Johannesburg, 29 Jun 2015
SPI, the African distributor for utility software products and services to the Open Systems segment of the IT industry and the Southern African reseller for Esker, a leader in document process automation solutions, today announced a new supplier self-service portal to complement its Accounts Payable automation solution. The new tool improves the way organisations interact and collaborate with their suppliers. Esker's portal provides suppliers with real-time status information on their invoices, strengthens supplier relations and increases the buyer's productivity.
Esker's portal provides both suppliers and buyers with a single view of data which enables the two parties to improve their ability to share information, enhance supply chain performance and facilitate dispute resolution. The use of electronic exchanges also leads to lower transaction costs.
The portal reduces supplier inquiries by providing them with the status information on all their invoices, (e.g. received, approved and paid), without ever having to pick up the phone. Suppliers have visibility into when they will be paid and can therefore better manage their working capital treasury.
"Our new supplier portal reinforces our commitment to building a network of business collaboration, enabling meaningful connections between organisations, suppliers and customers," commented Jean-Michel B'erard, CEO at Esker. "Our goal is to connect companies with each other so they can do business more efficiently. Our new portal, combined with our solution dashboards, delivers the perfect platform to enable effective and intelligent interactions."
In addition to looking up the status of any of their invoices, suppliers can also submit invoices directly and electronically on the portal. This allows buyers to reduce unnecessary paper handling, improve the timeliness of payments and lower their Days Payable Outstanding. By accelerating the payment cycle, buyers can benefit from early payments discounts. Suppliers get paid faster and are able to reduce their Days Sales Outstanding. Based on Esker research, AP staff performing their tasks using manual methods can spend as much as 30% of their time responding to supplier calls, impacting both costs and productivity. On average, it takes an AP clerk five minutes to manage one invoice status inquiry. With fewer supplier calls to manage, an AP department is able to focus on more value-added tasks, increase its efficiency and reduce costs.
Designed to optimise the buyer-supplier interaction, both parties can conveniently exchange information and chat directly via the portal, removing all possible communication barriers. All conversations are kept together and always available for reference when needed. With improved relations, suppliers feel more informed and confident on what is happening with their invoices and when they will get paid, and buyers can negotiate better payment discounts.
The portal features an intuitive, easy-to-use interface, which helps maximise supplier adoption rates. Suppliers can also take advantage of a wide range of beneficial e-invoicing features, such as automated invoice submission via the portal.
As an integral part of Esker's Accounts Payable automation solution, the new portal enables Esker customers to offer their suppliers a valuable, free-of-charge service that's available 24/7 all-year-round.
For further information, please contact Chris Anderson at tel. +27 11 234 1560; fax +27 11 234 1387; e-mail chris@spi.co.za.
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