickly, have controls, provide enhanced reporting, protect companies from fraud and help optimize liquidity management,” he says. “For suppliers there’s a cost to accept a card and this cost may be a deterrent.”

Listen to the My Purchasing Center podcast interview, BMO Spend Dynamics Helps Procurement Dig into Card Data

Also see the My Purchasing Center article, The Government of Canada Renews Purchasing Card Contract

– See more at: http://www.mypurchasingcenter.com/purchasing/industry-articles/bmo-financial-group-spend-dynamics-addresses-procurement-challenges/#sthash.8BXfuB2z.dpuf

The Government of Canada Renews Purchasing Card Contract.

By Nikita Saharia Chaturvedi

The Government of Canada has renewed its purchasing card contract with BMO Financial Group (BMO) and MasterCard, its purchasing card suppliers for the past 11 years.   BMO’s purchasing card provides payment options that streamline procurement processes by cutting costs, eliminating paperwork, maximizing working capital, and strengthening supplier relationships. As a result, the federal government can improve spend policy management and compliance.  Steve Pedersen, Vice President, North American Corporate Cards Products at BMO, recently discussed this news in an interview with My Purchasing Center.

Like most governments around the world dealing recently with austerity measures, a key component for Canada is making sure departments and agencies are optimally spending and controlling costs, Pedersen says.  “The government of Canada uses our cards to ensure that spending is directed to where it should be and not where it shouldn’t be,” he says. “Supported by reporting capabilities, we work closely with the government providing analysis to help optimize their program.”

What’s more, Pedersen credits MasterCard’s North American acceptance footprint with helping the government of Canada to eliminate the use of checks from its payment system. “It’s forefront in our ability to work with the government as it expands the program and to eliminate checks,” he says. “Without that acceptance, we would be hard pressed to help expand the program.” BMO also helps by analyzing accounts payable processes and identifying opportunities to streamline spending. The program provides suppliers with the benefit of quick payment.

To date, BMO has issued approximately 32,500 purchasing cards across 125 departments and agencies, accounting for 90% of the Canadian government’s purchasing cards. BMO Financial Group is a leading provider of commercial card and treasury solutions in North America. In addition to the recent purchasing card contract renewal, BMO has served the Government of Canada as its travel and entertainment (T&E) card provider since 2013.

Listen to the My Purchasing Center podcast interview with Steve Pedersen, Canadian Goverment Renews Purchasing Card Contract – See more at: http://www.mypurchasingcenter.com/purchasing/industry-articles/government-canada-renews-purchasing-card-contract/#sthash.H1Hgklcg.dpuf