SharePoint vs OpenText: The Best Purchase Order Automation Tool in St. Petersburg

Considering today’s competitive landscape, organizations of all sizes must develop ways to enhance efficiency and productivity, while reducing expenses wherever appropriate.

A great place to begin is with business process automation (BPA). With BPA, you can expedite repetitive and laborious workflows, ease the stress on your colleagues, and upgrade your processes by developing productivity and amplifying precision.

There are a number of tasks and business units that could take advantage of BPA. One of the most common adopters are Accounts Payable departments 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 an excellent fit for this area, and evaluate a couple of our favorite PO process automation tools: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

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

What is Purchase Order Automation?

Automated purchase order platforms employ business software equipped with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and robotic process automation (RPA) technology to automate the purchase order process.

Through automation, purchase requests can be generated in a few clicks from pre-formatted layouts, and forwarding functionality can send authorizations directly to the supply chain dealer after the approval process is finished.

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

The Purchase Order Process

Though the purchase order process might look slightly different from company to company, the following provides an excellent example of a standard, by-hand purchase order process.

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

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

Step 3: Then, the purchase order must be forwarded to the contractor.

Step 4: Once completed, the firm 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 confirmed, and payment is released to the merchant.

Step 7: Then the final step of the purchasing procedure is to file the related documents to generate an audit trail.

This may not seem like a lot of steps, but in order for this process to operate normally, all individuals from your AP team members, to sales agents, suppliers, and supervisors, must all provide precise, timely responses. Many companies can confirm that this is grueling.

There are several benefits to automating this procedure, which we’ll discuss in the following chapter.

The Advantages of an Automated Purchase Order System

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

• Lower Costs

• Time Saved from Manual Tasks

• Real-Time Insight Into Activities

• A Faster, More Efficient Procurement Procedure

• Lessened Human Error

• Better Use of Human Resources

Now that we have established what purchase order automation is, the elements of the operation that could be automated, and the benefits of purchase order software, let us now talk about two of our favorite automation tools, 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 managing, collaborating on, and distributing material.

Having said that, with the inclusion of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can simply adapt SharePoint’s features to enable automation to several of your AP procedures.

Pros

• Superb UX/UI

• Short learning curve for new users

• Metadata search adds improved searchability

Cons

• No native data imaging or capture capability

• Struggles at fulfilling compliance standards in a few sectors

• SharePoint Online is not designed to fulfill Enterprise ECM requirements

OpenText Overview

OpenText is also an ECM solution but includes advanced add-ons that empower firms to automate workflows, enhance business functions, and decrease the risk associated with governance and intellectual property.

Pros

• A better option for compliance-heavy organizations

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

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

Cons

• Intricate UX/UI

• Typically requires expert optimization to ensure it meets business requirements

• Can be pricey for enterprise capabilities and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Table

How Wave Can Aid You in Implementing Purchase Order Automation in St. Petersburg

The fact is that hand-operated processes in your accounting framework basically slow your business down, create hindrances and process issues, and sooner or later hurt your growth and adaptability.

Prolonged billing cycles can also lead to higher costs associated with purchase order management and invoice processing, reduce your transparency and control, and can add strain to your merchant connections.

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

We collaborate with Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Netsuite, Oracle, in addition to ECM and ERP tools like those we’ve examined in this piece and also MFiles, Oracle, Xerox, and much more.

We can assist you in implementing your AP automation software on-site, in the cloud, or in a hybrid framework depending on your business rules, budget, and compliance requirements.

To find out more, contact us today for a free consultation.