Benefits
The numbers speak for themselves. From 20,000 invoices in 2009, the company now has just over 8,000. The number of suppliers has also been reduced from 2,800 to 1,600. The percentage of orders that do not have a PO is very low, at eight percent. Previously, 6 FTEs were working on invoice processing. This is now only 1.5 FTEs. More than 95 percent of the spend falls within contracts with pre-selected deliveries that are centrally committed. "I am proud of what we have achieved in this area, together with Finance, and with Proactis", says Vollaers-Schepers.
Additionally, the hiring of flexible hour workers is also taken care of through the Proactis platform. "These are pre-approved in a contract by the budget holder within Menzis and the supplier. Temporary workers themselves electronically fill in their hours and expenses, which are then approved by a manager. Because this process is completely automatic, this saves a lot of administrative work. Based on approved time sheets, we send an invoice to the supplier ourselves. After this, and after approval, the invoice can automatically enter the payment process. We apply and encourage the principle of self-billing."
Vollaers-Schepers concluded, "We have actually grown together with Proactis over the years into a more professional ordering and invoicing process. Nevertheless, optimization and assurance of the purchase to pay process requires continuous attention. You have to stay on top of it."