ČD Telematika a.s. is a stable company providing a wide range of products and services in the areas of telecommunications, information technologies, and telematics. The joint-stock company ČD-Telematika offers a complete portfolio of Internet, data, and voice services with high reliability and guaranteed quality. ČD-Telematika has its clients in various segments of the market, ranging from large corporations to public administration.
Situation
ČD-Telematika implemented the MM SAP R/3 logistics module with its own means and resources. For the next step, it decided to secure the financial and logistical liquidation of supplier invoices. The requirements were met by the customized solution of the company IXTENT s.r.o., which used the functionality of the Livelink Enterprise Archive Server (Open Text) archive server. Thus the implementation of the required solution was executed in close cooperation with ČD-Telematika.
Solution
The solution is executed on the concept of electronic document circulation in the SAP R/3 environment. The principle of the electronic approval of supplier invoices consists of the fact that for each received invoice an automatically generated circulation document, a so called “electronic sleeve”, is created. This electronic circulation document contains the data from the scanned invoice and replaces the circulation of its paper form up until its financial liquidation, i.e., payment. The entire process is phased among individual work sites.
Already at the time of reception – at the level of the mail room – the incoming invoices are digitalized using the Livelink EnterpriseScan technology and a document scanner. Livelink EnterpriseScan is a high-performance software tool and enables not only the document scanning itself, but a number of additional operations as well (e.g., bar code recognition, VRS, scanning of multi-page documents, management of the scanning work site directly from the application, batch scanning from a tray including the separation of individual documents according to the designated separators, etc.)
The incoming invoices are archived in a digitalized form in the environment of the SAP R/3 system on the Livelink Enterprise Archive Server(LEAS) archive repository. LEAS has completely integrated parts related to the archiving of documents and data: scanning, high capacity storage, universality of use also outside of SAP, and wide use with the SAP system itself for archiving: archiving of outgoing documents and print configurations, database archiving. The deployment of LEAS gives the client possibilities for the further evolution of the solution.
After the scanning, archiving is the second step in the process of the processing of an invoice in an electronic form with the use of the SAP R/3 system workflow. The invoice is assigned a barcode, based on which it will be identified throughout its entire lifecycle.
The image of the original invoice is formally checked by an employee in the mail-room, and the invoice is either allowed or rejected for further processing.
The next step is the preliminary inputting of the invoice in the MM logistical module. This step includes the entry of the supplier or a reference to a purchase order in SAP R/3.
In case of the inputting of a reference to a purchase order in SAP, the workflow automatically sends the invoice for the verification of the information to the submitter of the order – purchase agent, who authorizes the invoice. In doing so the data regarding the confirmation of the invoice is registered in the SAP system as an appendix to the invoice and becomes visible for other users who have access to this invoice. The purchase agent also has the possibility of the additional investigation of data – in the case of ČD-Telematika by the interconnection of the investigation form with Lotus Notes. The additional information is classified according to its applicability to the invoice. If the data is complete and correct from the perspective of the purchase agent, the work flow moves to the booking of the invoice.
The next step is the booking or cancellation of the preliminarily entered invoice in SAP. A parametrically designated person – accountant – once again checks the correctness and completeness of the information. If everything is all right, the preliminary invoice is booked, respectively cancelled.
The approver concurrently has the possibility of viewing the history of the workflow, choosing priorities and determining his / her substitutability. It is possible to view the archived documents again directly in the SAP R/3 system environment.
The electronic document circulation in the SAP R/3 environment enables an effective process of the liquidation of received invoices, which thus becomes a smooth, controllable, and fully integrated process even for non-SAP approvers. This solution corresponds to the demands for processes in a modern company and fully complies with the legislative requirements in the area of finance.
