SharePoint vs OpenText: The Best Purchase Order Automation Software in Atlanta

Given the current competitive marketplace, organizations of all sizes must discover ways to enhance productivity and efficiency, while reducing expenditures wherever necessary.

A great place to start is with business process automation (BPA). Through BPA, you could streamline tedious and time-consuming tasks, reduce the load on your team members, and improve your processes by adding efficiency and boosting precision.

There are a number of operations and business fields that could take advantage of BPA. Among of the most frequent adopters are Accounts Payable units who can utilize BPA to automate invoicing, purchase order processing, and payroll.

In this piece, we’ll focus on purchase order automation - how it functions, why automation is a perfect solution for this area, and evaluate two of our preferred PO process automation tools: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

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

What is Purchase Order Automation?

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

With automation, purchase requests can be produced in a few clicks from pre-formatted layouts, and routing functionality can send approvals directly to the supply chain contractor once the approval workflow is complete.

This removes the need for human involvement, record filing methods, and makes the operation faster and more controllable.

The Purchase Order Process

Although the purchase order process can differ slightly from company to company, the following offers a good example of a standard, physical purchase order system.

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

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

Step 3: Then, the purchase order should be routed to the vendor.

Step 4: Once completed, the business will then acquire its product or service.

Step 5: Then the company will receive the vendor invoice.

Step 6: The invoice will need to be reviewed and approved, and payment is issued to the supplier.

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

This might not seem like many steps, but in order for this process to go smoothly, all participants from your AP staff, to sales reps, merchants, and executives, must all provide accurate, timely responses. Many firms can testify that this is easier said than done.

There are many benefits to automating this procedure, which we will discuss in the following chapter.

The Advantages of an Automated Purchase Order Process

There are numerous advantages to utilizing purchase order automation tools for your organization. These include:

• Cost Savings

• Time Saved from Hand-Operated Processes

• Real-Time Insight Into Activities

• A Faster, More Streamlined Procurement Process

• Reduced Manual Error

• Greater Utilization of Human Resources

So, now that we’ve established what purchase order automation is, the elements of the operation that can be automated, and the gains of purchase order software, let us now take a closer look at two of our preferred automation solutions, Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management solution (ECM) that in its base form, is a tool for managing, collaborating on, and sharing content.

However, with the integration of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can easily customize SharePoint’s capabilities to include automation to several of your AP operations.

Pros

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

• Short learning curve for new users

• Metadata search optimizes searchability

Cons

• No integrated data imaging or capture capability

• Weak at meeting compliance requirements in a few sectors

• SharePoint Online is not made to fulfill Enterprise ECM needs

OpenText Overview

OpenText is an ECM tool as well, but offers advanced add-ons that enable companies to automate tasks, augment business functions, and reduce the risk connected to governance and intellectual property.

Pros

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

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

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

Cons

• Intricate UX/UI

• Often necessitates professional optimization to guarantee that it satisfies business needs

• Can be expensive for corporate features and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Comparison

How Wave Can Aid You in Implementing Purchase Order Automation in Atlanta

The fact is that physical workflows in your accounting system simply slow your company down, create bottlenecks and process headaches, 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 partnerships.

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

We collaborate with Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Netsuite, Oracle, and ERP and ECM tools like the ones we have examined in this post and also MFiles, Oracle, Xerox, and much more.

We can help you deploy your AP automation tool on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid concept contingent on your business rules, budget, and compliance guidelines.

To learn more, reach out right now for a free consultation.