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 v   Comparing proposals can be tough. Would switching to a new vendor really be beneficial? Are production costs overseas really cheaper, or was the lower price only possible by ordering a lesser quality? What happens when a circuit board is covered with cheap components? No – cheaper is not always a good deal. Sometimes proposals look very similar on the surface. Even the conditions could be the same, but the end result from a vendor can very greatly.
The larger problem is that all of your vendor documents from years past haven’t been systematically filed away. Without the missing pieces, it’s tough to compare apples-to-apples.

Paid Too Much, Received Too Little
You receive a shipment with a delivery slip in the warehouse and an invoice soon follows. This can mean making multiple copies. For instance, while the receiving clerk will need a copy of the delivery slip to verify what was actually received, other departments may need the slip for inventory control and stock pulling for manufacturing purposes, and you need a copy to verify the invoice for payment. This takes time, can be costly and environmentally, is not effective.
As far as quality of your received shipment, at first everything may look in order but what happens when there is a problem with a part from a vendor? Purchasing may have the documents regarding the actual purchase but who sent the vendor the part specs for production? Are all these document easily located in one place for a quick resolution? Without having detailed documentation on hand to prove your order was placed correctly, your company may bear the additional costs.

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 v   Evaluating Proposals
It makes no sense to compare apples-to-oranges when purchasing. If the proposals from various vendors aren’t organized in a way that lets you do side-by-side analysis, it could spell trouble. Your company could end up spending much more than it needs too.

Powerful Analysis Tool
In DocuWare’s central document pool, all of your proposals are safely tucked away for decades. You can check on back proposals requested years ago and compare them with a current batch. Documents can be retrieved in seconds by clicking on index criteria like proposal title and vendor name. You are now empowered to analyze pricing and performance. Market trends become transparent so it becomes easier to make solid choices and money saving decisions.

Verifying Invoices
A lot of time can pass between receiving an invoice and actually paying it. The process in between can be quite cumbersome – copies of invoices made by Purchasing often have to go through multiple personnel. Sometimes it’s just one detail that is missing from a contract or delivery paper that holds things up. Long waiting and processing times are often the norm. It’s tough to see where the authorization process stands. In the meantime, early payment discounts are often be missed.

Invoice Approval With a Stamp
The whole invoice approval process is different when you use DocuWare. First, there’s no need to make copies. Records such as invoices and delivery slips are stored fully automatically along with index criteria such as customer number, name, address, or delivery form number. The system organizes everything and places it all in one central document pool. Every authorized employee can immediately tap into the information, either via the ERP system or with DocuWare. Even fulltext searches are possible. Processing times are reduced significantly since personnel, regardless of their location, have access to the necessary details to make invoice authorization a snap. Thanks to electronic stamps, it’s always possible to see exactly where an invoice is in the process. Clearing up questions happens much faster now so that you can benefit from early payment discounts.

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 v   Once these three documents are there, DocuWare automatically forwards them to the AP department for input into their accounting system. Next, the set of documents is stamped, automatically sending them for payment review. Lastly, the bill is reconciled. With the integration of their accounting system with DocuWare, any employee working in accounting can call up the corresponding information stored in DocuWare.

A1 now handles critical business information with a newfound ease. POs are never misplaced or lost, improving vendor relations and resulting in less workplace stress and improved employees satisfaction. Thanks to DocuWare, A1 has seen a positive impact on the bottom line

Tasks:

• Automate their AP processes

• Keep better track of POs and invoices

Benefits:

• Vital information is never misplaced or lost

• Improved vendor relations and employee productivity

• Bottom line positively impacted