SharePoint vs OpenText: The Ultimate Purchase Order Automation Platform in Lincoln
Considering the current competitive landscape, companies of all sizes must find ways to increase efficiency and productivity, while cutting expenses wherever necessary.
A great place to begin is with business process automation (BPA). Through BPA, you could simplify monotonous and taxing processes, reduce the load on your team members, and improve your workflows by increasing efficiency and amplifying reliability.
There are a number of processes and business units that could make use of BPA. Among of the most frequent adopters are Accounts Payable teams who can utilize BPA to automate payroll, invoicing, and purchase order processing.
In this post, we’ll focus on purchase order automation - how it functions, why automation is an excellent option for this area, and assess two of our favorite PO process automation software: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.
To start, let us go over what purchase order automation is and how it functions.
What is Purchase Order Automation?
Automated purchase order platforms employ business software equipped with robotic process automation (RPA) technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) to automate the purchase order procedure.
Through automation, purchase requests can be created in a few seconds using pre-formatted templates, and transmitting capability can deliver authorizations straight to the supply chain dealer after the approval workflow is finished.
This removes the need for physical intervention, paper filing processes, and makes the operation faster and more efficient.
The Purchase Order Process
While the purchase order process may look slightly different from company to company, the following provides a good example of a typical, hand-operated purchase order system.
Step 1: The first step is creating a purchase order.
Step 2: Then another staff member will assess and approve or reject the purchase order.
Step 3: After that, the purchase order must be sent to the vendor.
Step 4: Once finished, the organization will then receive its product or service.
Step 5: Then the company will receive the vendor invoice.
Step 6: The invoice will need to be reviewed and authorized, and payment is released to the vendor.
Step 7: Then the final step of the purchasing procedure is to archive or file the related records to provide an audit trail.
This might not seem like a lot of steps, but for this workflow to operate normally, all parties from your AP staff, to sales representatives, merchants, and managers, must all deliver correct, prompt responses. Several firms can testify that this is easier said than done.
There are numerous benefits to automating these steps, which we will explore in the next chapter.
The Benefits of an Automated Purchase Order System
There are many advantages to utilizing purchase order automation tools for your company. These include:
Reduced Expenses
Time Saved from By-Hand Tasks
Real-Time Insight Into Activities
A Faster, More Streamlined Purchasing Process
Decreased Physical Error
Greater Use of Human Resources
Now that we have covered what purchase order automation is, the elements of the procedure that can be automated, and the advantages of purchase order tools, let us now talk about two of our preferred automation solutions, OpenText and Microsoft SharePoint.
SharePoint vs OpenText
SharePoint Overview
SharePoint is an enterprise content management platform (ECM) that, at its core, is a tool for handling, collaborating on, and distributing content.
Having said that, with the inclusion of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can quickly adapt SharePoint’s features to include automation to several of your AP processes.
Pros
Fantastic user experience and interface
Minimal learning curve for new users
Metadata search aid searchability
Cons
No local information capture or imaging capability
Struggles at following compliance standards in some sectors
SharePoint Online is not made to meet Enterprise ECM requirements
OpenText Overview
OpenText is similarly an ECM platform but offers advanced add-ons that empower companies to automate processes, augment organizational functions, and reduce the risk related to governance and intellectual property.
Pros
A better alternative for compliance-heavy organizations
Powerful document management, classification, filtering, and access restrictions
OpenText Documentum adds case and inventory management capabilities to its feature set.
Cons
Complicated UX/UI
Usually demands expert configuration to guarantee that it fulfills organizational needs
Can be expensive for corporate capabilities and add-ons
SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Diagram
How Wave Can Aid You in Implementing Purchase Order Automation in Lincoln
The reality is hand-operated processes in your accounting framework just slow your business down, cause logjams and process issues, and ultimately hurt your progress and flexibility.
Extended payment cycles can also contribute to greater costs associated with purchase order management and invoice processing, reduce your insight and control, and can add strain to your supplier relationships.
At Wave, we can assist you in streamlining your accounts payable processes completely, including procurement, data entry, purchase orders, invoicing, payments, approval process, and even file storage tools.
We work with Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Netsuite, Oracle, as well as ERP and ECM solutions like the ones we’ve mentioned in this piece and also Oracle, Xerox, MFiles, and much more.
We can aid you in implementing your accounts payable automation software on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid framework contingent on your organizational rules, budget, and compliance requirements.
To find out more, connect with us right now for a free consultation.