Originally aired November 13, 2025 on Extropy On AIr.
Source-to-pay isn’t back office plumbing anymore. It is where cash control, supplier health and operational agility come together. In the fourth episode of our Esker partner series, Kevin Zirkle of Extropy Advisors and John Purcell of Esker explain why source-to-pay still causes so much friction, how a connected platform fixes it, why suppliers deserve to be treated as partners, and how one healthcare group raised policy compliance from 48% to over 90%.
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Key takeaways
- Source-to-pay struggles come from silos, poor visibility, manual work, inconsistent policy and weak supplier communication.
- Esker connects the full process, from sourcing and requisitions to invoices and payments, in one platform.
- It is modular: start with invoice automation and expand into procurement, from mid-market to global enterprise.
- A supplier portal cuts “where’s my payment” inquiries and builds trust with suppliers.
- One healthcare group reached 85% touchless invoices and lifted policy compliance from 48% to over 90%, without an ERP migration.
Why do companies still struggle with source-to-pay?
Kevin calls source-to-pay one of the most overlooked levers in finance transformation, riddled with friction, maverick spend, policy violations, supplier frustration and compliance risk. John points to a few root causes:
- Silos between sourcing, procurement and AP
- No real-time visibility into spend or liabilities
- Manual invoice entry and paper approvals
- Inconsistent policy enforcement when teams don’t have time to apply it
- Poor supplier communication and no good way to track and resolve disputes
Without a connected platform, companies react instead of manage. Kevin adds that the bigger the organization, the more fragmented it tends to get, especially with multiple geographies, multiple ERPs and large supplier networks.
How does Esker connect the source-to-pay process?
Esker connects the full process, from request to reconciliation and payment, in a single platform:
- Sourcing. Finding new vendors and running e-auctions, RFIs, RFPs and RFQs with scoring and weighting.
- Requisitions. Guided buying that steers users toward the products and suppliers you want them to use.
- PO creation and approvals. Configurable workflows that enforce policy without creating bottlenecks.
- Goods receipt tracking to validate three-way matches automatically.
- Invoice automation to capture, validate and match invoices without manual touch points.
- Supplier self-service for vendors to check status, submit documents and resolve issues directly.
The result, John says, is a frictionless flow of information, less manual work and stronger compliance.
How does Esker compare with other source-to-pay options?
John sees trade-offs in the market. Some platforms are strong in one area, like invoice capture or procurement workflows, but come with rigid processes, little flexibility without IT or professional services, and higher implementation and license costs. ERP add-ons tend to focus on compliance over usability, evolve slowly and fall short on collaboration and automation.
Esker stands out because it is modular and scalable. Companies can start with invoice automation and expand into procurement, from mid-market to global enterprise. It is designed so finance and procurement can own the platform without leaning on IT, and it brings suppliers into the process, not just internal users. Kevin calls it flexibility without fragility, and control without cost creep.
Why does the supplier experience matter?
Kevin points out that many platforms forget that procurement always has someone on the other side selling to you. Esker’s supplier portal lets vendors track invoices and PO status, resolve disputes through workflows, upload documents like W-9s and banking information, and see the full history of communication. That dramatically cuts “where’s my payment” emails and calls, and builds trust and loyalty. Kevin has seen clients cut supplier inquiry volume by 50 to 60 percent just by giving vendors visibility, a real cost saving and a morale boost.
What results can source-to-pay automation deliver?
John shared the story of a national healthcare group with more than 80 locations, processing about 40,000 invoices a year by hand with inconsistent procurement across facilities. After rolling out Esker source-to-pay:
- 85% of invoices became touchless
- Payment cycle times improved by 40%
- Complaints dropped by 75%
- Policy compliance rose from 48% to over 90%
Best of all, they avoided a full ERP migration by layering Esker over their existing systems to create one modern user experience.
How does Extropy help Esker source-to-pay customers?
John sees Extropy as the bridge between what the system can do and how the business actually works. That includes redesigning policies, deciding what should be automated and why, mapping role-based access so approvals don’t bottleneck, segmenting suppliers for different strategies, and tracking the success metrics leaders need. Kevin adds spend thresholds, approval logic and exception handling that reflect how each company really makes decisions, and stresses that go-live is the start, not the end.
Why should CFOs and CPOs care about source-to-pay?
Source-to-pay touches a huge part of the business: cash flow, spend control, visibility, compliance and audit readiness, supplier resilience and pricing power, plus a productive, happier team. John calls it a strategic control layer for the enterprise. Done well, it drives savings, strengthens vendor relationships and improves forecasting. Kevin sums it up as savings, trust and insight.
Where is source-to-pay heading?
- More AI for fraud detection, policy recommendations and guided buying.
- Supplier experience as a KPI, with leading companies treating suppliers more like customers.
- Sustainability metrics, like tracking Scope 3 emissions through procurement data.
- Connected platforms that bring sourcing, contract lifecycle management and payments together.
In their words
Suppliers appreciate being treated like partners, I’d say, more than problems.
John Purcell, Esker
You make sure the system fits how people actually work, not just how it’s configured in a sandbox.
John Purcell, Esker
About the speakers
Kevin Zirkle is Director of Business Development at Extropy Advisors, where he works across Extropy’s partner ecosystem, matching organizations with the right technology and the right people to move transformation from the whiteboard into production.
John Purcell is Senior Value Engineer at Esker, where he works with organizations on source-to-pay automation.
FAQ
Why do companies still struggle with source-to-pay?
Common root causes include silos between sourcing, procurement and AP, little real-time visibility into spend and liabilities, manual invoice entry and paper approvals, inconsistent policy enforcement, and poor supplier communication. Without a connected platform, teams end up reacting instead of managing, which leads to delays, leakage and compliance risk.
What does a connected source-to-pay platform include?
A connected source-to-pay platform covers sourcing events like RFIs, RFPs and e-auctions, guided requisitions, PO creation and approvals, goods receipt tracking for automatic three-way match, invoice capture and matching, payments and a supplier self-service portal, all in one place.
How does a supplier portal reduce AP workload?
A supplier portal lets vendors check invoice and PO status, resolve disputes, upload documents and see the full history of communication on their own. That sharply reduces “where’s my payment” emails and calls. Kevin Zirkle has seen clients cut supplier inquiry volume by 50 to 60 percent just by giving vendors that visibility.
Keep exploring
- More from our partner series on Extropy On AIr
- Next in the Esker series: Paying It Forward with Esker: Intelligent AP That Works for People
- Previous in the Esker series: Collect Smarter, Not Harder: Human-Centric AR Automation with Esker
- Start of the series: The Human Advantage: Introducing Esker + Extropy
- Why Extropy
Ready to connect your source-to-pay process? Book a discovery call with our team.
