Solving the paper jigsaw: how to manage your key AP documents effortlessly across multiple countries

WE KEEP THE WORLD WORKING BY HELPINGTHE RIGHT PEOPLE FIND THE RIGHT JOB

AP Tech Summit 2012Jurgen Van Eetvelde

07 09 2011 AP Tech Summit 2012

Content

1. Who is USG People ?

2. Accounts Payable history at USG People, our “Baseline”

3. Our “Challenges”

4. The “Solutions” we chose

5. How far did we get ? The “Results”

6. Critical Succes Factors

7. What’s next ?

8. Q & A


1. Who is USG People ?USG People is a specialized provider of employment services in Europe, focusing on the market segments general and specialist temporary employment, professional secondment and projects, HR services and customer care. We provide this range of services through our independent operating companies. Our companies are active in ten European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Switzerland. USG People shares are listed on the stock exchange NYSE Euronext Amsterdam.

Each day we employ +/- 80.000 people through a network of +/- 7.000 co-workers in 1.200 offices in 10 countries.

This makes us the 4e largest player on the European market.

In Belgium we have +/- 25 legal entities, all supported by a single Shared Service Center.


1. Who is USG People in Belgium ?

Shared Service Center

figures :

We offer centralized services for 25 Belgian sister-legal entities (our “internal customers”), providing financial, legal, operational support.

We employe 160 people at the SSC, working in 15 different departments Key

Our mission is to provide highest quality to our clients at lowest cost, key words : “Innovation, Automation, Expertise, Business Partnership, Cost Efficiency”


2. Accounts Payable history at USG People BelgiumOur “Baseline”

2007 :

- 50.000 supplier invoices

- 5.000 internal expense accounts

- 25 customers (sister opco’s)

- 8 headcounts

All treated in a manual way, causing :

- Transport

- Waiting

- Moving

- Overprocessing

- Defects

External Suppliers- 4000 diff suppl

invoices payments

paymentsCustomers Employees - 25 legal entities SSC BE - 1200 HC

communication exp acc

reportings data transfer

External parties- tax administration- banks- other governement authorities


3. Our “Challenges”

- Maximize efficiency (automation)

- Maximize accuracy and speed (avoid provisions) : 15 mio €/year

- Lower operational costs : 14 €/doc

- Avoid loss of documents

- Minimize discussion with our customers : 8 % errors

- Comply to corporate delegation rules (authorisation payments)

- Avoid taxrisks

- Avoid financial risks

- Optimize cash planning : + 10 % deviation plan/actual


4. The “Solution” we choseAssess & Redefine our processes

1. Daily treatment of invoices (scanning)

2. Daily treatment of PO’s

3. OCR recognition (Kofax) : +/- 90 % recognition

4. Validation (+ correction), match PO

5. Interface to ARCO (Document Management System)

6. Release to General Ledger (accounting software Finacc)

7. Start authorisation follow matrix (aligned with corp governance), electronische flow (1-->3)

8. 2/week automated payment authorised invoices

PO Flow

Invoice Flow

POs

Invoices

DMS : ARCO

DMS : ARCOOCR Authorisation

General Ledger


4. The “Solution” we choseThe processes

Purchase Order Start Workflow PO authorisation Yes

No

Correct authoriser? Yes

No

Back to requestor PO

YesNoCorrect PO?

Comment/suggest new authoriser

Accept good services

No

Automated matching with

invoice

Manual matching

Receipt & scanning of invoices (per

opco)

OCR (Optical Character

Recognition)

Validation invoice header information

Is invoice header correct?

Yes

No

Is there a Purchase Order?

Yes

No

Manual adjust Return supplier

Match with PO? Yes

No

Contact purchase/supplier

Workflow procedure check data for General

Ledger

Entry analytical information

Start workflow Invoice

authorisation

Automated if match PO

Manual if no match PO

Payment of all authorized invoices

07 09 2011 AP Tech Summit 201207 09 2011 AP Tech Summit 2012

4. The “Solution” we chose : Arco PO-module

• Flexible procurement system in Arco

• Allows rapid and simple digital PO initiation / approval and acceptation goods/services

• In case of full matching : no further approval of the invoice needed

• Provision at end of the month becomes easy


4. The “Solution” we chose: Arco Invoice Management

• Cockpit gives clear overview of work-in-progress

• Interactive messages from ERP for booking

• Roles in accounting : see work per company, manage new suppliers, …

• SSC can do own functional administration without IT



4. The “Solution” we chose: Arco Invoice Management

• After OCR invoices can be completed

• Approver can be automaticly suggested based on company, supplier, etc

• Booking information can be suggested

• Chart of authority easy to configure: roles - matrix


4. The “Solution” we chose: Arco Invoice Management• Flexible approval methods (roles – matrix)

• User specific actions can be configured

• Block reasons / link credit note to invoice / …

• Email notification users: new work and overdue

• Complete audit trail


5. How far did we get ?The “Results”

- Less capacity : - 25 % FTE accounts payable operational cost 12 €/doc

- Less provisions : - 30 %

- Less errors at input (OCR 90 %), more consistency

- Less traffic, waiting

- Electronic authorisation (at any time, no office hours)

- Hardly loss of documents

- Electronic archiving (at any time, no office hours)

- Increased masterdata quality


6. Critical Success Factors1. Clear understanding / view “to be” process :

- enabling us to define a clear scope, proper project management (Prince2)

structure with defined roles and responsibilities

2. Buy-in off all stakeholders

- set up of meetings with MT of each individual customer (sister opco)

indicating the disavantages of “as is” situation (cost to serve argument)

vs “to be” situation

- extensive testing period with customers to familiarize with application/process

3. Technical specs (ARCO, OCR)

- choice of a trusted partner (proven trackrecord), max nr connectors, …

4. Communication

- pro-active communication of status project to customers

- introduction movies / mails


7. What’s next

Implementation of expense account module, based upon same logic as PO module, scheduled for mid 2012

Employee fills in expense account template (new web based ARCO module)

Module contains logic controls(amount totals, corporate rules,…)

Module suggests general ledger account, cost centre, …)

Once filled in and approved by system --> DMS workflow for authorisation

Once authorised --> general ledger registration & payment


8. Q & A

Education

Solving the paper jigsaw: how to manage your key AP documents effortlessly across multiple countries