The fact that procurement and accounts payment live in separate worlds most of the time I completely underwrite. And that they should cooperate is also a no-brainer. What makes it difficult for the two departments to collaborate is that both focus areas overlap but not entirely. Both still have a part of their realm completely separated from the others which is very specific and niche. Also the procurement guys do not get to see and manage all spend within a company. Some decision closely related to specific business units will be directly managed and procured by the business managers and directors. Due to this we see many environments where the procurement department will use specialized tools with a limited scope (organizational) and accounts payable using tools that are primarily aimed at financial operational excellence and supporting the approval processes for purchases, contracts and invoices within the organizations. An integrated approach could be possible, but will be expensive and lean towards the bigger ERP vendors. And we all know how such implementation projects usually turn-out.