Inflation-proof supply chain with smart, proactive spend managemente-Procurement Insights ● December 7, 2022
According to a survey conducted this year by Conflavoro PMI (Italian SMEs Association), more than 80 percent of Italian companies have already implemented measures to combat inflation, especially regarding rising energy and raw material prices: in addition to increasing costs for the end consumer by between 15 percent and 60 percent, with noticeable effects on purchasing power, 65 percent of companies have already taken steps to reduce their costs, while 20 percent have had to resort to staff cuts.
When inflation comes to threaten a company’s financial health, and access to credit lines is reduced, it is crucial to have a clear and comprehensive view of spending to better plan for available cash and make informed decisions based on objective data.
No two companies are the same, but all of them can proactively address rising costs by optimizing the management of their liability cycle, where digitization and automation play a major role. So, let’s take a look at how best to manage supplier-related accounting, and what the benefits are for companies.
e-Invoices, processing becomes "touchless" with Invoice Management
With Invoice Management, the Online Procurement suite enables the management of purchasing processes from scheduling to the final stage, i.e., invoice receipt, reconciliation with the order, and payment management. With intelligent, digital workflows and automation, all passive accounting becomes touchless, resulting in immediate cost and error reductions.
With Online Procurement, the entire invoice lifecycle is transparent, broken down into stages that are always visible and tracked by the system, during which all figures involved will have immediate access to up-to-date documentation and data.
Invoice import – Importing invoices in .xml format makes use of automatic input checks.
Invoice and order reconciliation – The association between invoice, purchase order, and contract dramatically reduces the time spent on verifications and increases the accuracy of the process.
Simple payment status management – Authorized users can oversee payment status in a few clicks, generating notifications or reminders for other stakeholders.
Payment approval – Customized approval processes speed up payment approval and avoid bottlenecks.
Invoice archiving – the invoice always remains digitally stored in the system, associated with the supplier’s master data, stored securely and easily traceable.
To support the steps just described, the software integrates a central dashboard with an overview of invoices and credit notes, showing at a glance their status, amount, due date, and associated supplier, which is essential for monitoring and reporting.
Additionally, Online Procurement integrates with popular ERP and billing management software to channel information already present in the company to the procurement function.
Electronic invoicing in Italy: from the regulatory obligation to a tangible benefit for SMEs, and beyond
Research by Italian cloud provider Aruba, conducted in 2021 among a sample of 300 SMEs, found that electronic invoicing, the obligation of which has been in effect among individuals since Jan. 1, 2019, is no longer perceived as a hindrance, but has gained numerous endorsements.
SMEs surveyed showed that they appreciate digital invoice management and consider it a real lever of digitization, collaboration, and compliance, as:
- Allows invoices to be shared with customers and suppliers
- Facilitates legally compliant storage and removes paper storage
- Simplifies tax compliance
- Reduces the risk of manual and transmission errors
- It is environmentally sustainable
Why choose Online Procurement to manage the passive business cycle
The integration of supplier passive invoice management and spend management, with simple and intuitive tools for data analysis and monitoring, makes Online Procurement the ideal solution for having total control over corporate cash flow. Digitizing all procure-to-pay processes relieves the purchasing department of low-impact manual tasks and increases the strategic value of procurement within the relevant business.
By automating the payable cycle with Invoice Management, procurement managers can optimize important metrics, such as reducing average payment times and the number of disputes, the level of compliance and the level of risk related to suppliers and contracts, keeping tabs on corporate liquidity, and use data for short- and long-term predictive analytics.
