How Source-to-Pay Systems Evolve Over Time

Last updated: May 29, 2026

You would think that selecting a source to pay system based on requirements coverage would be sufficient to make the best decision…. Right? RIGHT!?

Well, I would argue that you should also understand how the system’s evolved over time before buying (development road map & acquisitions). Would you buy and old house before asking for the list of past renovations before buying?

When you move in to an old house, the house is new for you, but it’s already gone through a lot. Since it’s initial construction, rooms has been used for different uses depending on the inhabitant’s requirements. They’ve also probably done renovations to satisfy specific needs or desires (sun room!).

When you move in, regardless of your thoroughness during the inspection, you will find features you didn’t spot initially. Some of these will be a delightful surprise (there’s an ironing board in the kitchen cupboard!) and others will be a continuous bother, impossible to fix at a reasonable price (this staircase is in the wrong spot for feng shui!).

When you seek to carry out renovations of your own, you might stumble upon a load bearing wall that prevents you from turning the kitchen and living room into "an open space". To do so, you would need to tear down the whole house and start over (not going to happen…).

That’s why if you want to best mold the house to your needs, you must understand the house's evolution in addition to its current condition (easier said than done!). Can you get your hands on the initial blueprints? Does the city have any data on residents over the years and building permits they may have sought out? Can the current owners fill you in on the house’s stories? Do they have the receipts?

Now I hear you thinking: “What does this have to do with my procurement system selection?”

A procurement system is a software product which has usually been developed over multiple years by multidisciplinary teams with different backgrounds and levels of expertise. In lots of cases, it will also be a mix of multiple different systems acquired and melded together over time.

Yes, when you "move in" you are getting a fresh new copy of the system but it’s a copy of an "old house" that’s evolved based on previous customer requirements and asks that the parent company is trying to satisfy while turning a profit.

Solution modules were "renovated" with development and/or acquisitions of other solutions. When you "move in" and implement the system, regardless of your thoroughness during the RFP process, you will find features you didn’t identify or consider during the process.

Some of these features will be a delightful surprise (a whole standard set of connectors to another solution you just bought!) and others will be a continuous bother that are impossible to fix because you’re just a number to the software vendor (what do you mean there’s no API to extract this specific piece of data?! What do you mean it’s not on the roadmap?! What do you mean you won’t let us develop it ourselves?!).

When you attempt developments of your own (renovations) in the procurement system, you might find out that certain back-end code logic prevents you from implementing the desired change (but how will you achieve your business feng shui?!). That’s why if you want to mold the system your needs (or at the very least understand what standards and rules you will need to bend to), you must understand the system's evolution in addition to its current condition (easier said than done!).

So how should you approach this in your ProcureTech sourcing? Let’s find out.

As you initiate RFx processes, here are some questions you should consider asking to understand a potential system's "story":

Being able to answer these questions before engaging in a long-term relationship with a strategic partner is important (and, yes, your procurement technology providers are strategic partners if you want to be a leading procurement team). Answers to questions will ensure you understand the potential scope of challenges you will inevitably face over the course of the relationship.

For example, you'll be able to factor in considerations that might affect your ability to support the solution after Go-Live. Because, make no mistake, when you implement a procurement platform, you are starting a long-term relationship with a software vendor. And, just like with buying an old house, you want to prevent being haunted by the decision!

No vendor is perfect (just like spouses 😅)… But some are “more perfect” for YOU than others…

To illustrate how considering this type of information can inform your buying decision, I’ve compiled acquisition data for 5 of the top Source-to-Pay suites on the market: SAP Ariba, Coupa, GEP, Jaggaer & Ivalua. As you will notice, these companies all have very different acquisition profiles. Therefore, their product suites will have evolved very differently even if they support the same set of core processes.

Founded in 1996. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA; acquired by publicly traded software giant SAP in May 2012.

Founded in 2006. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, USA; acquired by Thoma Bravo in February 2023.

Founded in 1995. Headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, USA; acquired by Vista Equity Partners in 2024.

Founded in 2000. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, USA. Private ownership.

Founded in 1999. Headquartered in Clark, New Jersey, USA. Private ownership.

Regardless of if you've already purchased a procurement system or are "window shopping", one of the best ways to follow the evolution of these "stories" is to read vendor press releases and industry analyst blogs. Not for the actual content of the press releases but for the signals they send about vendor priorities and the next chapters in each vendor’s respective story.