The Roadmap to Business Continuity

T O D AY.
TOMORROW.
THE FUTURE.
OPEN E-BOOK
CONTENTS

03 Introduction More than a quarter (26%) of C-Suite

executives don’t expect their company
05 Section 1: Today operations to stabilize from the COVID-19
pandemic until 2021 or beyond, according
08 Priority #1
to a poll conducted by West Monroe1.
10 Priority #2
13 Priority #3
Executives across the globe are now
coming to terms with the long-term,
16 Section 2: Tomorrow short-term, and ripple effects of COVID-19.
19 Priority #1 It’s clear most were not prepared for such
22 Priority #2 a far-reaching crisis of this magnitude.
24 Priority #3 But analyzing what went wrong is only
half the equation; looking at what we
27 Section 3: The Future can do differently going forward is
30 Priority #1 the real question.
32 Priority #2
34 Priority #3

37 Conclusion
02
INTRODUCTION

A U T O M AT I O N
ENABLES
BUSINESS
CONTINUITY
In challenging times, a reliance on from today’s challenges without major
physical paper and manual processes economic fallout, businesses need data
significantly slows down the entire to not only make the right decisions but
payables process, and in some situations also make them quickly. We’ve now seen
makes it impossible to keep up with your how critical it is to have visibility over
normal business processes. But there’s a your global supply chains for resilience
way you can minimize disruptions to your and continuity to prevent shortages,
financial supply chain and day-to-day ensure safety, maintain profitability, and
business. Automation. futureproof your business.

Automation does more than just speed up In times like these, automation allows
the process – it mitigates risk, supports you to focus on what’s important –
a flexible and remote work environment, employee welfare, minimizing supply
offers real-time insight into exactly chain disruptions, and business continuity
where your business stands at all times, – instead of getting caught up in manual,
guarantees you can take care of your repetitive processes. It’s about more
suppliers, and ultimately provides visibility than just making money – it’s also about
no matter where you are or what’s ensuring the safety of your employees
happening in the world. To bounce back and protecting the supply chain.

03
INTRODUCTION

BUSINESS
CONTINUITY
ROADMAP
This report examines actions you can take in regards to your purchase-to-pay
(P2P) operations to build resilience into your business plan for the future.
You’ll learn what you can do:

• TODAY to identify the low-hanging fruit. You’ll see where you can easily inject
automation into your process with fairly low effort and still realize major benefits
– like joining a business network to receive invoices electronically to enable a
remote Accounts Payable (AP) workforce.
• TOMORROW to contain costs when cash flow is tight. Forget analysis paralysis
– instead see how you can automate your AP workflow so your staff can do
more with less and how you can make decisions quickly with more data-driven
insights.
• IN THE FUTURE to harness the power of visibility and transparency to prevent
supply chain disruptions, develop a reliable working capital strategy, and ensure
sustainable business practices.

Each section of this report details and prioritizes recommendations, provides

benefits, and discusses how other companies are taking action in these areas.
COVID-19 may have been a gut punch, but it wasn’t a knock out. Read on to
strengthen your resilience – what do you have to lose?

04
SECTION 1:
T O D AY

05
S E C T I O N 1 : T O DAY

While a global pandemic might not seem like the most W H AT A B O U T T H E C U R R E N T S I T UAT I O N
ideal time to consider automated options, disruptive times W I L L M A K E YO U R C O M PA N Y B E T T E R
provide a beneficial opportunity to consider where your IN THE LONG RUN?
business currently stands and what sort of strategic plan
you want to pursue to ensure business continuity and
resilience going forward.

In a recent PwC CFO Pulse Survey2, Finance leaders say 72%

their companies are drawing strength from the forced 68%
adaptations and workarounds during lockdowns, stating
that 72% believe their companies will be more agile going
forward. 49% 47 %
4 4%
For starters, there’s a lot your business can immediately
gain from automation. Electronic invoicing or e-invoicing,
for example, enables you to remove paper from the
equation and seamlessly support remote working. With 22%
easy, digital access to data, all your employees need is an
internet connection and a device to continue with business
as usual.

