Vendor Invoice Management (VIM) can do much more than just process incoming invoices. That was the core message of an inspiring roundtable where we engaged in conversation with SAP’s transformation expert and our clients. “There’s so much power in measuring data.”
In the first half of the 20th century, Utrecht-based entrepreneur Jan Jongerius was one of the first to bring the T-Ford to the Netherlands. The pioneer built his own car assembly plant, a stone's throw from the current Jaarbeurs event center. The property also contained a beautiful Art Deco villa, designed by Jan himself. Last September 19th, it formed a fitting backdrop for the tcf. roundtable on innovations in invoice and document processing.
Transformation mindset
Esmee Arends, Head of Business Transformation Services at SAP, kicked off the session with sobering statistics:
- 90% of organizations are undergoing a digital transformation;
- Only 16% succeed.
All too often, Esmee sees organizations take a ‘lift and shift’ approach, where existing business processes are simply transferred to cloud solutions. A missed opportunity! Arends urged companies not to lose sight of the goals behind digital transformation, such as growth and innovation. Ultimately, she explained, it’s not so much the technology that needs to change, but the people within the organization. “Develop a transformation mindset!”
Vendor Invoice Management: what’s new?
After Esmee’s inspiring presentation, it was time to talk technology: tcf. Director Arno Jellema highlighted the new, intelligent features in OpenText’s Vendor Invoice Management (VIM). Its new Beyond Finance extension not only allows you to automate the entire invoice process from order to payment, but other processes related to external vendors as well. He showcased several examples, from AI support in drafting standard emails to a dashboard providing data-driven analytics. “There’s so much power in measuring data,” Arno explained.
What does a VIM implementation look like in practice? Consultant Ernst de Bruin guided the audience through the case of Boels. The company, which rents out building equipment, tools, and materials, recently switched from Basware to VIM. One of their main goals in switching was to increase the number of automatic matches. By involving Boels' finance department in the transformation from the start, the implementation went smoothly, with 100% buy-in. Ernst noted: “I had zero user questions from AP after go-live."
Dry humor
The event wrapped up with an interactive session on the challenges that can arise during implementations. tcf. director Michiel Glazener moderated the discussion with his characteristic dry wit.
The roundtable attendees all agreed that clear communication and aligning expectations are crucial for successful implementation. Perhaps we will all just need to accept that building software is much more complex than assembling a new car. At which point Michiel shrugged: “People used to say IBM products worked best on a slide projector... in other words, during the marketing presentation.”,
