We have completed a project for Automated extraction and processing of supplier invoices in SAP for a major international customer in the automotive segment in Croatia!

Thanks to the SAP Vendor Invoice Management (VIM) solution from OpenText, the accounting department was relieved of much of the unproductive administration associated with processing supplier invoices (transcription into SAP, manual data checking, email approval). Now the accountants can fully devote themselves to the skilled work of invoicing. The solution has helped the customer to significantly shorten the entire invoice processing process in SAP, with the same team of accountants now able to process significantly more documents and with minimal errors. In addition, the customer can process invoices remotely online, which is a must in today’s covid era.

VIM brings the following benefits to the customer:

  • It considerably reduces the cost of entire process of supplier invoices processing in SAP – by up to 70 %.
  • It significantly shortens the time required for invoices processing from a few days to a few hours.
  • It minimizes errors caused by the human factor throughout the process.
  • The solution fully leverages the existing SAP infrastructure with no additional costs and with no need for integration.

Invoices from all information sources (e-mails, paper invoices, etc.) are now automatically converted to system-readable text at the customer’s site and their content is “machine” extracted/validated thanks to the application of advanced machine learning tools and support for advanced artificial intelligence elements in the Vendor Invoice Management solution. Subsequently, a set of advanced checks are automated/semi-automated directly in SAP. This minimizes potential errors of incorrect posting and/or overpayment of invoices before approval in SAP Workflow and final processing.

The aim of the project with the customer was in particular:

  • Significantly reduce the cost of the supplier invoice process through digitization and automation.
  • Reduce the invoice processing process from a few days to a few hours.
  • Minimize human error.
  • Reduce the administrative burden on the accounting department.
  • Ensure that the entire process is under system control.
  • To completely convert the process to an online environment.

The project was very successful, delivered according to the customer’s specifications and ideas and in accordance with the national accounting standards of the country (Croatia). The solution is fully operational, followed by deployment in six other countries in Europe.

The specific feature of this project was the time in which it was carried out. From the first business contact to the deployment of the project, the teams did not physically meet and the project was successfully completed even in such a difficult covid time.

The project was jointly delivered by IXTENT’s implementation teams, the business section in Croatia, and the IT infrastructure in Germany.