Secrets of World-Class AP Departments | Best Practices in AP Automation - docSTAR & Ardent Partners Interview

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SECRETS OF WORLD-CLASS AP DEPARTMENTS

BEST PRACTICES IN AP AUTOMATIONMatthew Delman

Senior Payables Researcher

Ardent Partners

Ray Emirzian

AP Solutions Evangelist

eclipse Smart AP Automation

February 19, 2015

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ARDENT PARTNERS BACKGROUND

Copyright © 2015 - Ardent Partners Ltd.

Ardent Partners Research and advisory firm specializing in AP and

supply management Focused on driving value and transformation across

the organization through strategy, process & technology

Matt Delman is Senior Payables Researchers and AP expert

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DOCSTAR BACKGROUND


docSTAR ECM and AP Automation experts for 20 years 8,000 organizations use docSTAR ECM and AP

Automation Solutions Ray Emirzian is VP of Product Management and AP

Solutions Evangelist

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2015 INVOICING BENCHMARKS

$14.21 2,308

Average Cost per Invoice Averages Invoices per FTE

12.4 days

Average Invoice Cycle Time

13.1%

Average Exception Rate


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THAT PERSISTENT PAPER PROBLEM


© Ardent Partners - 2014

Invoice Formats

70%

30%

Manual Electronic

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TOP CHALLENGES FOR AP IN 2015


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THE OPPORTUNITY FOR AP AUTOMATION


Reduce procure-to-pay process time

Effectively capture early payment discounts

Improve supplier and customer relations

Gain greater business insights

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THE TECHNOLOGY EXISTS



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AP METRICS (BEST-IN-CLASS V. ALL OTHERS)


MetricsBest-in-Class All Others

Cost per Invoice $2.42 $17.61

Invoices Processed per FTE / month 4,814 1,408

Invoice Processing Cycle Time 3.7 Days 17.1 Days

Invoice Exception Rate 8.0% 16.4%


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THE BEST-IN-CLASS ADVANTAGE: AN AP EXAMPLE

Best-in-Class Monthly Cost:

$2,420

All Others Monthly Cost:

$17,610

All Others: $17.61 per

invoice

Best-in-Class: $2.42 per invoice

Per 1,000 invoices

Best-in-Class AP groups have invoice processing costs that are 86% less

than their competitors

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BEST-IN-CLASS PROCESSING ADVANTAGE



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BEST-IN-CLASS TECHNOLOGY USAGE


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SECRETS OF THE BEST-IN-CLASS

Top

20% Performers

Best-in-Class AP Operations Secret 1 - Standardized processes and strong P2P linkage Secret 2 - Visibility to track the “metrics that matter” Secret 3 - Superior levels of automation

- Document imaging/scanning

- Automated routing and workflow

Secret 4 - Strong process capabilities- Two and three-way matching

- Straight-through invoice processing


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WHY MAKE THE CHANGE?

Automating AP simplifies invoice approval

AP teams no longer perform data entry

Teams become more strategic, instead of tactical

Significant cost-savings from operations

Able to capture more early payment discounts

• 36.7% annualized rate of return on 2/10, net 30 discounts


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WHO DOES AP AUTOMATION BENEFIT?


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TRANSFORMING AN AP OPERATION

Engage all relevant project stakeholders

Understand business & technical requirements

Determine long-term goals & objectives

Align required resources

Understand the project’s budget constraints

Find an appropriate vendor


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STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

Make the business case for AP automation

Collaborate with all affected stakeholders

Follow the lead of the Best-in-Class on processing

Examine scan-and-capture & document management as a first step toward full automation

AP metrics matter – identify and track the key financial, operational, and supplier indicators


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Q&A

Matthew Delman

Sr. Payables Researcher & Sr. Content Strategist617.209.9756

[email protected] Twitter: @mattd_ardent

www.ardentpartners.com


Ray Emirzian

Accounts Payable Solutions Evangelist518.836.2733

[email protected]

Twitter: @docstarsoftware

www.docstar.com/ap

Technology

Secrets of World-Class AP Departments | Best Practices in AP Automation - docSTAR & Ardent Partners Interview