Procurement Operations Analyst Interview Questions and Answers

Three-way purchase order matching is a process in procurement where the purchase order, receipt of goods, and invoice are compared to ensure accuracy.

• Three-way matching involves comparing the purchase order, receipt of goods, and invoice to ensure they all match.

• It helps prevent errors, fraud, and discrepancies in the procurement process.

• Examples include verifying that the quantity and price on the purchase order match the receipt of goods and invoice.

Two-way purchase order matching involves comparing the purchase order with the invoice and the goods received.

• Two-way matching involves comparing the purchase order with the invoice to ensure accuracy.

• It also involves comparing the purchase order with the goods received to verify quantity and quality.

• Examples include matching the purchase order number, quantities, prices, and terms on the invoice and goods received.

• Discrepancies in any of these areas may require further inves...read more

The P2P cycle is the process of procuring goods or services from suppliers, receiving and approving invoices, and making payments.

• The cycle starts with identifying the need for a product or service and creating a purchase requisition.

• Next, the procurement team selects a supplier, creates a purchase order, and sends it to the supplier.

• Upon receiving the goods or services, the receiving department inspects and confirms receipt, which triggers the invoice generation.

• The invoice ...read more

S2C process involves sourcing goods/services while P2P cycle involves purchasing and payment.

• S2C process: sourcing goods/services from suppliers, negotiating contracts, selecting vendors

• P2P cycle: requisitioning goods/services, creating purchase orders, receiving goods, processing invoices, making payments

• Example: S2C process includes RFx (Request for Proposal/Quote), supplier evaluation, contract negotiation. P2P cycle includes purchase requisition, purchase order creation, ...read more

Procurement tools are software solutions used to streamline and automate the procurement process.

• Procurement tools help with sourcing, purchasing, supplier management, and contract management.

• Examples of procurement tools include SAP Ariba, Coupa, Oracle Procurement Cloud, and Jaggaer.

• These tools can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance visibility and control over the procurement process.

The Procure-to-Pay (PtP) cycle encompasses all steps from procurement to payment in a business transaction.

• 1. Need Identification: Recognizing the need for goods/services, e.g., a department requires new laptops.

• 2. Supplier Selection: Evaluating and choosing suppliers based on criteria like price and quality, e.g., comparing quotes from multiple vendors.

• 3. Purchase Order Creation: Generating a formal purchase order (PO) to initiate the order, e.g., issuing a PO for 10 laptops...read more