Who’s Bought What - September
Aggreko Selects Basware to Power Automation for 85,000 Invoices PA
Aggreko plc, the global leader in temporary power and temperature control solutions, has selected Basware for its invoice automation. The deal will see the Basware Invoice Automation solution deployed across Aggreko’s Northern Europe and Continental Europe divisions. With 133 locations in over 100 countries, Aggreko deals with thousands of different customers and suppliers every year, with invoices incorporating multiple languages and currencies. Between the two divisions Aggreko processes around 85,000 supplier invoices per annum.
Process clarity and simplicity were the main drivers behind Aggreko’s adoption of Basware, along with proven integration with the firm’s global ERP system, Movex. The Basware solution will help Aggreko gain visibility and control over its invoice handling process as well as gain cost savings thanks to greater process efficiency. The firm’s European Financial Director Dan Ibbetson has high hopes for the implementation. “It was vitally important for us that we were able to achieve some real results from this implementation before we went ahead with it,” says Ibbetson. “As we outlined the project, and discussed the deliverables, it quickly became clear that Basware would be able to put in place an efficient system that gives us visibility of all of our financial transactions across the business, which is fundamentally important to us.”
Aggreko is also set to make good use of the Basware KPI Reporting Tool to help achieve the necessary visibility of results. Processing such a large number of purchase invoices will require in-depth analysis to ensure efficiency in the purchase to pay process. The Basware tool will examine Aggreko’s key data to identify potential bottlenecks in the process, help achieve key strategic goals and create a cycle of continuous improvement.
The project will be rolled out in the summer, and is expected to go live in November 2009.
British Energy Joins the OB10 e-Invoicing Network
British Energy, part of EDF Energy, the UK’s largest electricity generator, has announced it will be rolling out the e-invoicing solution OB10 to 2000 of its suppliers.
British Energy already has good terms with its suppliers, but wished to improve the efficiency and cycle time of the process through the adoption of OB10.
OB10 was selected due to the fact that the solution British Energy needed had to be flexible and have the potential, in the long term, to accommodate all of their suppliers, not just the high volume suppliers. Point-to-point EDI was considered as a solution but ruled out as it was considered too costly for mid-volume suppliers.
Robert Gilhooly from British Energy said, “We were looking to make our accounts payable department more efficient and improve invoice processing accuracy and efficiency. We were aware of OB10’s reputation and track record of supplier enrolment and feel that we will be able to achieve our objective of having a more efficient team. This in turn will allow us to bring additional services into our Shared Services group, without having to grow the size of the operation in the short term.”
Gilhooly added: “We are already on very good terms with our suppliers, however e-invoicing will allow us to pay our suppliers across the country more efficiently and therefore further strengthen our ties with them. Joining the OB10 network offers us a flexible solution, which supports our suppliers, enabling suppliers of any size to benefit from e-invoicing. OB10 has a significant presence among our current supplier base and this was also a key factor in their selection. Using e-invoicing will allow our Shared Service function as a whole to manage more work and add more value across the organisation.”
Jamie Gunn, CEO of OB10, said:
“We’re thrilled that another blue-chip company such as British Energy has joined the OB10 e-invoicing network.”
UPMC Implement GHX OnDemand AP(SM) to Automate PO Invoices From 10,000 Vendors
An increasing number of North American healthcare providers are using the OnDemand AP(SM) solution by GHX (Global Healthcare Exchange, LLC) to automate and streamline their accounts payable processes, reducing invoice processing costs and cycle time, and improving internal controls and cash flow management.
UPMC, an integrated global health enterprise headquartered in Pittsburgh, North America employing 50,000 staff, is among the first healthcare providers to use OnDemand AP. With the solution, UPMC now electronically receives all of its PO invoices, which can exceed 2,000 in a single day, from more than 10,000 vendors.
Before using OnDemand AP, UPMC was receiving approximately 60 percent of its invoices electronically. While UPMC is one of the most automated healthcare systems in the country, the healthcare system estimates it would have taken years to convert the remaining 40 percent.
