Want More Impressive Results from Your AP Department? Embrace Digital Transformation

 

 

Earlier this week, the entire country was caught up in a spectacle not seen in the contiguous United States in nearly four decades. The moon passed between the earth and sun to create an awe-inspiring natural phenomenon known as a total solar eclipse.

There were festivals, viewing parties and even weddings held to celebrate the rare celestial occurrence. Small towns in the path of totality were flooded by outsiders dying to get the full breathtaking experience of this seemingly once-in-a-lifetime event.

It was hard to ignore. And the end result was inspiring; undeniable.

If only the average accounts payable (AP) department could produce such impressive, indubitable results for all to see and appreciate …

Raising your expectations of AP

Let’s be clear: The results of a solar eclipse and the results of an AP solution aren’t in the same galaxy. The point is, many of today’s AP departments are selling themselves short by not expecting more out of the performance of their vendor invoicing process.

A lot of businesses think having an ERP system in place is enough to create a best-in-class AP operation. However, ERP systems don’t address many of the manual pains that inhibit AP efficiency and effective cash management, including: keying in invoice data into the ERP, tracking down approvers around the office for signatures, manually filing invoices and more. Furthermore, all of these error-prone, non-value added tasks are being performed by well-paid and highly educated AP staff members.

The effects are fairly predictable: The business ends up paying more for less, collaboration between other purchase-to-pay (P2P) processes suffer, staff turnover rates increase, strategic supplier relationships become damaged, and opportunities for new business dry up.

Embracing digital transformation

Sticking to the status quo cannot produce the kind of results today’s businesses need out of their AP department. The c-suite wants to be shown in clear and certain terms how AP is contributing to an improved bottom line — not told.

If you’re looking for a show-me solution to dramatically improve your AP performance, businesses no longer have to settle for a budget-breaking alternative to what they already have in place. This 12-page eBook explores how four different companies embraced digital transformation in their AP department, and highlights the truly amazing results of accounts payable automation.