Accounts payable automation: Real-world success stories

Siemens

Use case: Intelligent capture for invoice processing

Challenges they faced:

As the volume of its invoices increased, Siemens invested in SAP and data capture solutions. But the German technology giant experienced limited efficiency gains, which led to a fragmented tech landscape that included almost 10 different optical character recognition (OCR) solutions for invoice processing.

The company was “looking for one harmonized process for incoming invoices for all vendors,” Head of Strategy for Financial Shared Services Nikolas Barth said.

Automation in action

Siemens found what it was searching for by implementing Hyland Brainware, an intelligent capture solution that uses human-like capabilities to classify, extract and validate data.

Siemens needed to consolidate multiple OCR solutions and wanted one solution to integrate with its many instances of SAP. Within nine weeks, Brainware was operational within the company’s SAP systems and provided hands-free invoice classification and data extraction.

Key results

• Manual intervention isn’t necessary: Brainware’s ability to quickly learn and accurately capture new invoices, which arrive in 20-plus languages, has helped Siemens increase process efficiency. The large tech company has leveraged the solution’s built-in intelligence to add and design processing rules that enable the software to extract more than 50 data fields — 90% of which don’t require manual intervention — from each invoice.


• Integration increases automation: Siemens has boosted process automation across shared services. During the early stages, the average automation increase was 30%, and in some instances the jump was as high as 80%. A seamless integration between Hyland and SAP ensures that data extraction is automated, as well as the validation and delivery of data to necessary systems.


• Increased visibility: The invoice processing team has gained efficiency and insights into its processes. Dashboards and reports help the group understand workflows and where specific invoices are in the process.


• Global expansion: After the initial success, Siemens deployed similar solutions using Brainware across its global offices. The expansion, Barth said, was “driven by our internal customers, who request it after a good experience” with Siemens’ headquarters in Germany.

> Learn more | Intelligent capture is smart solution for Siemens

Canal Barge

Use case: Automated invoice approvals

Challenges they faced:

Canal Barge had an overload of paper. The AP department generated between 300,000 to 500,000 sheets a year, and the marine transportation company needed to make a change.

AP staff put a code on each invoice for tracking purposes and made a copy for their records. The approval process could take days and offered no visibility.

Automation in action

Canal Barge deployed Hyland OnBase to streamline financial operations. The transformed invoice approval process is no longer manual and has eliminated paper copies.

“The real estate savings alone would probably pay for this project,” Director of Information Systems and Knowledge Management Carl Fravel said.

OnBase automatically captures invoice data as it arrives, and an integration with Infor allows vendor lookups and validations to quickly take place. OnBase automatically notifies reviewers when they have an invoice to approve.

Key results

• Business growth with no additional resources: The transportation company didn’t have to make the costly decision to renovate or relocate to a larger building. The company also grew its business — billing jumped 20% — without needing additional AP staff to maintain operations.


• Seeing the whole picture: Now, management can go into OnBase to observe what’s going on in AP. “They can see if an invoice has been paid or not, and they can get some statistics about the turnaround time and the average pay time for invoices,” Fravel said.


• Improved billing accuracy: The transportation services provider generates many invoices for payment and bills for receivables. Prior to OnBase, the process of ensuring that customers received the correct information attached to each bill was laborious and paper-based. Now, most of the billing process is managed in OnBase, which has enhanced billing accuracy and simplified workflows.


• Self-service access: The AP and accounts receivable teams appreciate being able to give auditors access to invoices in OnBase. This allows them to “simply go look for themselves,” Fravel said.


• Enhanced security: Hosting OnBase in the Hyland Cloud has been more beneficial than an on-premises deployment. “It’s more secure from downtime and loss of data or theft than it is in our own system,” Fravel said.

> Learn more | Canal Barge transforms financial operations

Axxess International

Use case: Enterprise-wide process automation

Challenges they faced:

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of Axxess International’s employees worked from home. The company had a small help desk, and integration was a significant challenge for the global business.

Axxess International sought a cloud-first solution that improved processes and maintained continuity.

Automation in action

The freight forwarder and customs broker turned to OnBase. The first step was an AP solution for freight and brokerage transactions.

That created a “wow factor,” which led to initiatives in Axxess International’s U.S. and Canadian customs departments, as well as its “traffic team” in Canada. The latter group receives freight and commercial documents — such as invoices, packing lists, certificates of original and bills of lading — that arrive by ship and plane.

“We used to manage this process with Outlook. Managing a workflow with Outlook: Ouch,” Vice President of Administration and IT Stéphane Rouleau said.

Key results

• Rave reviews: After the OnBase-led processes for commercial invoices were up and running, employees “made a point of showing what they did to other departments, and everybody wanted their turn and wanted to get in on this,” Rouleau said.


• Improved customer service: Customer experience means everything to Axxess International. Since the OnBase implementation, service improvements have been evident in customer surveys. The responses have indicated that the company is “doing something right,” said Rouleau, who added that suppliers and clients say the company’s processes are running efficiently and smoothly.


• Ease of use: OnBase is simple to introduce and explain to a new user, which allows Axxess International to quickly improve its workflows. “This software adapts to your process. Not the other way around,” Rouleau said.

> Learn more | Freight forwarder sees rapid process advances

Stack the savings with AP automation

Is your AP department slowed by high volumes of paper and manual work that affect the bottom line? Hyland can help.

With packaged workflows for back-office processes, low-code tools and seamless enterprise integrations, we empower organizations with AI-driven process automation that fuels innovation.

Ready to transform your AP department from a cost center to a profit center? Let’s chat.

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