By eliminating reliance on paper and manual processes,

your organization keeps its processes and cash flowing. Better Work flexibility Technology Leaner New ways Community
resiliency and (e.g., hours, investments operations to serve and societal
This shift to digital also makes it possible to store all your agility location) customers engagement
financial and transactional information in an organized,
secure, and easy-to-access digital repository—meaning
potential audits are easily managed. Source: PwC COVID-19 CFO Pulse Survey

06
S E C T I O N 1 : T O DAY

THREE
SIMPLE
STEPS
In the short term, your focus should be on fast time to
value and building a foundation that you can use to
future proof your organization against other
uncertainties. Follow these three simple
steps to get started.

PRIORIT Y
E L I M I N AT E PA P E R I N V O I C E S
#1 FROM THE PROCESS

PRIORIT Y
GA I N V I S I B I L I T Y OV E R YO U R
#2 SUPPLIERS AND SPEND

PRIORIT Y
E N A B L E YO U R WO R K FO R C E
#3 T O O P E R A T E R E M O T E LY

07
S E C T I O N 1 : T O DAY

Things to consider
PRIORIT Y
E L I M I N AT E PA P E R I N V O I C E S
#1 FROM THE PROCESS
• E-invoicing: Your high-volume suppliers prefer a direct,
B2B integration via EDI or XML so they can send invoices
directly from their ERP systems without any manual effort
required. Given that most of your invoice volume comes
from this small set of suppliers, this is a great place to start.
No matter how big or small your organization, • Network interoperability: Interoperability means you
or how many invoices your AP team processes can connect electronically to more of your suppliers.
With network interoperability, your suppliers that may
annually, if you’re still relying on paper invoices, use another business network to transmit financial data
you’re likely facing several challenges. can continue using that network to send invoices and
information to you. No change on their end means higher
supplier adoption.

These challenges may include high suppliers are relying on timely or • PDF invoicing: Requiring zero supplier onboarding, this
costs of invoice processing, lengthy even accelerated payments just to option allows suppliers to send invoices in PDF format via
payment cycles, unnecessary errors stay in business. The impact of paper email, which are then converted into e-invoices, getting
and exceptions, increased supplier invoicing is severe and far-reaching. the most complete and accurate data into your accounting
payment status inquiries, and late system(s). If you already have a dedicated email inbox for
payments – and this is the case If you think that adopting a scan supplier invoices, a simple redirect is all you need to do.
during the best of times! and capture solution or outsourcing
your invoice capture process to a • Supplier portal: By using an online portal, suppliers can easily
So, when considering something like BPO is the solution, think again. send invoices electronically. They can flip POs into invoices,
the current global crisis, it only adds These options are just as fraught upload invoice information using templates, or even quickly
cost and complexity constraints. with challenges during a crisis key in invoice information for simple, one-off invoices. The
Organizations are currently because they still rely on receiving major benefit here is suppliers get real-time visibility into
experiencing delays in receiving the invoices as paper, then converting invoice and payment statuses – extremely critical during this
mail, most employees are working them to an electronic format. The crisis – without having to call your AP department.
remotely and don’t have easy access solution is to eliminate paper from
to paper documents, and some the process, not just from your office.

08
S E C T I O N 1 : T O DAY

Why is this so important?

PRIORIT Y
E L I M I N AT E PA P E R I N V O I C E S
#1
• Accepts all invoice formats.
FROM THE PROCESS • Captures accurate information in electronic format.
• 100% data capture – PO, non-PO, direct, indirect,
recurring, etc.
WHAT YOU NEED:
• Suppliers DO NOT have to change how they operate.
An electronic invoicing network that connects you to 100% of
• In these trying times, this helps suppliers get paid faster.
your suppliers, from the largest to the smallest.
Not all of your suppliers are the same. Some send a high volume of invoices
regularly, while others send the occasional invoice. Some might already be part of
an e-invoicing network or are tech-savvy and have the resources to build EDI/B2B
connections, while others prefer to send emails. And if you are a global organization
S W I T C H I N G T O E L EC T R O N I C I N VO I C I N G ,
with suppliers in different geographies, the complexities only increase. The key to
DELIVERS SIGNIFICANT PROCESSING
achieving 100% supplier connectivity is implementing an e-invoicing solution that
E F F I C I E N C I E S A N D C O S T SAV I N G S
can support the needs of your diverse supplier base, without forcing your suppliers
to change the way they currently do business or charging them to get paid.
per 15 days to
Network interoperability Supplier portal
17.60€ to 6.40€ invoice

