SharePoint vs OpenText: The Best Purchase Order Automation Software in Colorado Springs

Considering the current competitive marketplace, businesses of all sizes must discover ways to boost efficiency and productivity, while reducing costs wherever appropriate.

One of the best places to start is with business process automation (BPA). With BPA, you can simplify monotonous and time-consuming processes, reduce the load on your colleagues, and improve your workflows by developing productivity and raising reliability.

There are a variety of operations and business units that can benefit from BPA. One of the most frequent adopters are Accounts Payable teams who can use BPA to automate purchase order processing, payroll, and invoicing.

In this article, we’re taking a closer look at purchase order automation - how it operates, why automation is a perfect option for this area, and assess two of our preferred PO process automation tools: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

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

What is Purchase Order Automation?

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

Via automation, purchase requests can be generated in a few clicks from pre-formatted templates, and transmitting functionality can deliver approvals directly to the supply chain contractor once the approval process is finished.

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

The Purchase Order Process

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

Step 1: The first step is purchase order creation.

Step 2: Then another team member will assess and approve/reject the purchase order.

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

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

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

Step 6: The invoice should be examined and confirmed, and payment is delivered to the supplier.

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

This might not seem like a lot of steps, but for this procedure to operate normally, all individuals from your AP team members, to sales agents, suppliers, and supervisors, must all provide accurate, timely responses. Many organizations can attest that this is way harder than it sounds.

There are numerous advantages to automating these steps, which we’ll review in the next chapter.

The Benefits of an Automated Purchase Order Process

There are many advantages to adopting purchase order automation tools for your company. These include:

• Lower Costs

• Time Saved from Manual Processes

• Real-Time Insight Into Activities

• A Quicker, More Optimized Purchasing Process

• Decreased Physical Error

• Greater Use of Human Resources

Now that we have covered what purchase order automation entails, the aspects of the procedure that could be automated, and the gains of purchase order tools, let’s now talk about two of our preferred 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 data.

Having said that, with the inclusion of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can quickly adapt SharePoint’s capabilities to enable automation to many of your AP processes.

Pros

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

• Minimal learning curve for new users

• Metadata search enhances searchability

Cons

• No local data capture or imaging capability

• Weak at fulfilling compliance guidelines in some industries

• SharePoint Online is not designed to fulfill Corporate ECM requirements

OpenText Overview

OpenText is similarly an ECM platform but includes advanced add-ons that allow firms to automate processes, improve organizational operations, and reduce the risk connected to management and intellectual property.

Pros

• An excellent alternative for business with a high level of compliance

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

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

Cons

• Complex UX/UI

• Typically requires expert tuning to ensure it satisfies organizational needs

• Can be expensive for enterprise features and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Diagram

How Wave Can Aid You in Implementing Purchase Order Automation in Colorado Springs

The reality is manual processes in your accounting framework simply slow your business down, create logjams and process inefficiencies, and consequently hurt your progress and scalability.

Extended billing cycles can also lead to greater expenses associated with purchase order and invoice processing, limit your transparency and control, and can disrupt your vendor partnerships.

At Wave, we can help you to streamline your accounts payable (AP) processes completely, including data entry, purchase orders, procurement, payments, approval process, invoicing, and even file storage solutions.

We work closely with Netsuite, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Oracle, as well as ECM and ERP tools like the ones we’ve discussed in this post and also MFiles, Oracle, Xerox, and many others.

We can help you deploy your AP automation software on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid model depending on your business regulations, budget, and compliance requirements.

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