Manufacturer Needed to Upgrade Its Accounts Payable System from Paper to Digital

Digital Mailroom helped the firm simplify its systems and lower its costs

Challenge

A vehicle manufacturer was processing its suppliers’ invoices and payments by hand. The system was expensive in labor and materials, and unsatisfying to the company’s suppliers.

The manufacturer needed to change to a paperless, self-service accounts payable system and guide the suppliers in using it. The key hurdle was convincing vendors to adopt the system.

Solution

Exela shifted the manufacturer’s invoice submission process from paper to a Digital Mailroom web portal. The new system captured the suppliers’ invoices electronically and transmitted them to the manufacturer’s accounting system.

The Exela team and the manufacturer’s accounting team worked together to set up the portal. Exela handled the transition from paper to digital by supporting general ledger coding, invoice matching, account reconciliation, and other related processes.

Benefits

• The portal provided 95% invoice automation from ingestion to authorization.
• The system was so easy to use that suppliers adopted it quickly.
• Costs fell because the new, streamlined operations required a smaller staff than processing paper.
• The manufacturer got more control over accounts payable because the system’s enhanced reporting and tracking provided a 360⁰ view of the invoice pipeline.