The difference between thriving and merely surviving often comes down to how well organizations leverage technology partnerships. The most successful players aren’t just adopting new tools; they’re building (and joining) whole new ecosystems that automate, monetize, and secure transactions, while growing their business.
Best-in-class procurement and payment partnerships are redefining ‘operational excellence’ today, and that makes them newsworthy. Delving into the details of one such collaboration in a recent interview with Procurement Magazine, Gunita Bindra, Vice President of Paymode Business Development at Bottomline, highlighted the synergy of procurement and business payments, which is powering profound growth and change.
Her topic: analyzing aspects of the partnership between JAGGAER and Bottomline.
A New Era of Automation and Value
By integrating procurement, invoicing, sourcing, supplier onboarding, and payment processes into a single solution, the upshot of the interview was that organizations can achieve unprecedented cost savings and efficiencies using procure-to-pay solutions.
Calling the JAGGAER-Bottomline combination “best-in-class,” Bindra explained that a unified approach eliminates the friction of managing multiple platforms and vendors.
Instead, businesses are benefitting from streamlined workflows, reduced manual intervention, and new efficiencies across the board. She notes that automation doesn’t just save time; it translates directly into cost reductions, freeing up resources for strategic initiatives. But the value proposition goes beyond efficiency.
“With the use of virtual card and Bottomline’s proprietary payment type, Premium ACH, we actually put revenue back in our customers’ pockets,” she said, adding that it is transforming payments from a cost center into a profit driver.
The partnership’s customer-centric approach is key. “We're hearing their pain points when it comes to payments,” Bindra told Procurement Magazine. “And it's allowing us to build specifically for their customer base, and add new features and functionalities as we learn from their customers,” Bindra said.
This iterative process ensures that the platform evolves in lockstep with customer expectations, delivering ongoing value and competitive advantage.
Balancing Protection and Experience
In the digital age, security is non-negotiable. Double that when billions of dollars move through your payments network every day. Yet, the challenge for B2B platforms is to deliver robust protection without introducing friction that frustrates users or slows down business.
“Security is paramount,” Bindra said, pointing to Bottomline’s Paymode business payments network and its singular reputation for security across the B2B payments sector.
By implementing rigorous security protocols such as bank account validation for suppliers and seamless onboarding processes, the platform ensures that every transaction is protected from fraud and unauthorized access. These measures are not static; they shift in response to emerging threats and customer data, creating a dynamic ‘shield’ that adapts to the changing risk landscape.
Crucially, she said that security is never achieved at the expense of user experience. “I think the way we keep our balance is, again, listening to our customers, making sure that we have best practices when it comes to security…on the network,” Bindra said.
Bindra noted that the commitment to network security extends beyond technology. It must become embedded in the culture of an organization, she said, reflected in every decision and every interaction with customers. And by making security a shared priority, the partnership builds trust and loyalty, turning customers into long-term advocates.
Innovation, Intelligence, and ROI
Staying ahead in B2B payments requires constant innovation. The most forward-thinking organizations are always pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, leveraging the latest advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning to drive continuous improvement.
“I think you do that by advancing your products, looking at the latest technology, looking at artificial intelligence, looking at machine learning, and bringing those processes into your operation,” Bindra said.
By embedding AI and machine learning into core operations, for example, she said the platform reduces reliance on manual processes and accelerates automation. This not only enhances efficiency but also enables smarter decision-making, as the system learns from every transaction and adapts to new patterns and opportunities.
The result is a solution that gets better over time, delivering more value. The focus now is expanding the use of intelligent automation, not just for customers, but internally as well.
“I think artificial intelligence is absolutely critical for us,” Bindra said. “And I keep going back to automating everything, not just for our customers, but even ourselves, so that we're giving our customers that best-in-class solution.”
For businesses considering a new payments provider, Bindra’s advice is to ask the right questions. “When you're looking at a payment solution [ask about] return on investment. If my investment is X, what am I getting out of it? And it's not just the revenue. Are your customers happy? Are your employees happy using an automated solution? You want to look at [what ROI represents] to you.”
As in the JAGGAER-Bottomline link-up, the best platforms deliver ROI on multiple fronts. That means a relentless focus on value, listening to customers, embracing innovation, and never compromising on security make a winning combination. Following this blueprint, organizations can unlock the full potential of payment partnerships for long-term growth.