"Our vendor pool is huge, and we still had hundreds of suppliers who submitted paper invoices," said Michael DeLuca, director of supply chain systems and consulting services for UPMC. "Our strategy in these difficult economic times is to focus on strategic sourcing activities that drive value and savings to the organisation. To do that, we are automating processes, including invoicing, as much as possible. We saw OnDemand AP as an opportunity to move from 60 to 100 percent electronic invoicing in a relatively short amount of time."
With increased productivity, UPMC has been able to shift resources to more strategic-based supply chain activities.
OnDemand AP is a SaaS solution that addresses one of the biggest challenges in the healthcare supply chain today - a heavy reliance on labour intensive paper invoices. Hospitals report that they can reduce costs associated with processing an invoice from an average of $14.78 to $2.51 by converting invoices from manual to electronic (according to Paystream Advisors). A recent study conducted by Paystream Advisors found that more than 70 percent of hospitals still receive more than 80 percent of their invoices in paper form.
RSPCA to Implement a Proactis’ Spend Control Solution
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) will be rolling out the Proactis Spend Control solution, it was announced, in order to streamline and automate purchase to pay, employee expenses, spend visibility, and to link to Document Scanning and Punchout functionality.
The RSPCA is the oldest and best-known animal welfare charity in the world, and is in the top 10 in the United Kingdom in terms of its income. Head of Procurement at the RSPCA, Vickie Malyon explained “Our brief was to find a web-based procurement system for use by The Society to place orders on suppliers with flexible workflow to deal with our authorisation processes and integrate with our SAGE 500 accounts system. The system will be deployed across a wide range of users so ease of use is essential, it also needs to scale for the future both in size and functionality. We would eventually like to deploy additional modules such as supplier management, contract management and PO flipping. The fact that Proactis is used in many Not for Profit organisations gave us great comfort”.
The new system will start rolling out across the organisation towards the end of March 2010. The RSPCA expects the system to yield a number of benefits including risk management; by introducing efficient and effective ordering and invoice processing procedures, greater visibility and control of the society’s procurement activity and ultimately, savings. The balance of power will be shifted away from suppliers back into the hands of The Society. Automation of paper based systems will also eliminate time wasted by staff whose primary focus is the welfare of animals.
AHDB to Save Over £50,000 Yearly With Version One's Data Capture Integrated With Agresso
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), a recently established non-departmental public body serving the agriculture and horticulture sectors in the United Kingdom, is expecting cost savings in excess of £50,000 per annum as a result of implementing intelligent data capture software, DbCapture, from Version One.
AHDB will also speed-up the processing of 60,000 purchase invoices and reduce manual data entry by up to 80% using Version One's technology. DbCapture is expected to go live late summer 2009.
Version One's software integrates seamlessly with Agresso and the implementation of DbCapture, which coincides with AHDB's upgrade to Agresso 5.5, will enable AHDB to automatically capture and verify data from scanned purchase invoices using advanced OCR technology. Any data discrepancies will be automatically highlighted for the attention of the user. The captured data will then be uploaded to Agresso 5.5, significantly reducing manual data entry, cutting data entry errors and improving purchase invoice processing efficiency.
Wales Audit Office to Meet 10 Day Payment Target Using COA Solutions FMS
The Wales Audit Office (WAO), which is responsible for auditing the public services in Wales, including the Welsh Assembly Government, is implementing a financial management system (FMS) with integrated cash flow forecasting, budgeting, planning and electronic procurement functionality from COA Solutions.
This integrated system, which will also comprise electronic document imaging and data capture software will enable the WAO to closely monitor cash flow and more easily comply with the UK Government’s 10 day supplier payment target. It will also eliminate any risk of unauthorised spending and improve financial reporting. The planned go-live is April 2010.
