Company Description:
Midwest hospital system with 90+ clinics
Problem:
The hospital system was having numerous problems in accounts payable with the processing of Check Requests and Non Purchase Order invoices. They needed a solution that would address many of the problems and also eliminate tedious and error-prone manual data entry activities. The following problems were being encountered:
- Missing or lost invoices and check requests
- Lost discounts, potential late fees and shut off notices due to the amount time it was taking to receive and process the invoices and check requests
- Chart of Accounts were missing or incomplete
- Too much paper was coming in by various methods (Fax, email and interoffice mail)
- The need to image each invoice and check request was placing a burden on payables staff
- Management did not have visibility to commitments until invoice was posted
Belmero Approach:
Belmero was tasked with developing a solution that addressed the above pain points and one that would not require a large capital expenditure. It was extremely important that the solution be easy to maintain and be simple to use. To ensure that all the pain points were addressed, the process needed to be analyzed from the moment the invoices were received at the various sites to the point where the invoice was entered into PeopleSoft Payables. To address the capital expenditure, maintenance and simplicity issue the PeopleSoft Workflow solution was utilized. This did not require the purchase of another software solution nor all of the items associated with the new software such as licenses, contracts, training, integration and security. Additionally, a good portion of the users were already familiar with the ePro Workflow tool. In order to keep it simple, a custom bolt on page was created. The page had minimal information but pertinent information and would initiate the delivered Workflow engine once the user submitted the request. The next task was to procure the right information quickly and easily from the users who were submitting the check request or Non-Po invoice request. Payables requested that vendors provide an electronic image of the invoice or that the requesters scan the image and provide prior to submitting for approval. This resolved several pain points. Management now has the ability to determine commitments, scanning was no longer being performed by the AP staff, all but reduced the use of paper coming to AP and the AP staff could work those that needed to be addressed sooner to take advantage of the discounts.
Results:
The need to create a solution whereby users could easily create and submit requests was attained by using tools that they were already familiar with. More importantly, the solution is simple and does not require much in the way of training. Individuals who submit requests can now see the progress of their request and no longer question whether Payables received it or where it was in the process. Management can now determine what is in the works. The Payables staff can now prioritize requests and process those that needed to be paid in order to take advantage of the discounts. Vendors who provide scanned images of the invoices are getting paid quicker with fewer errors and the payable staff no longer spends hours scanning images for each voucher. There were huge improvements realized in accounts payable productivity; increased by almost 20% while accuracy increased by almost 80%. This is a great example of how Belmero can take an inefficient accounts payable process, delivered tools/functionality, with a little ingenuity from all parties to create a process that is easily managed without confusing or extensive training. The Payables team now spends their time on other important matters. [signature]
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