SharePoint vs OpenText: The Ultimate Purchase Order Automation Platform in Toledo

Given the current competitive landscape, organizations of varying sizes must find ways to boost efficiency and productivity, while cutting costs wherever possible.

A great place to start is with business process automation (BPA). With BPA, you could streamline monotonous and time-consuming processes, lessen the load on your team members, and upgrade your system by increasing productivity and raising reliability.

There are several processes and business units that could take advantage of BPA. Some of the most frequent adopters are Accounts Payable departments who can utilize BPA to automate purchase order processing, payroll, and invoicing.

In this post, we’re taking a closer look at purchase order automation - how it works, why automation is a perfect fit for this area, and assess two of our favorite PO process automation tools: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

To start, let us talk about what purchase order automation is and how it performs.

What is Purchase Order Automation?

Automated purchase order platforms employ business software equipped with machine learning (ML), robotic process automation (RPA) technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) to automate the purchase order process.

With automation, purchase requisitions can be created in a few seconds using pre-formatted templates, and forwarding capability can send authorizations straight to the supply chain dealer once the approval workflow is done.

This eliminates the need for physical interference, document filing systems, and makes the process smoother and more controllable.

The Purchase Order Process

Although the purchase order process can differ slightly from one organization to the next, the following provides a great example of a standard, manual purchase order system.

Step 1: The first step is creating a purchase order.

Step 2: Then another staff member will assess and approve/reject the purchase order.

Step 3: Then, the purchase order must be routed to the merchant.

Step 4: Once completed, the organization will then receive its product or service.

Step 5: Then the company will receive the vendor invoice.

Step 6: The invoice should be examined and approved, and payment is delivered to the supplier.

Step 7: Then the final step of the purchasing process is to archive or file the relevant records to provide an audit trail.

This might not seem like many steps, but to make this workflow to go smoothly, all individuals from your AP staff, to sales representatives, vendors, and managers, must all provide accurate, timely responses. Most firms can attest that this is way harder than it sounds.

There are many benefits to automating this procedure, which we’ll discuss in the following chapter.

The Benefits of an Automated Purchase Order System

There are numerous advantages to implementing purchase order automation software for your business. These include:

• Cost Savings

• Time Saved from By-Hand Processes

• Real-Time Operational Visibility

• A Faster, More Efficient Purchasing Process

• Decreased Physical Error

• Better Human Resource Utilization

So, now that we have reviewed what purchase order automation is, the elements of the process that could be automated, and the benefits of purchase order tools, let’s now talk about a couple of our favorite automation tools, OpenText and Microsoft SharePoint.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management platform (ECM) that, at its core, is a tool for monitoring, collaborating on, and publishing material.

However, with the integration of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can easily customize SharePoint’s features to enable automation to most of your AP processes.

Pros

• Excellent user experience and user interface (UX/UI)

• Minimal learning curve for new users

• Metadata search adds improved searchability

Cons

• No local information imaging or capture capability

• Struggles at following compliance guidelines in a few industries

• SharePoint Online not equipped to meet Corporate ECM needs

OpenText Overview

OpenText is an ECM tool as well, but includes advanced add-ons that allow companies to automate workflows, enhance organizational activities, and lower the risk related to governance and intellectual property.

Pros

• An excellent option for business with a high level of compliance

• Robust document management, classification, filtering, and access permissions

• OpenText Documentum adds case and inventory management capabilities to its feature set.

Cons

• Intricate UX/UI

• Often requires expert tuning to ensure it satisfies business requirements

• Can get costly for corporate functionality and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Diagram

How Wave Can Help You Implement Purchase Order Automation in Toledo

The reality is by-hand workflows in your accounting system basically slow your company down, create bottlenecks and process headaches, and sooner or later hurt your growth and flexibility.

Longer than necessary payment cycles can also contribute to increased expenses associated with purchase order management and invoice processing, reduce your insight and control, and can disrupt your supplier partnerships.

At Wave, we can aid you in optimizing your AP processes thoroughly, including purchase orders, procurement, data entry, payments, approval process, invoicing, and even file storage tools.

We work with SAP, Netsuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, as well as ECM and ERP tools like those we have mentioned in this post and also Oracle, Xerox, MFiles, and more.

We can aid you in implementing your accounts payable automation software on-site, in the cloud, or in a hybrid framework contingent on your organizational rules, budget, and compliance guidelines.

To discover more, reach out right now for a free consultation.