Tuesday May 8th, 11AM PDT

ICG Consulting & EMC Captiva invites you to attend this 1 hour free webinar focused on:

The Role of Document Capture in Vendors Portals

What we’ll cover:

Transform Inbound Paper Invoices into Electronic Document

Provide On-line Payment Inquiry to Your vendors 24×7

Electronic Invoice Submission and PO Flip

Vendor On-boarding & Administration

Dynamic Discounting & Accelerated Payments

What you’ll gain:

You will come away from this informative and interactive webinar with the tools, techniques and strategies that will help you: drive down costs, negotiate better terms/contracts with your vendors, establish a vendor self-service environment, and eliminate the expenses associated with paper handling, data entry, and document storage.

REGISTER EARLY CLICK HERE

Or call Dana Waterhouse at 603-570-4331 for more details

“When it came to implementing the Vendor Portal, ICG Consulting was the natural selection….. ICG’s business process expertise coupled with their automation technology made choosing them to implement a Vendor Portal solution an easy decision for us.”

Mike Noble, Sr. VP of Financial Shared Services, U.S. Foodservice

To learn more about ICG’s Vendor/Supplier Portal Solutions click here

To learn more about EMC’s Captiva Capture Solutions click here

Jim O’Rourke, Director of Business Development and Jason Douglas, Director of Technical Operations for ICG Consulting will be facilitating two education sessions at the Institute of Financial Operations (IFO) 2012 Fusion Conference at the Gaylord Opryland in Nashville, TN the week of May 14th.  On Monday morning May 14th at 11:15am ICG will facilitate a session on Vendor Portal titles ” Vendor Portals – Choosing the Right One, Because One Size does Not Fit All”.  This session will focus on the the myriad of functionality available through Vendor Portals and discuss how each may or may not apply to different industries and business processes.  ICG has hosted sessions on this topic at the past several Fusion Conferences to packed rooms and received great feedback from the attendees.

On Thursday, May 17th, at 9:15am ICG will facilitate another educational session titled “Vendor On-Boarding – Portal Based Vendor Self-Service Model” . This will be the first time ICG has presented this session which will explore how Accounts Payable and Procurement operations can benefit from using portal based solutions to facilitate self-service in the vendor on-boarding and ongoing administration functions.    This session will walk the attendees through the various options that can be deployed to shift the burden of data and document collection required to setup and maintain relationships with vendors from the buying organization to the vendor.

About IFO and the Fusion Conference

The Institute of Financial Operations is a non-profit organization that promotes education and certifications in the areas of Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Procure-to-Pay, and Info Management and Data Capture.   The annual Fusion Conference brings together managers, practitioners, and subject matter experts from virtually all industries and organizations to share knowledge and learn about advances in technology and business practices.

Before I worked here at ICG, I worked a variety of technical–related jobs, including being a phone support tech for a well-known computer manufacturer in the mid to late 90’s. This means I was the guy you got on the other end of the phone when your mouse froze, or your internal modem (remember them) wouldn’t connect, and so on.

Let me tell you something about that kind of tech support: You start wondering about the people you share the planet with. Because, quite frankly, some of the problems people called with just boggled one’s mind. Here are a few that I recall:

Caller: My computer won’t boot.
Me: What happens when you turn it on?
Caller: Some white writing and stuff.
Me: What version of Windows are you running?
Caller: Windows? No, no windows in here. The computer is in the basement. Would sunlight help?

Yes, that really happened. Here’s another:

Caller: I installed some CD’s, but the programs are missing.
Me: Was the CD ROM drive working??
Caller: Yes, I installed the CD’s
Me: Well, let me install one with you to make sure you’re doing it right. Open your CD ROM Drive.
Caller: My what??
Me: Your CD ROM drive – push the button.
Caller: I don’t know what you mean??
Me: Well, how did you install the CD’s?
Caller: I just pushed them in the slot.
Me: And where are they now?
Caller: I don’t know – in the machine I suppose.
Me: Err, I see. Will you please gently tilt your tower
*tilts tower – sound of falling CD’s*

Yes, she was shoving the CD’s in the tiny space under the CD drive, thinking that would install them.

