Key Takeaways:
- Collaboration Over Control: Inspired by military precision and civilian pragmatism, Anders Lassen champions cross-functional curiosity and holistic process design to break down silos.
- Compliance Without Complexity: P2Connct turns policy adherence into a seamless experience by mirroring consumer-grade UX and nudging users toward preferred suppliers.
- ESG as a Journey, Not a Checkbox: While the platform today allows organisations to tag ESG/supplier diversity data, future integrations aim to surface real-time risk insights and sustainability metrics.
- Start Small, Scale Smart: With modular pricing and pilot-friendly features, P2Connct lets teams test-drive solutions like supplier onboarding or spend analytics without overhauling entire systems.
- The Danish Way: Transparency isn’t just a buzzword - clients provide input to the product roadmap, and the team’s “no black box” ethos ensures Procurement stays a strategic advisor, not a bureaucratic bottleneck.
Welcome Anders! Let’s start with the big picture. Procurement and P2P are vast fields. What initially drew you to this space, and how did your journey lead you to found a SaaS company?
"Procurement and P2P are genuinely vast and exciting fields to work in, with numerous aspects and topics to explore within this area. My journey in these fields spans over 17 years and has evolved quite naturally. I began my career in procurement while serving in the armed forces, where I held my first role as a local buyer during a mission. Reflecting on this experience helped shape my passion for and expertise in procurement as it provided me with hands-on opportunities involving collaboration with people, negotiation, optimisation of contracts, and sourcing strategies, such as near-sourcing. I also worked on how technology, particularly SAP, should and could be utilised to ensure my colleagues and the nearby community received the necessary goods and services.
Since then, my work has taken me further into the fascinating world of procurement, specifically procure-to-pay, which I absolutely adore. To some extent, I might regard myself as a bit of a nerd in this area - just to some extent, as there are always aspects I can continue to learn about and pass on to others. There are many details to consider when working in this field, which is also why I developed the vision for P2Connct. P2Connct was conceived from a necessity I observed during my years in this profession: the need to empower an organisation with the necessary information and details, using this as a means to enhance procurement efforts while freeing up time for procurement to focus even more on stakeholder relationships, both internally and externally.
A tool should make sense for all users; it should be easy to engage with and, most importantly, foster closer connections among people. This is where information can play a crucial role, providing individuals with software and tools that do not burden them but rather elevate the role each of us plays within an organisation. What has been developed so far in P2Connct - being it software or service offerings - I believe P2Connct can provide something valuable for our customers and has provided a base to evolve from to support a central purpose: connecting people and Procurement."
Procurement teams today face many challenges—from supply chain disruptions to digitisation pressures. In your view, what’s the most critical pain point businesses struggle with, and how does your SaaS platform address it?
"Internal challenges can vary depending on the size of the organisation, the industry, its maturity, the geographical context, and the technology base in use. However, one of the most significant pain points I’ve observed is the difficulty people experience in working intuitively with the intended processes and platforms. Individuals come with different needs, experiences, and roles that operate differently. Furthermore, we transition from a private world of apps, web shops, and other B2C or government digital interactions into a work environment influenced by these experiences. Yet, we often face bureaucratic processes and systems that are not designed to serve people.
To successfully integrate into the corporate world, we must navigate a plethora of information, policies, and procedures. This mismatch is destined to lead to failure at some point. In principle, people and users want to comply and do things correctly; however, if a process becomes overly complicated or unintuitive, we tend to circumvent these barriers - either by inadvertently becoming non-compliant, seeking assistance from a colleague who has found a workaround, or necessitating the involvement and time of functions that mandate compliance. This ultimately results in additional workload for departments like Procurement repetitive training sessions and may not even address the compliance issue in the long term. Consequently, we are caught in a vicious cycle of inefficiencies, lack of data transparency, and increased burdens for many."
Many procurement tools exist already. What makes your solution different? How did your consultant experience shape how you designed your platform?
"I don’t claim that our solution will be the perfect fit for all organisations or that it will be the tool to rule them all in our segment. However, I believe many potential customers could benefit from a tool and services that help them mature their procurement setup and evolve into a more effective solution.
