Sydney, Australia — March 9, 2016 — Esker, a worldwide leader in document process automation solutions and pioneer in cloud computing, today announced it is working with ECOGAS, the second largest natural gas distributor in Argentina, to automate its accounts payable (AP) processes into the company’s SAP® software system.
Servicing roughly 400 active vendors with 40,000 annual invoices, ECOGAS turned to Esker’s cloud- based Accounts Payable automation solution to improve its processes by reducing time spent on manual tasks and increasing control and visibility over the entire workflow.
Esker’s cloud-based solution allows its vendors to upload invoices within a portal where invoice data isautomatically captured and checked against Argentina’s Government Tax System -revolutionising communication within ECOGAS’ AP department.
A user of SAP for the past 15 years, ECOGAS selected the Esker’s cloud-based solution for several reasons. “The solution we were searching for needed to be robust,” stated Gonzalo Cohen, Finance Leader at ECOGAS. “At the foundation, it needed to integrate with our existing SAP system, leverage OCR technology, allow for vendor collaboration and have a significant set of features specifically tailored to the Argentina market. Luckily, we found Esker, who was able to give us all that and more.”
Enhanced Collaboration
To ECOGAS, one of the most important facets of the solution was the ability to collaborate with vendors. Esker’s online portal provides a self-service solution to vendors which allows the company to:
- Save time and money previously spent responding to invoice status calls
- Reduce repetitive tasks associated with managing receiving and dispatching invoices
- Increase process visibility with real-time tracking of all invoices
The portal feature also benefits its vendors, who are able to utilize it for:
- Immediate access to invoice status
- Self-service access to payment information
- Instant communication to quickly clear up discrepancies
- Quicker payment and improved cash flow
Heightened Control & Visibility
Esker’s customisable dashboards provide ECOGAS with the visibility and control it needs to better manage its AP department. Now, it can measure the department’s efficiency through metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as: invoices pending approval, budget control and forecasts, and Days Payable Outstanding (DPO).
About ECOGAS
For over 20 years ECOGAS has been distributing natural gas to homes and Businesses in Argentina. A privately owned company regulated by the government, ECOGAS provides services to over 1,250,000 customers within 254 markets through over 18,000 miles of infrastructure networks and pipelines.