Accounts Payable Automation for Manufacturing
It’s no secret how competitive the manufacturing industry is. Ever vigilant for ways to cut costs and increase efficiency, manufacturers have gotten the process of producing quality goods down to a science. Assembly lines, automated processes, robotics, and other methods have made manufacturing in the 21st century truly remarkable to watch.
Still, manufacturers face global competition that can undercut the profits of even the sleekest operation. Many solutions have been debated: expanded markets, more cost-effective labor, government-backed initiatives. Yet one thing not often debated in open forums has nothing to do with production processes and the cost of labor, and that’s internal administrative functions.
Any business slowed down by functional bloat will add significant cost to production. Functional bloat refers to labor that regularly tends to repetitive and wasteful tasks, making it reactive rather than proactive. For example, when an accounts payable department is constantly dealing with errors in data entry, its personnel needs increase (someone has to fix the error and deal with the irate supplier). Another example is a payment that gets held up because the paper invoice is lost in a pile on someone’s desk somewhere. Substantial labor hours are inevitably wasted chasing after that document.
Accounts payable automation for manufacturing is the answer. Not EDI, which is only a partial fix, but real, comprehensive E-invoicing. Think of a well-oiled assembly line, whereby every function is done correctly and as quickly as possible. In today’s world that assembly line involves humans and machines working in tandem to get the job done.
Now, imagine a fully electronic system of invoice processing. Every step, from delivery of the invoice to payment by the AP department, is viewable, accessible, and managed electronically. All data is assigned to an electronic file where it is stored and can later be compiled in any way desired to create a report or meet the requirements of an audit. The vast majority of the work is done by the automated system, cutting the need for much of the human intervention, yet it is all accessible in real time from anywhere in the world. Like the finest assembly plants, that’s an efficient system.
Enterprise-level accounts payable automation for manufacturing from iPayables is such a system- one that will reduce labor, errors, and turnaround time dramatically. Suppliers love it because it includes them in the process, and at no additional cost. Accounts payable loves it because stress levels go down, and other tasks can be attended to. Other departments love it because it reduces workload and distraction.
But competitiveness is what it’s all about, and the iPayables solution makes any manufacturer more competitive by reducing the cost of processing invoices dramatically. And with lightning-speed turnaround time, accounts payable can actually save money by taking advantage of dynamic discounting.