Strategy is about solving problems

Solving a single, pressing issue creates a foundation of trust and satisfaction that can drive adoption, loyalty, and advocacy.

There's never a lack of problems to solve in B2B payments. You have invoicing, compliance, fraud protection, and the list goes on.

You can't solve all of these problems.

What core problem are you going to focus on?

Here's a framework for identifying and solving a core B2B payment issue.

Critical Issue:

Suppliers lack visibility and control over their payment workflows, resulting in inefficiencies, mistrust, and strained relationships. This issue accounts for approximately 25% of accounts payable's time spent addressing supplier inquiries.

Why this problem:

Suppliers are essential to the payment ecosystem. If they don't have clear access to information about payments, delays, and resolutions, the entire chain suffers.

Fixing this addresses a widespread pain point for both suppliers and their buyers, freeing up significant time and resources.

Coherent actions to solve this problem:

✅ Conduct usability tests and interviews with suppliers across industries to understand their exact challenges, from missing payment statuses to dispute resolution delays.

✅ Use insights to map their workflow, identifying points of frustration and quantifying the impact of these inefficiencies.

✅ Analyze existing supplier portal solutions to identify common pitfalls and best practices.

Build a centralized portal where suppliers can:

• Track payment status in real-time with AI-driven updates
• Upload and manage invoices with automated data extraction and validation1.
• View and dispute payment details seamlessly through an intuitive interface.
• Receive user-friendly notifications for payment milestones and issues.
• Access a single login for multiple customer interactions.

Relentless iteration:

• Launch to a small group of users representing diverse supplier types.
• Collect quantitative and qualitative feedback through usage analytics and regular usability interviews.
• Refine repeatedly, prioritizing improvements based on user impact and technical feasibility.
• Continuously integrate AI and machine learning to enhance portal capabilities.

Link to business goals:

• Supplier satisfaction (NPS)
• Increased payment processing speed
• Reduction in AP team time spent on supplier inquiries
• Increased adoption rate of the portal among suppliers

Outcome:

A best-in-class supplier portal that becomes the gold standard for visibility and ease of use, giving your platform a competitive edge.