SharePoint vs OpenText: The Ultimate Purchase Order Automation Tool in Virginia Beach

In the current competitive marketplace, companies of all shapes and sizes must develop ways to increase productivity and efficiency, while reducing expenses wherever appropriate.

An excellent place to begin is with business process automation (BPA). Via BPA, you can simplify monotonous and laborious workflows, ease the burden for your team members, and upgrade your workflows by adding efficiency and amplifying reliability.

There are several processes and business units that can make use of BPA. Among of the most common adopters are Accounts Payable teams who can use BPA to automate purchase order processing, payroll, and invoicing.

In this piece, we’re taking a closer look at purchase order automation - how it operates, why automation is a perfect option for this area, and assess a couple of our preferred PO process automation tools: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

To start, let us discuss what purchase order automation is and how it works.

What is Purchase Order Automation?

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

Via automation, purchase requisitions can be generated in a few seconds using pre-formatted templates, and forwarding capability can send approvals straight to the supply chain dealer once the approval workflow is finished.

This removes the need for human interference, document filing methods, and makes the process faster and more controllable.

The Purchase Order Process

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

Step 1: The first step is purchase order creation.

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

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

Step 4: Once finished, the company will then receive its product or service.

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

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

Step 7: The final step of the purchasing process is to file or archive the relevant documents to generate an audit trail.

This may not seem like a great deal of steps, but in order for this procedure to run efficiently, all participants from your AP personnel, to sales reps, suppliers, and managers, must all deliver precise, timely responses. Most companies can attest that this is easier said than done.

There are several advantages to automating these steps, which we’ll review in the following chapter.

The Advantages of an Automated Purchase Order Process

There are numerous advantages to adopting purchase order automation tools for your company. These include:

• Lower Costs

• Time Saved from Hand-Operated Tasks

• Real-Time Operational Visibility

• A Faster, More Efficient Procurement Procedure

• Reduced Manual Error

• Better Use of Human Resources

So, now that we have reviewed what purchase order automation is, the aspects of the process that could be automated, and the benefits of purchase order software, let us now talk about a couple of our favorite automation options, Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management platform (ECM) that, at its core, is a program for handling, collaborating on, and publishing data.

Regardless, with the integration of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can easily modify SharePoint’s capabilities to incorporate automation to several of your AP procedures.

Pros

• Excellent UX/UI

• Moderate learning curve for new users

• Metadata search adds improved searchability

Cons

• No local data capture or imaging feature

• Weak at following compliance standards in a few industries

• SharePoint Online is not made to meet Enterprise ECM needs

OpenText Overview

OpenText is also an ECM solution but provides powerful add-ons that enable organizations to automate processes, augment organizational activities, and decrease the risk connected to management and intellectual property.

Pros

• An excellent alternative for compliance-heavy organizations

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

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

Cons

• Complicated UX/UI

• Typically requires expert optimization to guarantee that it fulfills business requirements

• Can get costly for enterprise functionality and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Table

How Wave Can Aid You in Implementing Purchase Order Automation in Virginia Beach

The fact is that hand-operated workflows in your accounting system just slow your organization down, generate hindrances and process issues, and consequently hurt your development and flexibility.

Prolonged payment cycles can also lead to increased costs associated with purchase order management and invoice processing, limit your visibility and control, and can disrupt your vendor relationships.

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

We work closely with SAP, Netsuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, and ECM and ERP systems like those we’ve examined in this article and also Oracle, Xerox, MFiles, and much more.

We can assist you in implementing your AP automation software on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid model contingent on your business regulations, budget, and compliance guidelines.

To find out more, reach out immediately for a free consultation.