The Document Exchange with a Difference

Successful eProcurement implementations can generate significant cost savings at the front end of the process – requisitioning – but generate significant additional costs at the back end of the process – order and invoice processing. As requisitioners start to enjoy the benefits of easy to use and on-demand requisitioning, their spending habits change. No longer do they keep a To Order list, but instead requisition goods as and when needed.

The result? A significant increase in transaction volumes with decreasing transaction values. Suppliers are hit because their costs are increasing, but the total value of business may not change. They are processing more orders and issuing more invoices, but the value of each one of those documents is smaller than it once was. Your Accounts Payable department are processing more and more invoices but the total value of spend is not changing. The costs you have saved from an improved requisitioning process are being replaced by increasing costs at the back end as your Accounts Payable function becomes overwhelmed.

Elcom’s Document Exchange addresses these issues by seamlessly integrating buyer and supplier systems and permitting the rapid flow of electronic purchasing documents. Purchase Orders are sent from PECOS, the Elcom P2P system, directly into Supplier Sales Order Processing Systems and Invoices are received electronically from Suppliers and posted directly into PECOS for matching. Matched invoices can then be queued for payment without human intervention, thereby relieving Accounts Payable to deal with the queries and spend more time on managing supplier relationships rather than processing paper.

SME Suppliers who may not have complex sales order processing systems can participate by using the web-based interface to the Document Exchange. Through a set of intuitive web pages, suppliers can elect to receive purchase orders, review the contents, charge a Credit or Procurement Card automatically without the need for an EPOS Terminal, and generate a VAT-compliant invoice that can be posted back into PECOS. Once received back in PECOS, the invoice can be processed automatically without further human intervention.

The Elcom Document Exchange can be further integrated into the Supply Chain Financing options from Elcom to provide seamless risk and cash management for both buyers and suppliers.