TECHNOLOGY
For many organisations , the Cloud is still all about storage and backup . For organisations looking beyond this , the Cloud can be transformational , enabling businesses to compete effectively in a marketplace dominated by large corporations .
Why start with accounts payable ? Traditionally , manufacturers receive a large number of supplier invoices . Processing invoices manually takes a significant amount of time and resources , both human and financial . Furthermore , consistently achieving total accuracy during manual processes can be difficult , as there is always a chance of error .
This difficulty is compounded in the modern manufacturing environment , where invoices arrive in different formats from various locations . Invoices now arrive on paper , from online systems , in emails and as PDFs . Complicated manual processes can push turnaround time beyond 14 days , risking late settlement fees and missing the opportunity to benefit from early payment discounts and improved supplier relationships .
Although larger businesses statistically tend to be worse at paying invoices on time , they have the available cash and finance ability to absorb late settlement fees . This is not the case for the many organisations that have less access to reliable and consistent finance and less cash on hand to absorb charges . Effective AP management combats this problem , avoiding damaged relationships with suppliers that may refuse to make future agreements if they find a company unreliable .
The success of a manufacturing business depends on the effectiveness of production lines . Automating administrative processes frees up resources that can be utilised in other value added services , like keeping production local and reducing the need to outsource . Where production is already distributed between several global offices , invoices can be uploaded locally , processed automatically and managed at the business headquarters .
Laying the foundations of automation with AP allows an organisation to start with the core process , before extending to the entire
10 December 2014