Part of working with procurement and digitalisation involves engaging with business stakeholders, empowering them, and guiding them to the right suppliers and process steps. At the same time, it is essential to receive feedback from users in a structured manner that is more intuitive for them and doesn’t require excessive additional work for all sides - something that can deliver more value to users and the organisation, immersing them further into the world of procurement without burdening them with bureaucratic processes and policies. On top of this, getting more value out of each employee should be a priority of every organisation.
These are points and talking points that I have experienced firsthand working in different companies and industries in the past years, both as an employee and as a consultant."
Ditch the “Control First” Mindset
“Compliance isn’t about enforcement—it’s about making the right choice the easiest choice.”
P2Connct’s “nudge theory” design (like a digital grocery store for suppliers) guides users to vetted partners while preserving autonomy.
Let’s talk about your “Why.” What specific gap or frustration in the market inspired you to build this company? Was there a lightbulb moment or client story that solidified your vision?
"Another key element of the vision for our platform is addressing the need to funnel activities and spending into negotiated contracts, i.e., suppliers. Procurement often spends countless hours perfecting their skills and negotiation outcomes by selecting the suppliers the organisation should work with. However, spending and engagement are not evident afterwards, necessitating additional effort from the Procurement department to ensure it occurs. As a result, the initially calculated savings are not realised fully; suppliers are confused by the lack of spending directed towards them, which can strain the relationship between the buyer and supplier. This scenario repeats itself in most companies, even within several mature organisations.
Additionally, Procurement cannot be everywhere; they need to concentrate on what matters and what takes priority. Some categories are more important and developed than others, and organisations must find a way to balance the need for tight control with managed oversight."
Procurement isn’t just about cost savings anymore - it’s increasingly tied to ESG, supplier diversity, and risk management. How does your platform help clients navigate these evolving priorities?
"Procurement has expanded its reach and focus over the past few years. It has evolved from a cost-saving entity to one that actively seeks to drive value through various activities. P2Connect supports some of these activities and provides a structured buying approach that funnels spending to preferred suppliers. It opens up supplier and process information to organisational users, enabling them to make more informed choices, involve Procurement when it matters, and obtain better information before actual purchases and supplier engagements occur. I envisage the platform being used when the organisation needs to prepare and understand where to buy, such as how and where to purchase from, and when the purchases are to occur, for instance, where to place the order. Our platform can be integrated with existing processes or become more embedded in the actual steps, depending on the customer’s current setup and maturity."
Change management is a considerable hurdle when adopting new tech. How do you help teams transition from legacy systems or manual processes to your platform without disrupting workflows?
"People can be difficult to change, and change management is often under-prioritised or too standardised. Additionally, change management is implemented as a parallel activity to support the adoption of a new tool or process. However, companies rarely consider the importance of having tools that can facilitate change management and user adoption. Tools should be user-friendly and offer users a seamless working experience, which many fail to provide; they tend to focus on addressing a functional or company need rather than a user need.
Our approach is not necessarily to change the world for every user from day one. However, our platform is designed to enable onboarded users to easily navigate the requirements of the Procurement department, starting from the moment they receive their first onboarding email. Change management is integral to our design but should not replace other change activities. Some users need extra encouragement, while others should be invited to feedback sessions to enhance the content within the platform further. Achieving user satisfaction is one of our goals as Procurement and SaaS providers, and technology cannot stand alone. We need to work on users’ perceptions, which stems from a combination of effective process design, content availability, and user engagement when and where necessary."
Looking ahead, where do you see procurement/P2P technology in 5 years? What trends or innovations are you excited about - or wary of?
"AI is, of course, buzzing out there, and the advancements are exciting to watch and be a part of. I envision a future where technology can provide our organisations with even greater value using the data available to us both internally and externally. Technology will help us collaborate more effectively and achieve better outcomes. However, we must also begin transitioning our employees into that future, as their jobs will gradually evolve—not necessarily change completely, but there will need to be a new way of integrating technology into everyone’s roles and how we should approach these technologies."
