Posted by Steve Wilcox on Wed, Aug 12, 2009 @ 12:47 PM
What is the best technology for receiving, capturing, and entering invoices into your ERP system?
...Imaging?
...OCR?
...E-Invoicing?
...Supplier Portals?
The answer may surprise you.
Here's a clue. The best way to capture invoices depends greatly on the "Invoice Distribution Curve" shown here:
Let me explain this graph.
At a typical organization, at one end of the spectrum, a few high volume suppliers generate a very large number of invoices. What's the best technology for capturing invoices from these large suppliers?
At the other end of the spectrum, we have a whole bunch of tiny volume suppliers generating a few invoices each. What's the best technology for capturing invoices from these small suppliers? (Hint: It's probably different than what is needed for the large suppliers)
And then there is the "MASSIVE MIDDLE." No, I am not talking about my waist line. The massive middle of suppliers generate the bulk of the invoices. What is the best technology for capturing invoices from these medium-size suppliers? Again, it's probably different that what is needed for the large and small suppliers.
The Hackett Group's white paper,
Automating the Invoice Process: Optimizing the Approach and Building the Business Case outlines what to consider when choosing an AP Automation technology and how to decide the best approach for your organization.
-Rakesh Shukla
@rakesh170