SharePoint vs OpenText: The Best Purchase Order Automation Software in Madison

Considering the current competitive landscape, organizations of varying sizes must discover ways to enhance efficiency and productivity, while reducing expenditures wherever possible.

A great place to start is with business process automation (BPA). Through BPA, you can expedite monotonous and time-consuming workflows, ease the load on your team members, and enhance your processes by adding efficiency and boosting precision.

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

In this article, we’re going to hone in on purchase order automation - how it works, why automation is an excellent solution for this area, and compare a couple of our preferred PO process automation platforms: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

To start, let’s talk about what purchase order automation is and how it functions.

What is Purchase Order Automation?

Automated purchase order tools employ 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 produced in a few clicks from pre-formatted layouts, and forwarding functionality can send authorizations straight to the supply chain dealer after the approval workflow is finished.

This eliminates the need for human interference, document filing processes, and makes the operation simpler and more efficient.

The Purchase Order Process

While the purchase order process might differ from organization to organization, the following provides an excellent example of a conventional, hand-operated purchase order process.

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

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

Step 3: Following that, the purchase order should be routed to the merchant.

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

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

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

Step 7: The final step of the purchasing procedure is to archive or file the relevant files to provide an audit trail.

This might not seem like a great deal of steps, but for this procedure to go smoothly, all parties from your AP personnel, to sales agents, suppliers, and managers, must all deliver precise, prompt responses. Several organizations can testify that this is way harder than it sounds.

There are several advantages to automating this process, which we’ll explore in the following chapter.

The Advantages of an Automated Purchase Order System

There are a number of advantages to implementing purchase order automation software for your company. These include:

• Reduced Expenses

• Time Saved from Manual Tasks

• Real-Time Insight Into Activities

• A Faster, More Optimized Purchasing Procedure

• Decreased Manual Error

• Greater Utilization of Human Resources

Now that we have established what purchase order automation is, the aspects of the operation that can be automated, and the gains of purchase order tools, let’s now talk about a couple of our preferred automation options, OpenText and Microsoft SharePoint.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

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

Regardless, with the integration of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can simply customize SharePoint’s functionality to enable automation to most of your AP processes.

Pros

• Superb UX/UI

• Short learning curve for new users

• Metadata search improves searchability

Cons

• No integrated data imaging or capture functionality

• Weak at following compliance guidelines in some industries

• SharePoint Online is not designed to meet Enterprise ECM needs

OpenText Overview

OpenText is also an ECM solution but includes advanced add-ons that allow businesses to automate processes, improve business operations, and reduce the risk associated with management and intellectual property.

Pros

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

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

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

Cons

• Intricate UX/UI

• Often requires professional tuning to guarantee that it satisfies business needs

• Can be pricey for enterprise capabilities and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Table

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

The truth is manual workflows in your accounting system basically slow your company down, create bottlenecks and process issues, and consequently hurt your progress and adaptability.

Extended payment cycles can also lead to greater costs associated with purchase order and invoice processing, impede your transparency and control, and can damage your supplier connections.

At Wave, we can aid you in optimizing your accounts payable (AP) processes completely, including procurement, data entry, purchase orders, invoicing, payments, approval process, and even document storage solutions.

We work closely with Netsuite, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Oracle, and ERP and ECM systems like the ones we’ve mentioned in this post and also Oracle, Xerox, MFiles, and more.

We can aid you in implementing your AP automation solution on-site, in the cloud, or in a hybrid concept contingent on your organizational rules, budget, and compliance guidelines.

To learn more, connect with us today for a free consultation.