For procurement leaders hesitant to adopt new tools, what advice would you give? How can they justify the investment to stakeholders?
"First and foremost, how we adopt new tools and decide on which ones to choose needs to change. We must move away from the business cases that take several months to develop, discuss, and achieve alignment on. We should be prepared to implement smaller projects, create scalable platforms, gradually onboard people, and potentially target different areas of the organisation in various ways. In enterprise organisations, there can be a need to streamline processes and functional areas with one system - if it makes sense - but many organisations should focus on maturing what they have so they can make that switch in the future, if necessary.
In recent years, many smaller SaaS companies have emerged that are affordable to engage with, providing a platform to experiment and grow with. Imagine a business solution weeks or months in the making, and the resources that entail? Now, picture paying a few hundred pounds or euros to test and pilot a tool that meets much of your needs within a short time frame. This could even become the solution from which you mature, later evolving or transitioning to another tool that covers more features and possibly functions - if that’s truly what you need to do."
Finally, what’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about you or your company’s culture that reflects your values in this space?
"I believe it is primarily one thing: the openness in our dialogues and the direct nature that stems from our Danish mindset. I aimed to create a company that our customers can engage with, where they can see the people behind the technology and view us as partners. We want them to choose us not only for the tools but also for the passion that drives the company and its people."
Your military background in procurement is fascinating - how did that experience shape your perspective on collaboration and process discipline in civilian organizations? Are there lessons from the armed forces that businesses often overlook?
"Collaboration stands out as something I have brought with me into the private sector. Collaboration is highly sought after in organisations, but truly getting people to embody it and work in that manner necessitates a cultural shift. Part of this involves curiosity about what other departments are doing, the roles they play in your work, and through that, learning how you can enhance that work more effectively. This is not about controlling or directing the efforts of other departments, but rather about taking responsibility for achieving more efficiently by viewing processes holistically. Understanding your role requires knowledge of what those around you are doing."
You mentioned that unintuitive systems lead to workarounds and compliance gaps. Can you share an example of how P2Connct’s design anticipates these user behaviours? For instance, how does the platform make compliance feel like a natural part of the workflow rather than a hurdle?
"Using P2Connct, the organisation will gain deeper awareness of how to navigate which suppliers to use, which suppliers have been vetted as “preferred suppliers,” the types of contractual documents in play, and which templates should be used when engaging with suppliers. It will indicate which department or person in Procurement should be contacted for a certain category or supplier, how suppliers have been rated by other employees and departments, and the platform can even be utilised to incorporate additional agreements, such as hotel and restaurant deals, from which the organisation can benefit. Through the platform, users can be directed to the appropriate place to place an order - whether within P2Connct or a separate ordering platform - or even see a discount code for payments made with a credit card on a supplier’s website. Empowering users in this way can also foster closer ties to Procurement, and by placing more trust in the users, Procurement will be more engaged when and where it truly matters."
You said Procurement can’t be everywhere, yet they need to ensure negotiated contracts are used. How does P2Connct proactively guide employees to preferred suppliers without stifling their autonomy? Is there a “nudge theory” element in your design?
"Yes, partly a “nudge theory”. We help structure searches and bring up preferred suppliers and their ratings but don’t limit this to only preferred suppliers - approved suppliers can also be shown. This brings in an element of choice for the user in a similar way as in a supermarket. The supermarket has different products on its shelves. Still, they are placed in a certain way to “nudge” the buyer into selecting the ones in easy reach but still provide an option to go with the approved suppliers on the lower shelves or even way in the back - those with less information. Unless a company enforces a strict policy - often with more cost involved - organisational users will keep bypassing the “preferred” suppliers unless they are shown more transparently the choice they have, and through that, help their organisation with selecting and working with more “vetted” suppliers in the different categories."
ESG and supplier diversity are top of mind, but many tools treat them as checkboxes. How does P2Connct turn these priorities into actionable insights for users? For example, does the platform highlight diverse suppliers or flag ESG risks during sourcing?