This next one is somewhat of an urban legend amongst techs, but I assure you it really happened.

Me: Ok, put the DVD in the CD Tray.
Caller: The what?
Me: The CD tray.
Caller: I don’t know what that is.
Me: The thing where you push the button and it comes out.
Caller: You mean the coffee holder?

Yes indeed. There are people out there who thought the CD drive was a tray to set your coffee on.

That was an interesting job, for sure. I am glad I am at ICG now!

In a tight-money economy, there is always pressure on financial executives to automate manual processes including those surrounding accounts payable. But old habits, just like old and often antiquated processes die hard, and technology investments have not always lived up to the hype or promises of that utopian back-office environment.

Considering that a very small percentage of the world’s invoice processing is truly automated end-to-end, the potential for AP automation is high. However if the past is any guide, while those percentages will continue to climb they will do so at a much slower rate than the economics might suggest would be appropriate. Why is that? Good question, so we offer up some insights and predictions for 2012.

Companies focus inward, seeking operational efficiencies, in lean years, and outward, on growth and sales, in boom years. That pattern holds true to this day. In the bubble, everyone is focused on sales. When revenues are flat, people are looking for efficiencies in the back office to make up for bottom line short falls from revenue declines.

What is different this time around is the explosion in the number of point solutions for AP automation.  Coupled with the evolution of technology deployment options, i.e., SaaS, cloud computing, hosting,  has made the process of automating back office processes much more complex than in years past, particularly for large organizations. This is due to the fact the many of the new technologies and deployment options can now be leveraged in many more areas of the enterprise than just AP or the financial back-office. With technologies like business process management (BPM), content management, dynamic discounting, and vendor portals becoming more main stream, you now have the added option of implementing these technologies in hosted or Software-as-a-Service options as opposed to just on-premise options. While this trend may be a very positive one in the long term, it can delay the implementation of needed automation in the AP department while a larger enterprise implementation is evaluated.

Conversely, for the small and mid-size businesses, opportunities for automation are are available and affordable like never before. Software-as-a-Service,the option of storing critical data in the cloud, and the availability of business content on many different devices has opened up a whole new world of affordable choices to a market that was under served by the expensive and complex technologies of the past.

Looking ahead
The fact of the matter is there are still head winds that AP practitioners must plow through, most notably lack of capital funds for AP departments and a perception that Accounts Payable is a non-value add activity. The good news however, is that in 2012 there are many more paths for AP and other financial back-office functional areas to take control, automate their worlds and transition their departments into valuable pieces of the corporate puzzle. And these options do not always come with huge price tags or lengthy implementations. We anticipate that in 2012 and beyond we will see significant increases in automation and decreases in manually based processes.  This trend will also further transform AP and similar back-office functional areas into more strategic roles within the enterprise.

We often talk about the advantages of portals in terms of what they can save you in terms of both time and money, and, of course, the huge advantages that a dynamic discounting program offers you.

But we don’t often talk about the advantages of portals in perception and marketing. And it’s probably about time we did, because a portal can send a message in your overall marketing picture, and can help in negotiations with vendors who want to do business with you.

I’ll give you one example of how a portal can make one company more attractive to another, and help secure business. Ok, let’s pretend YOU are a vendor, and you sell a product. And to make this easy to illustrate, we’ll say it’s something that’s seen as upscale – maybe a wine or a certain type of gourmet food. As part of your marketing you offer exclusivity – not everyone in town can offer your brand of wine. You do this because it makes for stronger partnerships, and also preserves the exclusive nature of your product (this can be an effective marketing tactic, and indeed, many brands DO practice some form of exclusivity).

