SharePoint vs OpenText: The Best Purchase Order Automation Tool in Omaha

In today’s competitive landscape, organizations of all sizes must develop ways to boost efficiency and productivity, while cutting costs wherever appropriate.

One of the best places to begin is with business process automation (BPA). With BPA, you can expedite repetitive and taxing tasks, ease the burden for your team members, and enhance your workflows by developing productivity and boosting accuracy.

There are several tasks and business sectors that can benefit from BPA. Among of the most prevalent adopters are Accounts Payable departments who can use BPA to automate purchase order processing, payroll, and invoicing.

In this article, we’re taking a closer look at purchase order automation - how it operates, why automation is an excellent solution for this area, and assess two of our preferred PO process automation software: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

To begin, let’s talk about what purchase order automation is and how it functions.

What is Purchase Order Automation?

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

With automation, purchase requisitions can be produced in a few clicks from pre-formatted layouts, and transmitting functionality can send authorizations straight to the supply chain vendor after the approval process is done.

This eliminates any need for human intervention, document filing methods, and makes the process simpler and more controllable.

The Purchase Order Process

Though the purchase order process can look slightly different from company to company, the following provides an excellent example of a conventional, by-hand purchase order system.

Step 1: The first step is purchase order creation.

Step 2: Then another team member will evaluate and approve/reject the purchase order.

Step 3: After that, the purchase order should be routed to the contractor.

Step 4: Once filled, the firm will then obtain its product or service.

Step 5: The organization will then get the vendor invoice.

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

Step 7: The last step of the purchasing process is to archive the relevant records to generate an audit trail.

This might not seem like a lot of steps, but in order for this procedure to run efficiently, all parties from your AP team members, to sales reps, merchants, and supervisors, must all deliver accurate, timely responses. Many companies can attest that this is easier said than done.

There are numerous benefits to automating these steps, which we’ll review in the next chapter.

The Benefits of an Automated Purchase Order Process

There are many benefits to adopting purchase order automation tools for your company. These include:

• Lower Costs

• Time Saved from Hand-Operated Processes

• Real-Time Insight Into Activities

• A Quicker, More Optimized Purchasing Process

• Decreased Human Error

• Improved Human Resource Utilization

So, now that we’ve reviewed what purchase order automation is, the elements of the procedure that could be automated, and the benefits of purchase order tools, let us now talk about a couple of our preferred automation tools, Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management solution (ECM) that in its base form, is a program for handling, collaborating on, and distributing content.

Having said that, with the integration of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can quickly adapt SharePoint’s functionality to enable automation to most of your AP operations.

Pros

• Superb UX/UI

• Moderate learning curve for new users

• Metadata search adds improved searchability

Cons

• No native information imaging or capture feature

• Weak at following compliance guidelines in a few sectors

• SharePoint Online is not made to fulfill Corporate ECM needs

OpenText Overview

OpenText is also an ECM solution but provides advanced add-ons that allow businesses to automate processes, improve business operations, and lower the risk connected to administration and intellectual property.

Pros

• A better option for business with a high level of compliance

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

• OpenText Documentum expands its features with case and inventory management functionality.

Cons

• Intricate UX/UI

• Often necessitates specialist configuration to guarantee that it meets business needs

• Can get costly for corporate features and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Diagram

How Wave Can Help You Implement Purchase Order Automation in Omaha

The fact is that hand-operated workflows in your accounting system simply slow your firm down, create bottlenecks and process headaches, and consequently hurt your progress and scalability.

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

At Wave, we can aid you in optimizing your accounts payable processes end-to-end, including purchase orders, procurement, data entry, payments, approval process, invoicing, and even document storage solutions.

We collaborate with Netsuite, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Oracle, in addition to ERP and ECM systems like the ones we have examined in this article and also MFiles, Oracle, Xerox, and many others.

We can help you deploy your accounts payable automation solution locally, in the cloud, or in a hybrid framework depending on your organizational rules, budget, and compliance requirements.

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