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

Considering today’s competitive landscape, firms of all shapes and sizes must discover ways to enhance efficiency and productivity, while cutting expenses wherever necessary.

An excellent place to start is with business process automation (BPA). With BPA, you could streamline repetitive and time-consuming tasks, reduce the stress on your colleagues, and improve your system by developing efficiency and boosting precision.

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

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

To start, let us go over what purchase order automation is and how it performs.

What is Purchase Order Automation?

Automated purchase order tools utilize business software armed with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and robotic process automation (RPA) technology to automate the purchase order procedure.

Through automation, purchase requisitions can be created in a few seconds using pre-formatted layouts, and routing capability can send authorizations straight to the supply chain contractor once the approval workflow is done.

This removes any need for physical involvement, paper filing systems, and makes the operation smoother and more manageable.

The Purchase Order Process

Though the purchase order process may look slightly different from business to business, the following provides a good example of a standard, by-hand purchase order system.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This may not seem like a lot of steps, but for this process to run efficiently, all participants from your AP personnel, to sales agents, vendors, and executives, must all deliver correct, timely responses. Several companies can confirm that this is easier said than done.

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

The Advantages of an Automated Purchase Order Process

There are several advantages to utilizing purchase order automation software for your business. These include:

• Cost Savings

• Time Saved from Hand-Operated Processes

• Real-Time Visibility Into Operations

• A Quicker, More Optimized Purchasing Process

• Lessened Physical Error

• Improved Utilization of Human Resources

Now that we’ve established what purchase order automation entails, the elements of the procedure that could be automated, and the benefits of purchase order tools, let’s now go over two of our preferred automation tools, OpenText and Microsoft SharePoint.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management software (ECM) that, at its core, is a program for managing, collaborating on, and distributing data.

However, with the addition of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can quickly customize SharePoint’s capabilities to enable automation to several of your AP operations.

Pros

• Superb user experience and interface

• Minimal learning curve for new users

• Metadata search optimizes searchability

Cons

• No local data imaging or capture feature

• Weak at meeting compliance requirements in a few industries

• SharePoint Online is not made to handle Enterprise ECM needs

OpenText Overview

OpenText is an ECM tool as well, but offers advanced add-ons that empower businesses to automate processes, improve organizational operations, and reduce the risk connected to governance and intellectual property.

Pros

• A better alternative for business with a high level of compliance

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

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

Cons

• Complicated UX/UI

• Typically demands professional configuration to ensure it satisfies business requirements

• Can get costly for corporate capabilities and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Diagram

How Wave Can Help You Implement Purchase Order Automation in Louisville

The fact is that manual processes in your accounting framework basically slow your company down, create bottlenecks and process headaches, and consequently hurt your development and scalability.

Extended billing cycles can also lead to increased expenses associated with purchase order management and invoice processing, limit your insight and control, and can damage your vendor relationships.

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

We work closely with Netsuite, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Oracle, as well as ECM and ERP systems like the ones we’ve discussed in this piece and also Oracle, Xerox, MFiles, and much more.

We can help you deploy your accounts payable automation solution on-site, in the cloud, or in a hybrid concept contingent on your business rules, budget, and compliance guidelines.

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