Financial services firm Sanlam has positioned itself at the forefront of payment processes with the implementation of an electronic payments system.
Jannie van den Berg, Production Manager Business Support Services of Sanlam, says the implementation of the e2 Payments system is a logical evolutionary step from the e2 Financials system introduced by the company last year to facilitate the electronic management of departmental budgets.
Bateleur Financial Solutions is the sole local authorised distributor of CedAr Software, the UK`s largest provider of financial, e-Procurement and performance management solutions to medium and large enterprises.
Sanlam launched e2 Payments as a pilot project during November 2003. "The pilot phase helped us to plan and implement a more streamlined process from the beginning of this year," van den Berg says. "During the pilot phase users tested the proposed new electronic process designed by Sanlam Life IT."
Because a web interface is available with e2 Financials, users need nothing more than a browser on their desktop to operate their business transactions via a corporate intranet or the Internet. e2 Payments builds on this system and is a formalised and user-friendly electronic payments process which will result in improved transparency, cost savings, a lower risk of fraud and an increased availability of management information about administrative payments.
Jill Rose, senior financial manager: Sanlam Life IT and business owner of the pilot phase, says: "The proposed new process not only introduces an easier and more manageable electronic payments process for financial staff dealing with vendor payments, but also an online approval system for managers. Online approvals will save a lot of time for managers and provide valuable management information such as status of payments, duplicate invoices and history of payments."
One of the intended benefits of the new electronic payments process is cost savings, which will be realised from early payments, saving man-hours and taking advantage of supplier discounts.
"It is not only the way in which we will be able to have more control over the payments of vendors and have a consolidated view of our vendors that will benefit the image of Sanlam Life - it is also the way in which our vendors will perceive us. Once the new payments process is implemented, Sanlam Life will be on the forefront of payment processes and will be seen as a truly professional company that thinks ahead," Rose says.
With e2 Financials and e2 Payments, Sanlam manages its vast operation. Each month, 28.1 million entries are received from various sub-systems, of which 8.5 million are posted to the general ledger and 2 million go through the reconciliation module. Sanlam has more than 4,000 users on the system and 3,755 active cost centres.
"We initially chose this software for its ability to handle tremendous volumes and provide greater scalability than typical client/server environments," van den Berg says. "It also meets our vision of conducting e-business with customers and between autonomous businesses within the group."
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