Project at a glance
Government procurement and invoice processing were fragmented across departments, systems, and processes. Manual effort was high, visibility was limited, and standardisation was difficult to enforce at scale. Legacy systems made it hard to achieve consistency, control, and efficiency across the full P2P lifecycle.
- 70% of invoices processed automatically
- Deployed across 73 government departments
- Unified P2P model replacing legacy systems
- 80% reduction in invoice cost (€4.13 → €0.82)
- €800,000 annual savings in a single department
No unified way to process invoices across departmentsacross departments
Government finance doesn’t operate in one system. It operates across many. Multiple departments, legacy solutions, and inconsistent processes created fragmentation across procurement and invoice processing. The same transaction could follow different paths depending on where it entered the system. Manual effort filled the gaps. Visibility was limited. Standardisation was difficult to enforce across entities. The challenge wasn’t introducing automation. It was introducing consistent automation across a decentralised government environment, while maintaining control and compliance. The day-to-day reality included:
- The same invoice handled differently across agencies
- Different departments operating different P2P processes
- Limited visibility into where invoices sit or stall
- Legacy systems restricting standardisation at scale
Standardising P2P across 73 government departments
SoftCo implemented a unified procurement and invoice processing platform, creating a single operating model across all government departments. The solution replaced legacy systems and introduced a consistent process across entities, without disrupting underlying infrastructure. The platform automates the full P2P lifecycle, from requisitioning and catalogue management through to matching, approval, and payment. High-confidence invoices flow through automatically, while exceptions are managed with full visibility. More than 50 integrations were delivered across departmental systems, alongside the central SAP environment. Vendor management was centralised through a portal, enabling suppliers to manage catalogues, track invoices, and interact directly with the process.
We have implemented a project that has progressed as planned and within the planned budget.
70% automation,across a national finance operation
SoftCo was live across all Finnish Government departments by March 2020, expanding to 73 departments without extending the timeline. A single, unified P2P model now operates across government, replacing fragmented legacy systems. 70% of invoices are processed automatically, reducing manual workload and improving consistency across all entities. The financial impact is measurable. At the National Land Survey of Finland, the cost of processing an invoice fell from €4.13 to €0.82, an 80% reduction. In another department, automation alone is expected to deliver €800,000 in annual savings. The result is a finance operation that combines scale, control, and efficiency, delivering sustained value across government departments.
70% invoice automation
Reduced manual processing across departments
80% lower processing cost
Automated vs manual invoices
Standardised procurement model
Single approach across government departments
Full cross-department visibility
Track invoices and spend centrally
Millions saved annually
Efficiency gains at national scale
Our goal for this project was to increase automation of the end-to-end procurement process and deliver significant savings to all government departments through our shared service center
Pirjo Pöyhiä
CEO, Palkeet (Finnish Government Shared Services Centre)