So you have three restaurant chains all clamoring to carry your product. All three are pretty equal in business they will bring, and the payment terms you are discussing are pretty close across the board. But since they overlap markets, and you practice exclusivity, you can only pick one. So who to pick? Well, looking closer, one of the three seems pretty tech-savvy, and offers a comprehensive vendor portal. The other two? Well, one offers some basic functionality, and the other is still largely handles vendor interactions manually, i.e., phone calls, faxes, no e invoice capability, etc. Ugh… all else being equal, the customer who has a comprehensive portal seems a LOT easier, and more economical, to do business with. Plus, by even having this advanced technology, they put out the perception that they are forward thinking and that they going to still be here a decade from now. That seals it – the customer with the Portal just seems like a better fit. It may seem a subtle difference, but it is often these subtle differences that can tip the scales and establish differentiation between similar, competing options.

Now, the above is a pointed example, and you may not deal with anything even remotely close to wine. But it’s a pretty clear example of a perception and marketing advantage offering current and potential suppliers a vendor portal can bring you. It might not be obvious, but it’s there, and it matters.

Spring is coming – hope you are having a great start to your year.

I literally gave an elevator speech on an AP Supplier Portal and Dynamic Discounting the other week. Really – I was walking with a colleague, talking about Supplier Portals, and he really didn’t understand dynamic discounting. As we got on the elevator, I said “let me try to explain it by floor 8” (there were several people on, so I figured I had a stop or two). So here’s what it is, elevator-style:

You’re familiar with “payment terms” right? Something like “2% 10 net30” – what that means is a vendor says “here’s an invoice for the widgets you bought – if you pay it in ten days, you may take a 2% discount. Otherwise, it’s due in 30 days.”

It’s quite common in business. Well, dynamic discounting with an AP Supplier Portal is the same thing, but turned around. You, the customer (or buyer of the goods and services), have a supplier portal that most of your vendors have joined. This means they can submit invoices to you electronically.. So one day, you say “gee, it would be great if we could generate some extra cash this month… it’d be great if someone gave us a fat discount on the stuff we bought”. Conversely, (but unknown to you), your supplier – at that very moment – is saying “goodness, cash is tight, I am financing my AR and waiting to get paid – I wish someone would pay us now instead if in 30 days.”

So you decide to test the waters and put out a message on your AP Vendor Portal that your company has committed $10 million that you’ll pay RIGHT NOW to vendors, in exchange for a 10% discount (or whatever number – I’m trying to make the math work in my little story, as we’re on floor 5, where the perfume lady thankfully just got off). The vendors who could use the cash influx jump on it, and there you go – they got some badly money right now, and you get your bottom-line savings of $1 million via the added discounts you generated through a dynamic discounting program.

That’s it – that’s the whole thing, in its simplest form. Oh, indeed there are more facets to discuss, and we’ll be happy to go over them with you anytime you wish (just give us a call at 480.607.4027) or send us an email at info@icgconsulting.com and we would be happy to discuss this further with you. But really, as far as an elevator pitch, I pretty well covered all the bases – all before floor 8.

I was in one the big box home improvement chains the other day, buying a pack of screws. I found the size I needed, and went up front to pay. Now, this isn’t the grocery story – there is no express checkout line. I saw that the three registers open all had a decent size line… guess I have to wait.

But wait – I saw something new. The store finally installed a few self-service checkout lines. HOO-RAY! I went over, scanned my one item, paid with my credit card, and was out the door. Elapsed time? 35 seconds. Sweet.

I thought about it on my way home – that self-service checkout was awesome. It was intuitive, easy, and it did the job I needed to do. Plus, the store didn’t have to pay a cashier to ring up my package of screws. Win / win.

That got me to thinking about self-service in general. I love helping myself when at all possible. Especially if it’s intuitive and straightforward. And I think most people are like that – self-service rocks, whether I’m ringing myself out, or I’m checking the status of an invoice. And that’s where the argument for portals comes in.

Of course, customer and supplier self-service is just one aspect of why a company should invest in a portal. There are other reasons, like better service, more streamlined operations, and savings of millions of dollars (and I’ll talk about them all here at one point), but for now, the package of screws I rang out myself is a great analogy. People simply LIKE self-service. If you offer it to them, they will use it. And if they use it instead of calling you, well, that saves you money, because you aren’t paying someone to be on the other end of the phone.

