SharePoint vs OpenText: The Ultimate Purchase Order Automation Software in Washington

Given today’s competitive landscape, companies of varying sizes must develop ways to increase productivity and efficiency, while reducing expenses wherever appropriate.

A great place to start is with business process automation (BPA). With BPA, you could expedite repetitive and time-consuming tasks, ease the load on your colleagues, and enhance your system by developing efficiency and boosting accuracy.

There are several operations and business sectors that could take advantage of BPA. One of the most frequent adopters are Accounts Payable departments who can use BPA to automate invoicing, purchase order processing, and payroll.

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

To start, let us talk about what purchase order automation is and how it performs.

What is Purchase Order Automation?

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

With automation, purchase requests can be created in a matter of seconds using pre-formatted layouts, and routing functionality can send approvals directly to the supply chain contractor once the approval workflow is finished.

This removes the need for physical intervention, record filing methods, and makes the process simpler and more efficient.

The Purchase Order Process

Although the purchase order process may differ from one business to the next, the following provides a great example of a standard, manual purchase order system.

Step 1: The first step is purchase order creation.

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

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

Step 4: Once finished, the organization will then receive its service or product.

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

Step 6: The invoice must be verified and confirmed, and payment is issued to the merchant.

Step 7: Then the final step of the purchasing process is to archive or file the related documents to create an audit trail.

This may not seem like many steps, but in order for this process to go smoothly, all participants from your AP staff, to sales agents, vendors, and managers, must all provide correct, prompt responses. Several companies can testify that this is way harder than it sounds.

There are many advantages to automating this procedure, which we will explore in the following section.

The Advantages of an Automated Purchase Order Process

There are several benefits to adopting purchase order automation solutions for your business. These include:

• Cost Savings

• Time Saved from By-Hand Processes

• Real-Time Operational Visibility

• A Faster, More Efficient Procurement Process

• Reduced Human Error

• Better Utilization of Human Resources

Now that we have reviewed what purchase order automation entails, the elements of the process that could be automated, and the benefits of purchase order software, let’s now go over a couple of our preferred automation solutions, OpenText and Microsoft SharePoint.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management solution (ECM) that, at its core, is a tool for monitoring, collaborating on, and publishing content.

However, with the addition of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can easily adapt SharePoint’s features to incorporate automation to many of your AP operations.

Pros

• Fantastic user experience and interface

• Short learning curve for new users

• Metadata search adds improved searchability

Cons

• No native data imaging or capture capability

• Struggles at following compliance requirements in a few industries

• SharePoint Online is not made to fulfill Corporate ECM needs

OpenText Overview

OpenText is also an ECM solution but provides powerful add-ons that allow organizations to automate workflows, improve business operations, and lower the risk associated with administration and intellectual property.

Pros

• A better choice for compliance-heavy organizations

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

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

Cons

• Complicated UX/UI

• Often demands professional tuning to guarantee that it satisfies organizational requirements

• Can get costly for corporate features and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Comparison

How Wave Can Help You Implement Purchase Order Automation in Washington

The reality is manual processes in your accounting framework simply slow your company down, generate hindrances and process inefficiencies, and consequently hurt your development and scalability.

Prolonged payment cycles can also lead to increased costs associated with purchase order management and invoice processing, limit your transparency and control, and can disrupt your supplier partnerships.

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

We work with Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Netsuite, Oracle, as well as ERP and ECM solutions like those we have discussed in this article and also MFiles, Oracle, Xerox, and more.

We can help you deploy your AP automation solution locally, in the cloud, or in a hybrid framework contingent on your organizational regulations, budget, and compliance guidelines.

To learn more, contact us right now for a free consultation.