"P2Connct does not display ESG or supplier diversity by default; however, it provides a method for incorporating these elements into the supplied supplier information, which the organisation can utilise to enhance its knowledge. These aspects can subsequently be integrated into the selected suppliers for any necessary sourcing steps or, more broadly, after a contract has been signed. In our roadmap, we also have further considerations on how to better embed ESG insights, potentially collaborating with other solution providers that specialise in this field."
You emphasised “user satisfaction” as a goal. How do you measure this? Are there specific KPIs (e.g., reduced training time and fewer support tickets) that prove your platform’s ease of adoption?
"User satisfaction is indeed an important part of our philosophy. The continuous cycle of training needs to be decreased, and we believe that our platform is a way to make that happen. Some direct user engagements are probably necessary, as people differ in nature and have various needs, but reducing perhaps just 50% of all training needs, enquiries, and tickets would provide more value to both the organisation and the Procurement department. But again, content is required to support these efficiencies."
When you talk about AI and data, what’s your stance on balancing automation with human judgment? Are there areas where you intentionally limit AI’s role to preserve strategic decision-making for Procurement teams?
"AI can certainly be a strong ally in shaping the future of work. However, AI can also be viewed as a supportive colleague, assisting in highlighting actions and involving human colleagues in decisions as needed. In the future, we may have more “intelligent” and “conscious” AI colleagues; however, I do not believe this will happen in the very near future. For now, we can utilise AI to enhance our intelligence and efficiency, but we should remain cautious about accepting all outcomes at face value. We need to engage our human intellect to critically assess the outputs and determine the appropriate actions to take in response."
Pilot Like a Startup, Scale Like a Unicorn
Test the platform for EUR 300/month, target one team or region, and expand only when value is proven. No more “big bang” platform disasters.
You advised starting small with SaaS pilots. How does P2Connct itself enable this “test and grow” approach? Can clients pilot specific modules (e.g., supplier onboarding, spend analytics) before committing to the full suite?
"P2Connct essentially provides customers with a set of core features to get started at a fixed, affordable monthly cost. These core features allow customers to start small - if needed - and then scale from that point onward. This could involve targeting a specific geographical location, a particular department, or a project team. If additional features are required, a customer can begin using these features for a per-user fee, making the platform highly scalable and suitable for piloting further areas of the company. In fact, P2Connct can be utilised to increase usage in line with the customer’s Procurement department and does not require many additional personnel to operate it. Customers can even incorporate our admin services, enabling us to assist with platform content management and rollout if necessary, thus avoiding the need to hire excessive staff in the short term. This can facilitate the creation of a business case for further development while maintaining control over costs - it allows for maturation in a structured way."
The Danish cultural emphasis on openness is interesting. How does this value influence how you handle client feedback? For example, do you have a transparent product roadmap or co-creation processes with customers?
"Feedback is a crucial aspect of development and enhances our ability to meet demands. We all require that. Once a customer is onboarded, we will focus on establishing the partnership. This involves being transparent about the near-future roadmap features and identifying areas where the customer can improve. This will also provide us with insights on which features to develop next and where we can enhance the services we offer."
One last question: If you could leave procurement leaders with one mindset shift to thrive in the next decade, what would it be?
"Be curious and embrace what you can do to develop your organisation to provide real value to your stakeholders and be perceived as a partner and advisor rather than merely a function that serves as a gatekeeper of policies and compliance. Be honest about where to make short-term improvements and recognise what you can and should control. What you cannot govern now, you may be able to manage later, so why not create a pathway to help cultivate greater control and guide the organisation in areas where you don’t have the power right now?"
Your emphasis on curiosity, partnership, and incremental growth resonates, especially in a field as dynamic as procurement. Let’s wrap this up with a closing statement from you: What’s one actionable step procurement leaders can take today to start aligning with the vision you’ve shared?
"Ask your stakeholders one question this week: ‘What’s one thing Procurement could do to make your job easier?’ Then act on it - even if it’s a small fix. Trust improves in this way.”
Connect with P2Connct Founder, Anders Lassen: