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

Considering today’s competitive marketplace, companies of varying sizes must develop ways to boost efficiency and productivity, while cutting expenditures wherever possible.

A great place to begin is with business process automation (BPA). Through BPA, you can simplify monotonous and time-consuming workflows, reduce the load on your staff, and upgrade your workflows by developing efficiency and amplifying precision.

There are several operations and business sectors that could make use of BPA. Among of the most prevalent adopters are Accounts Payable teams who can utilize BPA to automate payroll, invoicing, and purchase order processing.

In this piece, we’re going to hone in on purchase order automation - how it functions, why automation is a perfect fit for this area, and assess a couple of our preferred PO process automation platforms: 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 solutions utilize business software armed with robotic process automation (RPA) technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) to automate the purchase order process.

With automation, purchase requests can be generated in a few clicks from pre-formatted templates, and forwarding functionality can send approvals straight to the supply chain contractor after the approval process is complete.

This removes the need for manual interference, record filing processes, and makes the operation faster and more controllable.

The Purchase Order Process

Though the purchase order process may differ from one company to the next, the following provides a great example of a conventional, hand-operated purchase order system.

Step 1: The first step is to create a purchase order.

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

Step 3: Following that, the purchase order must be routed to the vendor.

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

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

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

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

This might not seem like a lot of steps, but in order for this workflow to go smoothly, all participants from your AP staff, to sales agents, vendors, and executives, must all provide precise, prompt responses. Most firms can confirm that this is easier said than done.

There are numerous advantages to automating this procedure, which we’ll discuss in the next section.

The Benefits of an Automated Purchase Order Process

There are numerous advantages to adopting purchase order automation solutions for your organization. These include:

• Lower Costs

• Time Saved from By-Hand Processes

• Real-Time Operational Visibility

• A Faster, More Optimized Procurement Process

• Lessened Physical Error

• Improved Use of Human Resources

So, now that we have established what purchase order automation entails, the aspects of the procedure that can be automated, and the benefits of purchase order software, let’s now talk about two of our favorite automation solutions, OpenText and Microsoft SharePoint.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management solution (ECM) that, at its core, is a program for monitoring, collaborating on, and sharing material.

Having said that, with the addition of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can simply modify SharePoint’s features to include automation to many of your AP procedures.

Pros

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

• Minimal learning curve for new users

• Metadata search optimizes searchability

Cons

• No integrated information capture or imaging feature

• Weak at following compliance requirements in some industries

• SharePoint Online is not designed to handle Enterprise ECM needs

OpenText Overview

OpenText is an ECM tool as well, but provides advanced add-ons that enable organizations to automate tasks, enhance business operations, and lower the risk related to management and intellectual property.

Pros

• A better option for compliance-heavy organizations

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

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

Cons

• Complex UX/UI

• Typically demands expert configuration to ensure it satisfies business requirements

• Can be expensive for corporate capabilities and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Comparison

How Wave Can Help You Implement Purchase Order Automation in Irving

The reality is hand-operated processes in your accounting framework simply slow your organization down, cause hindrances and process headaches, and sooner or later hurt your growth and scalability.

Extended payment cycles can also contribute to increased costs associated with purchase order and invoice processing, reduce your transparency and control, and can disrupt your vendor connections.

At Wave, we can assist you in streamlining your AP processes end-to-end, including data entry, purchase orders, procurement, invoicing, payments, approval process, and even file storage platforms.

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

We can help you deploy your AP automation software locally, in the cloud, or in a hybrid concept contingent on your organizational rules, budget, and compliance requirements.

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