SharePoint vs OpenText: The Best Purchase Order Automation Platform in Honolulu

In the current competitive landscape, businesses of all shapes and sizes must find ways to increase efficiency and productivity, while reducing costs wherever necessary.

An excellent place to begin is with business process automation (BPA). Through BPA, you can simplify monotonous and laborious processes, lessen the stress on your colleagues, and improve your workflows by adding efficiency and raising accuracy.

There are a number of operations and business sectors that could take advantage of BPA. One of the most prevalent adopters are Accounts Payable teams who can utilize BPA to automate payroll, invoicing, and purchase order processing.

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

To begin, let us go over what purchase order automation is and how it works.

What is Purchase Order Automation?

Automated purchase order platforms utilize business software integrated 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 clicks from pre-formatted templates, and transmitting capability can deliver authorizations straight to the supply chain dealer after the approval process is finished.

This removes any need for manual involvement, paper filing methods, and makes the operation faster and more efficient.

The Purchase Order Process

Though the purchase order process might look slightly different from one company to the next, the following offers an excellent 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 evaluate and approve or reject the purchase order.

Step 3: Following that, the purchase order should be forwarded to the vendor.

Step 4: Once completed, the firm will then acquire its product or service.

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

Step 6: The invoice must be verified and authorized, and payment is released to the merchant.

Step 7: The final step of the purchasing procedure is to file the related documents to create an audit trail.

This may not seem like a lot of steps, but in order for this process to run efficiently, all individuals from your AP personnel, to sales agents, merchants, and supervisors, must all provide correct, timely responses. Most companies can attest that this is easier said than done.

There are many advantages to automating these steps, which we’ll explore in the next section.

The Advantages of an Automated Purchase Order Process

There are several benefits to utilizing purchase order automation solutions for your company. These include:

• Cost Savings

• Time Saved from Hand-Operated Tasks

• Real-Time Visibility Into Operations

• A Faster, More Efficient Procurement Method

• Reduced Manual Error

• Improved Human Resource Utilization

So, now that we’ve established what purchase order automation entails, the aspects of the operation that can be automated, and the gains of purchase order tools, let’s now go over a couple of our favorite automation solutions, 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 sharing material.

Regardless, with the addition of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can quickly customize SharePoint’s functionality to incorporate automation to most of your AP operations.

Pros

• Superb UX/UI

• Moderate learning curve for new users

• Metadata search enhances searchability

Cons

• No local data imaging or capture feature

• Struggles at following compliance guidelines in some industries

• SharePoint Online not equipped to handle Corporate ECM requirements

OpenText Overview

OpenText is also an ECM solution but provides advanced add-ons that empower businesses to automate processes, augment organizational functions, and decrease the risk connected to administration and intellectual property.

Pros

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

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

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

Cons

• Intricate UX/UI

• Typically necessitates specialist tuning to guarantee that it satisfies organizational requirements

• Can be expensive for enterprise capabilities and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Comparison

How Wave Can Aid You in Implementing Purchase Order Automation in Honolulu

The reality is physical processes in your accounting framework simply slow your company down, generate bottlenecks and process headaches, and sooner or later hurt your growth and adaptability.

Extended payment cycles can also lead to higher expenses associated with purchase order and invoice processing, impede your transparency and control, and can add strain to your merchant partnerships.

At Wave, we can help you to streamline your AP processes end-to-end, including procurement, data entry, purchase orders, invoicing, payments, approval process, and even document storage tools.

We work with SAP, Netsuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, and ERP and ECM solutions like those we have discussed in this piece and also MFiles, Oracle, Xerox, and more.

We can help you deploy your AP automation solution locally, in the cloud, or in a hybrid concept based on your business rules, budget, and compliance guidelines.

To find out more, connect with us right now for a free consultation.