Recently, I attended a Celtics game with my family after a loooong time. I hadn't been to a Celtics game since my college days in the mid 80s during Larry Bird's heydays. What a difference a few decades make! I was really struck by how much things have changed.
Back then, an imminent Celtics victory was heralded by huge plumes of cigar smoke. The man doing the pillowed puffing was, of course, the late Red Auerbach. Today, as the Celtics start to wrap up a game, the new virtual victory cigar is a Jumbotron vintage video from American Bandstand which features a bearded dancer dude wearing a tight "Gino" t-shirt and bell-bottoms with a very big flare. Watching him "shake, shake, shake his booty" is an absolute hoot as you can see in this YouTube Video:
The total entertainment product has also changed ... quite dramatically. In the "old days," it was only about basketball without any other distractions. For example, back when Russell, Havliceck and Bird were winning championships, there were absolutely no mascots or cheerleaders. Mascots and cheerleaders at a Celtics game? Unthinkable!
My, how things have changed!
Today, LUCKY the leprechaun is the Celtics mischievous mascot and, I must admit, he is quite entertaining -- my kids especially love him.
As for cheerleaders, the Celtics were one of the last teams to have dancers and they are all knockouts (but none of them are as attractive as my dear wife, in case she reads this). And, yes, they can really dance (but not one is as mesmerizing as my dear wife, in case she reads this).
Now that I have secured my spousal spot in the dog house let me get to my point about Accounts Payable departments. If the stodgy Celtics of old can adapt and change, why can't AP? Going to a Celtics game is a totally different experience from the old Boston Garden days but unlike the Celtics, many AP departments have NOT changed one iota since the last Celtics championship 22 years ago in 1986.
In 1986, most AP departments were entirely paper-based.
In 2008, recent reports by The Hackett Group and Aberdeen show that most AP departments are still entirely paper-based...only one third of all enterprises have a significant level of automation in place! We see this all the time when talking to prospects. One of my colleagues, Larry Concannon, recently gave a presentation at the RECAP AP show. When he asked the audience what they were currently doing to process invoices, most just looked embarrassed. Why? More than a few sheepishly admitted they were still mired in manual, paper processes and doing things more or less the same way as 20 years ago.
I know I am biased but plenty of benchmark and survey data shows that high levels of automation can produce significant benefits including reduced costs, strengthened controls and improved service levels.
Just like the entertainment experience of a Celtics game has changed over the past 20 years, the "AP experience" can be dramatically changed for the better through modern automation building blocks such as e-Invoicing, Imaging & OCR, Workflow, Supplier Portals, etc. Something for you to consider as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, LUCKY, the dancers, and Gino "Disco Fever" lead the Celtics to (hopefully) their 17th championship this year.
-Rakesh
P.S. If you want a great perspective on why paper still dominates most AP depts, then please join us for our next webcast with Jon Casher as he explores the two critical barriers to paper-free AP processing:
- Technology Adoption: adoption hurdles and how to overcome them
- Process Transformation: dysfunctional AP processes and how to transform them
Here's the registration link.