John Baker, Head of Finance at Wales Audit Office, explains, “Our current system is cumbersome and very restrictive, particularly when we need to interrogate financial information in greater detail for reporting purposes. Following the recommendations of an independent consultant and a robust competitive tender process, we selected COA Solutions’ finance system due to its advanced reporting capabilities, superior cash flow functionality and ability to integrate into our existing project management system.”
The WAO’s existing cash flow forecasting and budgeting processes are very manually intensive and involve the time-consuming production and consolidation of spreadsheets. Using the FMS’ integrated cash flow forecasting, the WAO will be instantly alerted to potential cash excesses or shortfalls so that remedial action can be taken. In addition, the WAO will be able to easily create and update budgets and forecasts and report on these in real-time using the integrated budgeting and forecasting functionality, Collaborative Planning.
Using the integrated data capture, document imaging and electronic procurement functionality, inbound invoices will be scanned, verified and then uploaded to the finance system. Invoices requiring authorisation will be automatically routed to the appropriate staff for approval, eliminating the time-consuming and costly circulation of 6,000 paper invoices every year. With the electronic storage of all purchase invoices, WAO will also be able to reduce costs in relation to its expensive off-site document storage facility.
Baker says, “With the new COA Solutions system, we will eliminate manually-intensive purchase to pay processes, significantly improving efficiency whilst helping us to meet the Government’s 10 day supplier payment criteria. We will also free-up onsite document storage space, cut the costs of printing, posting and off-site archiving whilst supporting our green agenda."
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Debuts ARC PayABill Electronic Invoicing Tool
Starwood has announced that it is to be part of a collaborative effort with technology provider ARC to help create a product that will be beneficial, useful and efficient for the hospitality industry.
With the introduction of ARC PayABill— a new web-based electronic invoicing and settlement tool— ARC has taken a significant stride forward for a travel industry seeking to eliminate the cost and waste associated with paper invoice processing.
The solution is intended to sharply reduce customer expenses by allowing one trading partner to connect to multiple trading partners within a single paperless system. ARC PayABill aims to address the costly pain points associated with paper billing while providing a way for direct bill partners to communicate, resolve disputes, and even connect to new partners – all online.
In order to create a product that accurately addresses the specific demands of the industry, ARC’s technology developers and product designers worked directly with hotel and wholesaler customers representing both billers and payers.
Amethyst Group Closes Accounts 4 Days Sooner with Version One Integrated into SunSystems
Amethyst Group, a leading provider of warehousing and distribution services, has centralised and streamlined its purchase to pay processes with the implementation of Version One’s document imaging and authorisation software. Amethyst has also reduced the time taken to close its financial accounts by 4 days and has significantly cut invoice approval times using Version One’s technology tightly integrated into its SunSystems v5.3 accounting system. Version One’s software went live in June 2009.
David Nolan, Financial Director at Amethyst Group, says, “We sought a document management and imaging solution to enable the more efficient handling of financial documents and to streamline our invoice authorisation processes. The chosen solution also needed to seamlessly integrate into SunSystems.”
Using Version One’s software, Amethyst has eliminated time-consuming, paper-based P2P processes and is now electronically storing and retrieving purchase invoices directly from its SunSystems package or via Version One’s web browser. Purchase invoice authorisation is now centralised and done electronically meaning that instead of purchase invoices arriving into the finance department, being manually logged and then posted to approvers based at six locations around the country, the invoice authorisation process is fully automated. This has dramatically cut invoice approval times.
Nolan says, “We now have instant desktop access to our financial documents which has reduced the time taken to close our accounts by four days. As a result of the improved efficiencies we’re now experiencing, we have also saved the equivalent of half a person’s time in our accounts department and as we no longer need to employ an expensive third party archiving facility to scan our documents, we are saving thousands of pounds each year.”
"As well as eliminating lost invoices, Version One’s technology has streamlined our purchase to pay cycle, significantly speeding-up the processing of 15,000 invoices each year whilst helping to avoid late payment penalties. "
