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

Considering today’s competitive marketplace, firms of all shapes and sizes must develop ways to increase productivity and efficiency, while cutting expenses wherever possible.

A great place to begin is with business process automation (BPA). With BPA, you could expedite repetitive and time-consuming workflows, reduce the load on your colleagues, and upgrade your processes by adding productivity and boosting accuracy.

There are a variety of operations and business fields that can benefit from BPA. One of the most frequent adopters are Accounts Payable departments who can use BPA to automate payroll, invoicing, and purchase order processing.

In this piece, we’ll focus on purchase order automation - how it operates, why automation is a perfect option for this area, and assess a couple of our favorite PO process automation software: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

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

What is Purchase Order Automation?

Automated purchase order tools employ business software equipped 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 produced in a matter of seconds using pre-formatted templates, and forwarding capability can send approvals straight to the supply chain contractor when the approval workflow is done.

This removes the need for manual involvement, paper filing systems, and makes the process faster and more manageable.

The Purchase Order Process

Though the purchase order process can look slightly different from one business to the next, the following provides a good example of a standard, hand-operated purchase order process.

Step 1: The first step is creating a purchase order.

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

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

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

Step 5: The vendor invoice will thereafter be received by the firm.

Step 6: The invoice will need to be examined and approved, and payment is released to the merchant.

Step 7: The last step of the purchasing procedure is to file or archive the associated files to generate an audit trail.

This might not seem like a great deal of steps, but for this process to run efficiently, all individuals from your AP personnel, to sales reps, vendors, and executives, must all provide accurate, timely responses. Many companies can testify that this is way harder than it sounds.

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

The Advantages of an Automated Purchase Order System

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

• Reduced Expenses

• Time Saved from Physical Processes

• Real-Time Visibility Into Operations

• A Faster, More Efficient Procurement Procedure

• Reduced Physical Error

• Improved Human Resource Utilization

So, now that we’ve reviewed what purchase order automation entails, the parts of the procedure that can be automated, and the advantages of purchase order solutions, let’s now talk about two of our preferred automation options, Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management software (ECM) that in its base form, is a tool for monitoring, collaborating on, and publishing content.

Regardless, with the integration of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can quickly adapt SharePoint’s functionality to include automation to most of your AP procedures.

Pros

• Excellent UX/UI

• Moderate learning curve for new users

• Metadata search optimizes searchability

Cons

• No native information imaging or capture capability

• Weak at meeting compliance guidelines in some sectors

• SharePoint Online is not made to fulfill Corporate ECM requirements

OpenText Overview

OpenText is an ECM tool as well, but includes advanced add-ons that allow companies to automate processes, augment business functions, and reduce the risk associated with administration and intellectual property.

Pros

• A superior option for companies that must adhere to strict regulations

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

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

Cons

• Complex UX/UI

• Often requires specialist optimization to ensure it satisfies business requirements

• Can get costly for enterprise capabilities and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Comparison

How Wave Can Assist You in Implementing Purchase Order Automation in WinstonSalem

The reality is physical workflows in your accounting framework simply slow your organization down, create bottlenecks and process issues, and ultimately hurt your progress and scalability.

Prolonged payment cycles can also lead to greater expenses associated with purchase order management and invoice processing, limit your visibility and control, and can damage your supplier partnerships.

At Wave, we can help you to streamline your accounts payable (AP) processes completely, including purchase orders, procurement, data entry, approval process, invoicing, payments, and even document storage platforms.

We work closely with Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Netsuite, Oracle, and ERP and ECM systems like those we have mentioned in this piece and also MFiles, Oracle, Xerox, and many others.

We can help you deploy your accounts payable automation software on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid concept depending on your organizational regulations, budget, and compliance requirements.

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