Webinar: Role of Document Capture in Vendors Portals
“When it came to implementing the Vendor Portal, ICG Consulting was the natural selection….”
Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category
ICG to Facilitate Educational Sessions at IFO’s 2012 Fusion Conference
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.
Tech Support Blues
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.
State of AP Automation in 2012
What is different this time around is that the explosion in the number of point solutions to address aspects of AP automation
Vendor Portals a Marketing Advantage?
Unintended Advantages of Vendor Portals 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…
Dynamic Discounting in a Nutshell
The elevator pitch 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…
Self-Service is the Key
Self-Service can be a win-win… convenience for one party and cost savings for another! 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…
Software-as-a-Service – Risk vs. Reward
One of the hot topics among both IT and Finance Executives is the emergence of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The concept is not new, giants like Salesforce.com have successfully offered CRM functionality in the cloud for years. But as more and more applications become available as a software-as-a-service option, organizations are struggling to assess the economic promises of SaaS versus the perceived control and security of keeping those applications behind the firewall. 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.,…
Accounts Payable Departments Need a “Holistic” Vision
With all the advances in information technology, Accounts Payable departments still lack a cohesive product set to take them to the next level. This does not mean companies have not made some strides in certain areas of their AP operations, like document capture for instance, where there are numerous product offerings that can deliver value to specific functions. What is missing in many organizations however is a more “holistic” strategy that combines numerous technologies – document capture, OCR, vendor portal, dynamic discounting, collaborative dispute processing, etc. – along with process re-engineering and implementation of best practices. This may sound expensive…
Portals a Big Win for Buyers, Sellers & Suppliers
Business to business (B to B) portal solutions are offering big wins for all sides of a transaction. Business to consumer portals have been a big hit and an ever growing sales growth strategy for companies who sell to consumers. But utilizing portals can offer huge rewards for all sides of a B to B transaction. 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…
