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With news this week that Coupa is buying Hiperos, it’s time for a head-to-head comparison. The providers could not be more different in the pragmatic application of their supplier management technology to solving different procurement challenges. But on paper, both providers offer broad-based supplier management capability. And both deliver functional capability that (usually) meets or exceeds the functional benchmark for each of the areas that make up Spend Matters’ Q4 2018 Supplier Relationship Management and Risk SoultionMap. Join us in this unfiltered SolutionMap results analysis from our Q4 2018 dataset, along with the commentary of the Spend Matters analyst team. These head-to-head columns share the insights of each quarterly SolutionMap report for SolutionMap Insider Subscribers, providing unique comparative cuts of SolutionMap benchmark data along with the trademark quips that Spend Matters was better known for in its early years. So buckle your seat belt, prepare for some real data and expect a few sparks to fly as we pit Coupa and Hiperos against each other in the supplier management evaluation ring to understand where each provider is the most appropriate fit.

Not yet an Insider member? Here’s a preview: In a majority of supplier management categories which include master data management (MDM), supplier information management (SIM), supplier portal, supplier initiative management, technology, configurability and services — Coupa convincingly comes out on top. But Hiperos shines in specific areas that make it an ideal fit to enable specific supplier and third-party compliance and risk management scenarios.

Overall, the results suggest that the right solution will vary based on different organizational requirements. You’ll get no argument from us that supplier management selection processes will reward procurement organizations that tailor provider selection to their specific needs. But despite this (needed) debate, the Spend Matters team sees how combining these two solutions offers the potential for the proverbial — yet often elusive — “1+1 = 3” in M&A by enabling procurement, IT, finance and other teams to work together to manage their collective supply base while reducing overall risk. As we’ve noted before, “Using a holistic approach to managing suppliers and spend can shine a proactive light on vulnerabilities, while reducing risk and protecting brand reputation.”

But how will each product enable this? Let’s dig in and put Coupa and Hiperos supplier management capabilities head-to-head.

The Spend Matters SolutionMap Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM): Provider Scoring Summary is only available to SolutionMap Members. This SolutionMap analyzes a select group of Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM) providers. It is part of our Q4 2018 SolutionMap report series, also featuring spend analytics, sourcing, supplier management (including supplier information management, performance management and risk management), e-procurement and invoice-to-pay providers.

This SolutionMap scoring summary analyzes a select group of invoice-to-pay solution providers. It is part of our Q3 2018 SolutionMap report series, also featuring spend analytics, sourcing, supplier management, contract management and e-procurement providers. Our Q3 release also features a SolutionMap for procure-to-pay and strategic procurement technology suites.

This SolutionMap analyzes a select group of spend analytics providers. It includes coverage of spend analytics capabilities that encourages subscribers to “peel the onion” beyond cleansing, classification, enrichment and reporting capabilities alone. It is part of our Q4 2018 SolutionMap report series, also featuring sourcing, supplier management contract management, e-procurement and invoice-to-pay providers.

This Q4 2018 SolutionMap analyzes a select group of strategic procurement technology suite providers (inclusive of spend analytics, sourcing, supplier management and contract lifecycle management).

This SolutionMap analyzes a select group of sourcing providers. It is part of our Q4 2018 SolutionMap report series, also featuring spend analytics, contract management, supplier relationship management and risk (SRM), e-procurement and invoice-to-pay providers. SolutionMap also features procure-to-pay and strategic procurement technology suites.

This SolutionMap analyzes a select group of source-to-pay solution providers. It is part of our Q4 2018 SolutionMap report series, also featuring spend analytics, sourcing, supplier management, contract management, e-procurement and invoice-to-pay providers. Our Q43 release also features SolutionMaps for Strategic Procurement Technology suites.

This SolutionMap scoring summary analyzes a select group of supplier management (SXM) providers. It includes coverage of supplier information management (SIM), supplier master data management (MDM), supplier performance management and broader initiative management (e.g., risk, third-party management) capabilities. It is part of our Q4 2018 SolutionMap report series, also featuring spend analytics, sourcing, contract management, e-procurement and invoice-to-pay providers.

The Spend Matters SolutionMap Procure-to-Pay (P2P): Provider Scoring Summary is only available to SolutionMap Members. This SolutionMap analyzes a select group of procure-to-pay solution providers. It is part of our Q4 2018 SolutionMap report series, also featuring spend analytics, sourcing, supplier management, contract management, e-procurement and invoice-to-pay providers.

This SolutionMap analyzes a select group of E-Procurement solution providers. It is part of our Q4 2018 SolutionMap report series, also featuring Spend Analytics, Sourcing, Supplier Management, Contract Management and Invoice-to-Pay providers. Our Q4 release also features SolutionMap for Procure-to-Pay and Strategic Procurement Technology suites.

This Spend Matters SolutionMap Insider release note provides insight into the Q4 2018 SolutionMap release for Source-to-Pay, reviewing the process that we followed for this quarter’s release.

The providers in the Q4 2018 Source-to-Pay SolutionMap include Coupa, Determine, GEP, Ivalua, SAP Ariba, SynerTrade and Zycus. All of these providers were required to participate in SolutionMap for each underlying module, as well. These individual areas include Sourcing, Spend and Procurement Analytics, Supplier Relationship Management & Risk, Contract Lifecycle Management, E-Procurement and Invoice-to-Pay. All of these providers are also included in the individual Strategic Procurement Technologies (SPT) and Procure-to-Pay (P2P) suite views.

This SolutionMap Insider research note provides insight into these and additional considerations in the Q4 2018 SolutionMap release. The Source-to-Pay customer data set is composed of a subset of the 600+ individual organization references included in the overall SolutionMap scoring as of Q4 2018*.

*Customers using more than one module that a vendor provides can opt to fill out a single survey within each individual suite area (e.g., a customer using two modules for P2P and four modules for SPT would need to fill out only two surveys).

Q4 2018 marks the second research cycle for Spend Matters’ Contingent Workforce & Services (CW/S) “enterprise technology” SolutionMap, the sourcing and management of three underlying spend categories: Temp Staffing, Contract Services/Statement of Work and Independent Contract Workers (ICW).

The providers in the Q4 2018 CW/S SolutionMap include Beeline, Coupa-DCR Workforce, Field Nation, Shortlist, SirionLabs, TalentNet, Talmix, TalonFMS, Upwork Enterprise, Vndly and WorkMarket (ADP).

Given Spend Matters’ procurement orientation, we evaluate “enterprise technology” vendors within a source-to-pay (S2P) reference model. In other words, we look at vendors in terms of their capabilities that address some or all enterprise requirements that arise within an S2P lifecycle (i.e., from supplier sourcing to worker or supplier payment).

In this second CW/S research cycle, there was again limited participation in the Temp Staffing and Contract Services/SOW SolutionMap categories. However, a good number of key vendors have expressed interest in participating in upcoming cycles.

There continues to be vibrant interest in participation by vendors in the emergent Independent Contract Workers (ICW) SolutionMap category. There are two new participants, Shortlist and Talmix, in Q4, and there are several other vendors interested in participating in upcoming cycles.

We have gathered extensive business profile information, received well over 30 client reference surveys and have assigned scores to specific solution capabilities (RFI line items) ranging from well over 100 to about 300, depending upon how many SolutionMap categories a particular vendor participated in.