P-Card Success Story

Part 2 of 3

Don't forget to subscribe to the blog (no charge) to receive educational content!

This is the P-Card success story shared by Tiffany Lovelace, CPCP, in the fourth quarter of 2014 when she was still with Kansas City Southern. Her advice is timeless and could be just what you need to take your program to the next level. For more background, see part 1 of 3. 

Building Relationships and Knowledge

Immediately, I formed strong and consultative relationships with:

  1. other organizations within the Commercial Card space
  2. our issuer and their account management team and
  3. internal peers

Humility played a great role as well. While you may have moved mountains in your previous positions, leaning on industry experts, admitting you don’t have all the answers and exerting the willingness to educate yourself will help pave the way for success. As part of your education, I recommend earning the Certified Purchasing Card Professional (CPCP) credential.

Transforming the Card Program

Our organization is definitely a Cinderella story. While our program stats are impressive—150% growth in volume over four years; increased targeted core commodities by 100%, resulting in a decrease of customer wait time by 34%; achieving a 95% reduction in non-purchase order spend; and increasing purchasing policy compliance by 59%—they are not our selling point. The most impressive accomplishment is transforming our program to become more than just a swipe; it’s the payment vehicle of choice within our organization.

Where is your program at today and where can it go?

Where is your program at today and where can it go?

Analytics Contribute to Success

We’ve incorporated analytical dimensions into our program blueprint to formulate strategies for:

  • cascading into broader categories of spend and 
  • creating a spend analytics platform that provides increased visibility with dynamic reporting capabilities

In addition, by forming a consultative relationship with our issuer, our program manager was empowered to become an agent of influence. Our ultimate goal was to gain a seat at the decision-making table.

Continue reading part 3 of 3 on adopting effective strategies and what you can do.