Imagine if you have 100,000 invoices a month to pay (that’s a lot, but stay with me here). You can bet that anywhere between 1 and 5% of them will generate a phone call or e-mail of some sort from a supplier. That’s 1,000-5,000 communications. Divided by 20 workdays for the month, that’s 50-250 a day. That’s probably anywhere from two to ten full time people just to handle invoice questions. The invoice inquiry self-service of a Vendor Portal eliminates that almost entirely. Those people can work on something else, or be reduced from payroll. Your Portal likely paid for itself JUST by this one aspect.

Neat, huh?

That wraps up my Portal thought today – maybe tomorrow, something will strike me that reminds of those millions of dollars I mentioned (one can only hope, right!)

Unfortunately, there is no clear cut answer to which is the better option. So much depends on what the application is; the nature of the technology it is replacing, i.e., is it fully paid for already?; cost; stability of the provider; and many other factors. It is however worth the exercise to make those evaluations when considering software purchases. In many instances you may find that an SaaS based solution will help you to implement much needed software in your operation, which may pay for itself through resulting cost savings, without having to fight for those valuable capital dollars which are in such short supply these days. On the flip side, buying an SaaS solution to replace technology that is bought and paid for and fundamentally doing the job it was intended to do may not make economic sense and could add an unnecessary level of risk.

SaaS solutions are here to stay and there is a place for them. But the simplistic claims on both side of this debate need to be fully vetted before you decide a direction to go for your solution needs.

One of the inhibiting factors to AP departments taking the next step has been budgets and visibility. Too often companies view their AP departments as necessary evils, a non-strategic cost centers. Managers and directors responsible for Accounts Payable can change this equation by bringing high-value solutions to senior financial management to change that perception. In a large distribution company, a very robust upgrade of AP department technology and processes was undertaken, funded, and paid for by the savings generated from a dynamic discounting program. Preceding this upgrade was the development of a long-term vision and a holistic approach to upgrading the department. Not only were all current processes and systems evaluated, but a vendor stratification exercise was undertaken to understand the make up of their vendor base. The information gathered through this process informed their decisions on technology and process change. For instance, they learned that while a large percentage of their spend came from those vendors who were taking advantage of EDI, a large volume of the transactions were still paper based because those vendors lacked the IT resources to participate in a formal EDI relationship. The company decided to implement an e invoicing initiative of those non-EDI vendors as part of their new approach. Today, over 3,000 invoices per week that used to come in via paper are now submitted electronically through a vendor portal.

One thing that all AP practitioners will agree on is that there is no “one size fits all” answer. The good news is if they step back, identify their goals, take a big picture view, and bring high-value solutions to the table, they can build a world-class organization that fits their company, industry, culture and vendor community. And do it far more efficiently than in years past.

Vendor or supplier portals have been around for a while and offer a variety of different functionality. Widespread adoption of these portal solutions had been limited to larger companies, and the functionality offered was missing key elements to addresses crucial and often industry specific needs. But that is changing. Gone are the days when the only options were closed end, fee based buying networks that offered limited functionality. Today, companies large and small can implement tailor made vendor portals that can offer basic functions like invoice inquiry and e Invoicing as well as more sophisticated functionality like collaborative dispute resolution and dynamic discounting. Vendor portals, like most portal solutions, take transactional activities that require significant manual processing on the buying companies end and transform those transactions into a supplier self-service model. And the best news of all is these solutions do not need to break the bank and can be implemented quickly either in-house or in a hosted or SaaS environment.

Other B to B portals that offer great productivity enhancements and big time return on investment include Vendor On-Boarding portals to turn the process of bringing on new suppliers and the products they offer into a supplier self-service model; Customer Finance portal where companies can offer their customer payment and finance opportunities that are electronic, secure, and available 24x7x365 anywhere in the world; and Contract Management portals to facilitate active collaboration and compliance in the contracting process.

Whether it is a supplier or customer portal, the benefits accrue to all parties, not just the owner of the portal. Providing ease of transactional activities, the ability for customers and suppliers to do business with you at their convenience, on-line collaboration, and speeding up the procure-to-pay and order-to-pay cycles benefits everyone’s cash flow.