SharePoint vs OpenText: The Best Purchase Order Automation Tool in Memphis

Given the current competitive landscape, companies of all shapes and sizes must develop ways to enhance productivity and efficiency, while lowering costs wherever appropriate.

One of the best places to begin is with business process automation (BPA). Through BPA, you could expedite repetitive and time-consuming tasks, reduce the load on your staff, and enhance your processes by increasing efficiency and boosting reliability.

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

In this piece, we’re going to hone in on purchase order automation - how it operates, why automation is a perfect solution for this area, and assess a couple of our favorite PO process automation tools: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

To begin, 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 integrated with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and robotic process automation (RPA) technology to automate the purchase order process.

With automation, purchase requests can be generated in a matter of seconds using pre-formatted layouts, and routing functionality can deliver authorizations straight to the supply chain dealer once the approval workflow is complete.

This eliminates any need for manual intervention, paper filing methods, and makes the operation faster and more controllable.

The Purchase Order Process

While the purchase order process may look slightly different from organization to organization, the following provides an excellent example of a standard, hand-operated purchase order process.

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

Step 2: Then another colleague will review and approve or reject the purchase order.

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

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

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

Step 6: The invoice must be examined and confirmed, and payment is delivered to the vendor.

Step 7: The last step of the purchasing process is to file the related files to create an audit trail.

This may not seem like a great deal of steps, but in order for this process to run efficiently, all parties from your AP staff, to sales representatives, suppliers, and executives, must all deliver accurate, prompt responses. Several companies can testify that this is grueling.

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

The Benefits of an Automated Purchase Order Process

There are several benefits to implementing purchase order automation tools for your business. These include:

• Lower Costs

• Time Saved from Physical Processes

• Real-Time Insight Into Activities

• A Faster, More Streamlined Procurement Process

• Lessened Manual Error

• Improved Utilization of Human Resources

So, now that we’ve reviewed what purchase order automation entails, the aspects of the process that could be automated, and the advantages of purchase order solutions, let us now talk about two of our favorite automation options, Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management solution (ECM) that in its base form, is a program for handling, collaborating on, and sharing content.

Having said that, with the addition of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can simply adapt SharePoint’s capabilities to include automation to most of your AP processes.

Pros

• Superb user experience and interface

• Minimal learning curve for new users

• Metadata search aid searchability

Cons

• No integrated data imaging or capture feature

• Weak at meeting compliance guidelines in some sectors

• SharePoint Online not equipped to meet Corporate ECM requirements

OpenText Overview

OpenText is also an ECM solution but provides advanced add-ons that enable organizations to automate processes, improve organizational activities, and reduce the risk related to administration and intellectual property.

Pros

• A better alternative for compliance-heavy organizations

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

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

Cons

• Intricate UX/UI

• Typically necessitates professional configuration to ensure it meets business needs

• Can be pricey for enterprise features and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Table

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

The truth is by-hand workflows in your accounting system just slow your organization down, generate logjams and process issues, and sooner or later hurt your development and scalability.

Extended payment cycles can also contribute to higher expenses associated with purchase order management and invoice processing, reduce your transparency and control, and can add strain to your vendor relationships.

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

We collaborate with Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Netsuite, Oracle, and ECM and ERP solutions like the ones we have mentioned in this post and also Oracle, Xerox, MFiles, and much more.

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

To discover more, connect with us immediately for a free consultation.