Paper reduction with the use of accounts payable automation solution

REFERENCE The ReadSoft effect on: green mountain power PROCESS: story invoice processing in oracle industry: electric utility Country: USA Green Mountain Power reduces the use of paper with ReadSoft’s AP automation solution As a company committed to continuously im- proving its environmental performance, Green Mountain Power was looking for an accounts payable solution that could reduce paper by providing a more electronic procedure. In Read- Soft, they found that – and a solution that fit so well with their existing ERP system from Oracle, Green Mountain Power staff see ReadSoft as an “They have a lot of great extension of it. ideas to help streamline the solution, and now Green Mountain Power is an Green Mountain process.” electric utility transmitting, Power has a much distributing and selling more efficient pro- electricity and utility con- cess – and the staff knows exactly where invoices are, struction services. It serves where they have been, how long they were there and around 94,000 customers how much the value is. in Vermont, USA with an Jan Ferro, over 90 percent customer Why ReadSoft? Purchasing Manager, satisfaction rating. During its Green Mountain Power “We chose ReadSoft because they are a one-stop 100-year-plus history, Green shop,” says Jan Ferro, Green Mountain Power’s Purchas- Mountain Power has gone through numerous changes, ing Manager and the driving force behind the purchase but its commitment to meet the challenges of the times of the AP automation solution. “The software also mim- with innovation and foresight has not changed. The icked the distribution lines within Oracle, so we felt it company sought out ways to streamline back office would be very easy operations, including accounts payable, to continue its for our staff to use “The users just accepted strategy of meeting the challenges of the times. and they wouldn’t ReadSoft’s solution like it was feel frightened Better managed invoices or – like with any another piece of Oracle.” In the quest for a way to better manage incoming change – turn the invoices, Green Mountain Power started looking for an other way. And that’s exactly what happened. The users AP automation solution. With offices in seven different just accepted ReadSoft’s solution like it was another locations, invoices tended to get lost in inter-company piece of Oracle.” mail, so one of the requirements was for the software to be able to scan and house the original invoice for ReadSoft’s imaging and workflow components are cer- easy and quick retrieval and help optimize the invoice tified by Oracle to run inside Oracle E-Business Suite. process. The company chose to implement ReadSoft’s All screens look just like the familiar Oracle display, REFERENCE The ReadSoft effect on: green mountain power PROCESS: story invoice processing in oracle industry: electric utility Country: USA better manage our money – we know what’s outstand- ing in people’s workflow, waiting to be coded and then paid,” says Ferro. In addition, the majority of its top vendors now send PDFs, rather than paper invoices, thus saving the amount of paper being used which aligns with the com- pany’s eco-friendly nature. An ecological invoice process By using ReadSoft invoice automation software, Green By using ReadSoft invoice auto- Mountain Power saves trees and helps reduce CO2 emissions. A manual process involves copying invoices a mation software, Green Moun- number of times so they can be passed around for tain Power saves trees and approval. With the automated AP process, Green helps reduce CO2 emissions. Mountain Power dramatically reduces the number of paper copies, which not only creates a greener compa- ny, but also minimizes the need for document storage. which creates ease of use and a comfort level from day one. According to Ferro, this has even caused a minor Conclusion issue at Green Mountain Power: “The users quickly Streamlining the AP process with ReadSoft software has became so accustomed to being able to go right to the helped Green Mountain Power gain control over its solution and find their invoices, so they got upset when invoice management. With the electronic workflow, they couldn’t find an invoice that was pre-ReadSoft,” invoices don’t get lost, which among other things helps the she says with a smile. company avoid late payment penalties. And the staff truly appreciate being able to handle invoices inside Oracle. The benefits With ReadSoft’s AP automation solution, Green As a closing remark, Ferro mentions the benefits of Mountain Power is able to pay its invoices quicker, take working closely with ReadSoft during the implemen- advantage of early payment discounts and cut down on tation phase: “They have a lot of great ideas to help vendor complaints for lost invoices. “We’re also able to streamline the process.” ReadSoft AP Automation ReadSoft’s solution for Accounts Payable automation is by far the most popular system on the market and a highly profitable investment for just about any business. Fully implemented, electronic invoice processing lowers costs by 25-50%. Meanwhile, the invoicing process speeds up and employees can devote more time to tasks that take advantage of their individual skills. ReadSoft’s software captures, reads and classifies all incoming formats, whether paper or electronic. Since it’s 100% integrated with Oracle E-Business Suite, it also automatically verifies information about vendors, orders and goods received against Oracle.