A prominent Indian FMCG company with a global footprint spanning 26+ countries.

BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS

The client traditionally relied on manual methods to gather invoices from vendors and subsequently process them for payment, following their accounting procedures within SAP.

However, with the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, manual invoice collection became impractical. Even when scanned invoices were received via email, the time-consuming task of categorizing and routing them to the appropriate departments for approval and SAP integration posed significant challenges.

Management recognized that this situation could potentially lead to untracked invoices, which could be detrimental to timely year-end financial closing.

Our task was to swiftly provide a solution to address these challenges within a two-week timeframe.

IDENTIFIED PROCESS CHALLENGES

The project faced several hurdles

1. Limited timeline for design, development, and implementation.

2. Lack of standardized rules for handling different invoice types, necessitating end-users to determine the appropriate approver and reviewer.

3. A need to allow the Finance team to send back invoices for additional approvals if necessary.

4. Requirement for features to hold, reject, and reroute rejected invoices, adding complexity.

5. A user-friendly interface to manage and process 100 invoices daily.

6. The challenge of remotely training users during lockdown.

APPROACH AND SOLUTION DESIGN

Within just two days, we gained a comprehensive understanding of the entire process. We proposed a holistic solution, complete with an Interactive Proof of Concept, and validated the requirements.

Subsequently, we developed and implemented the proposed solution, conducting thorough testing for stress, security, and user experience. Remarkably, we managed to deploy the entire solution in a cloud environment within a mere two weeks.

Our solution significantly improved processing efficiency by seamlessly routing invoices through various customized workflows while capturing essential data to facilitate reconciliation with the SAP system.

We implemented vital checks and balances, such as alerts for possible duplicate invoices, mandatory data capture, and detailed audit logs, instilling confidence in the business’s use of the invoicing system.

Our design team crafted a user-friendly interface that accommodated users of varying levels, ensuring straightforward navigation even when involving an average of 5-6 users per invoice.

To ensure comprehensive user training during the lockdown, we produced instructional videos explaining each screen component for various role types.

BUSINESS BENEFIT AND RESULT

Today, all invoices are processed directly through our tool, resulting in a remarkable 30% to 50% reduction in invoice processing time over three months. This achievement not only empowered our client to continue utilizing the application but also prompted requests for substantial enhancements, including SAP integration, effectively transforming it into a comprehensive one-stop solution for vendor invoicing.