Overcoming the Challenges of Manual Processes and Driving Efficiencies through ecommerce. PIDX Conference: Calgary, Canada October 2014

Transcription

1 Overcoming the Challenges of Manual Processes and Driving Efficiencies through ecommerce PIDX Conference: Calgary, Canada October 2014

2 Agenda Challenges with Manual Processes Decision to Automate Reaping the Benefits of ecommerce Visibility & Communication Control & Compliance Processing Efficiencies Key Learnings Looking to the Future 2

3 Company Overview Number of Transactions Processed 220,000 invoices annually within the North American operations Almost three-quarters (70%) of invoices are associated with purchase orders Until two years ago, Talisman used almost no POs Supplier Base Concentration Talisman actively works with 3,500 to 4,000 suppliers, however spend is fairly concentrated Less than a third (30%) of suppliers submit more than four invoices a year 3

4 Challenges with Manual Processes Contract Compliance Limited ability to determine whether Talisman was being charged the rates that were negotiated in the contracts with suppliers. Scanning Effort All North American invoices were being scanned in a Calgary facility; using inter office mail to send invoices to Calgary from other locations. Visibility into Liabilities Given the time taken for inter office mail and scanning, there were delays with when outstanding liabilities were visible across the organization. 4

5 Decision to Automate 2012 Talisman started evaluating automation options Was looking for a solution that would deliver: Ability to validate invoice pricing against negotiated contracts Quality and consistency in the invoice process Reduction in scanning effort Increased visibility into outstanding liabilities Evaluated solutions based on: Solution functionality and ease of use Strong supplier network Pricing model, including supplier fees 2013 Went live with OpenInvoice 5

6 Leveraging ecommerce Talisman has automated the following processes to drive efficiencies ELECTRONIC INVOICING AUTOMATED WORKFLOW PRICE CHECKING SUPPLIER SELF SERVICE Receive invoices electronically Validation of invoice information Route invoices to appropriate approvers Approval of invoices Validation of invoice pricing Enabling compliance with contracts PO receipt and invoice submission Real time access to transaction status

7 Reaping the Benefits 1 Visibility & Communication 2 Control & Compliance 3 Processing Efficiencies 7 7

8 Visibility & Communication

9 Visibility into Purchase Orders Prior to Automation Talisman would call suppliers to provide purchase order information. And when it came to submitting an invoice, suppliers would have to call Talisman to determine the PO information that needed to be associated with the invoice. PURCHASE ORDER With Supplier Self Service Suppliers now have access to their purchase order information at any time, reducing the need to contact Talisman staff to determine what purchase order number needs to be submitted on the relevant invoice. 9

10 Invoice Response Messages Prior to Automation Suppliers had to call Talisman to understand where the invoice was in the approval process, and whether or not it was received in the first place. This process got lengthy especially when it came to disputed invoices. With Invoice Response Messaging. Suppliers get instant feedback on the status of their invoices visa messages sent through the platform at different stages when invoices are received, approved or rejected keeping suppliers in the loop at all times. 10

11 Flipping Purchase Orders into Invoices Prior to Automation Invoices were submitted to Talisman in paper format and then they were scanned into the ERP system for review and approval. PURCHASE ORDER With the Ability to Flip POs Suppliers can receive purchase orders within OpenInvoice, review the POos electronically and flip them into invoices, reducing the extent of manual effort required for invoice submission. 11

12 Improved Collaboration with Suppliers Talisman Benefits Supplier Benefits Talisman has been able to Reduce the number of calls into the AP department inquiring about POs and invoices Improve quality of invoice information, resulting in lesser work for the AP department Decrease the number of errors and exceptions, as a result of allowing suppliers to flip POs into invoices Suppliers now are able to Receive instant feedback on the status of their invoices, especially around disputes and rejects Use the PO flip functionality to generate invoices, reducing the amount of effort involved in creating invoices 12

13 Control & Compliance

14 Price Validation Prices on invoices are now automatically compared against negotiated contracts stored within Talisman s ERP system and any exceptions are flagged. This means that financial approvers are not spending hours going over invoices for rates; they are focusing on the business. Benefits of Price Checking Enabling price validation on all line items on the invoice, irrespective of dollar value Automated compliance of pricing on the invoice with negotiated contract pricing Reduction in errors inherent to the manual process of price checking on paper invoices 14

15 What this means for Talisman.

16 Improved Visibility Prior to automation, Talisman negotiated contracts with suppliers, but visibility into contracts was limited. With ADP the contracting process has improved and visibility increased because of the quality of data that is coming from the ADP system. CONTRACT Benefits of Improved Visibility Prior to automation, Talisman only had visibility into invoice level spend whereas they now have line item spend visibility Better quality of invoice information with the checks and balances available in place to validate invoices Better access to data results in improved spend analysis and decision making 16

17 Processing Efficiencies

18 Processing Efficiencies Back Up Data with Invoices Suppliers now have the ability to provide back up data with their invoices Talisman receives field tickets with the relevant invoices to verify invoice information Application can be confirmed to check that there is back up for each invoice 18

19 Processing Efficiencies Reduction in Scanning Effort With the ability for suppliers to submit electronic invoices, the number of invoices received in paper format has reduced Need fewer resources to scan the remaining paper invoices into the application Talisman expects to further increase electronic invoicing going forward 19

20 Processing Efficiencies Increased Visibility over Spend Increased visibility into spend through electronic invoicing Reduction in the delay associated with mailing invoices to Calgary for scanning Better access to data at the lineitem level for spend analysis 20

21 Learnings & Looking Ahead

22 Key Learnings & Take Aways 1 It is important to partner with a marketplace that can help you solve the communication challenges between buyers and suppliers. Direct integration with suppliers is not always the best approach to take. 2 There can be a lot of variance in the invoicing process, especially if you are dealing with invoices across a number of different geographies (eg: US vs. Canada/East vs. West); be prepared to handle this. 3 It takes time and effort to move all the relevant stakeholders in the same direction in order to achieve the benefits expected from automating any business process. 22

23 Looking to the Future Increase Early Payment Discount Capture Started negotiating early payment discounts with some suppliers Better position to capture discounts because of shorter approval cycles Simplification of PO and Invoice Processes PO process can be very complex; looking to simplify some of the processes Looking to simplify the code verifier role for accounts payable 23

24 Questions!