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

Considering the current competitive marketplace, firms of all sizes must develop ways to boost efficiency and productivity, while cutting expenditures wherever necessary.

An excellent place to begin is with business process automation (BPA). Through BPA, you could simplify repetitive and laborious processes, reduce the burden for your colleagues, and enhance your system by adding productivity and boosting accuracy.

There are a number of processes and business units that could 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 works, why automation is an excellent fit for this area, and evaluate two of our preferred PO process automation tools: 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 platforms employ business software equipped with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and robotic process automation (RPA) technology to automate the purchase order procedure.

Via automation, purchase requests can be produced in a few clicks from pre-formatted layouts, and transmitting capability can send approvals straight to the supply chain vendor when the approval process is done.

This removes any need for physical intervention, record filing systems, and makes the operation simpler and more controllable.

The Purchase Order Process

Though the purchase order process may look slightly different from organization to organization, the following provides a good example of a typical, physical purchase order process.

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

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

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

Step 4: Once filled, the business will then receive its product or service.

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

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

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

This may not seem like a lot of steps, but to make this process to go smoothly, all participants from your AP staff, to sales reps, suppliers, and executives, must all provide correct, prompt responses. Most companies can testify that this is way harder than it sounds.

There are many advantages to automating these steps, which we will explore in the following chapter.

The Benefits of an Automated Purchase Order System

There are several benefits to adopting purchase order automation tools for your company. These include:

• Lower Costs

• Time Saved from Hand-Operated Tasks

• Real-Time Insight Into Activities

• A Faster, More Optimized Procurement Procedure

• Decreased Manual Error

• Better Use of Human Resources

Now that we’ve reviewed what purchase order automation is, the elements of the procedure that could be automated, and the gains of purchase order tools, let’s 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, at its core, is a program for managing, collaborating on, and publishing material.

Having said that, with the inclusion of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can quickly modify SharePoint’s features to include automation to most of your AP operations.

Pros

• Excellent user experience and user interface (UX/UI)

• Minimal learning curve for new users

• Metadata search adds improved searchability

Cons

• No integrated data imaging or capture capability

• Weak at following compliance requirements in a few sectors

• SharePoint Online is not made to meet Enterprise ECM requirements

OpenText Overview

OpenText is an ECM tool as well, but includes advanced add-ons that allow businesses to automate tasks, improve business functions, and decrease the risk associated with administration and intellectual property.

Pros

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

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

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

Cons

• Complicated UX/UI

• Often requires professional optimization to guarantee that it satisfies business 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 Chicago

The fact is that physical workflows in your accounting framework simply slow your organization down, cause logjams and process issues, and sooner or later hurt your development and scalability.

Prolonged billing cycles can also result in greater costs associated with purchase order and invoice processing, reduce your insight and control, and can add strain to your supplier relationships.

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

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

We can help you deploy your accounts payable automation software on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid concept depending on your organizational regulations, budget, and compliance requirements.

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