E-invoice
(EDI/B2B) PDF invoices Reduction in 3
days
Faster
processing invoice
costs handling
on average
I N VO I C I N G
NETWORK
Source: E&Y Worldwide Electronic Invoicing Survey

09
S E C T I O N 1 : T O DAY

PRIORIT Y
GA I N V I S I B I L I T Y OV E R YO U R
#2 SUPPLIERS AND SPEND

Uncertainty around how long the current crisis

will last has forced many organizations to quickly
analyze their spend for better management
opportunities.

Cost containment and spend control is forced to close their doors greatly
have become strategic priorities for impacts your buying organization,
of procurement leaders claim

65
CFOs and CPOs, while also looking and overall global supply chains are
for ways to minimize disruption to weakened as a result of this vicious
% that beyond tier 1 suppliers,
they have “limited or no
their operations. Without complete cycle.
visibility.”
visibility into your suppliers and
spend, balancing these two objectives According to a study from The
is almost impossible. Economist Intelligence Unit, more
than 60% of CFOs lack complete
Another emerging challenge is visibility into transactions within their

6
say they have full
inefficient processes result in delayed organizations3. Without complete % transparency of the entire
payments, which puts unnecessary visibility, it is extremely difficult
supply chain.
strain on suppliers who rely solely to achieve a holistic view of your
on revenue from customers to stay supply chain, to determine where to
operational, ultimately impacting their cut spending, where to accelerate
Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit
ability to deliver goods and services payments to key suppliers, and how to
on time. Or worst case, a supplier that keep processes moving.

10
S E C T I O N 1 : T O DAY

Why is this so important?

PRIORIT Y
GA I N V I S I B I L I T Y OV E R YO U R
#2
• Transparency is a defining characteristic of successful
SUPPLIERS AND SPEND businesses worldwide.
• Total visibility of the flow of money, goods, and services
empowers more strategic business decisions.
• Long-term: Companies that invest in improving visibility
across finance and procurement benefit from greater
employee engagement, improved reputation, and
revenue growth.
• Short-term: The more visibility over your supply chain,
the better you can make decisions that support both
spend control and supplier relations.

Now that businesses across the entire organization

are gaining a better and 26% say transparent
understanding of challenges finance and procurement
that exist in their current processes would lead to an
processes and the overall 11% to 20% cost reduction
impact of slow payments – all extremely important
on the supply chain, many objectives in the current
are ready to change. An economic climate4.
increasing need for visibility
WHAT YOU NEED: is the key factor driving Armed with data and visibility
A holistic view into 100% of your suppliers and change. According to a into company spending, you
recent HBR study, 90% of will be in a better position to
spend from a single, centralized location to enable manage your key suppliers
executives say increased
better strategic decision-making. business transparency leads and the entire supply chain.
to informed decision-making

11
S E C T I O N 1 : T O DAY

Things to consider
PRIORIT Y
GA I N V I S I B I L I T Y OV E R YO U R
#2 SUPPLIERS AND SPEND
• Increase spend under control: “Uncontrolled spending”
typically makes up a large portion of the opportunity for spend
optimization. The ability to see your total running spend broken
down by controlled versus uncontrolled spending, helps you
understand the landscape of organizational spending over time.
This data enables you to devise strategies to change spending
behavior, drive more compliance, and set realistic targets for
obtaining more spend under management.

• Identify key suppliers: In these challenging times, you need to

understand which suppliers you’re doing the most business
with, so you can quickly identify your key suppliers and gain a
better understanding of what type of support they need.

• Mitigate supply chain disruptions: Many organizations

are now vulnerable to supply chain disruptions, especially

90 % 26 %
55 % companies that rely on “mega suppliers” that have emerged
as a result of years of strategic sourcing initiatives and
industry consolidation or suppliers in certain geographies.
With complete visibility into your supply chain, you can identify
and mitigate these disruptions before they have a chance to
negatively impact your operations.
say increased of execs say say ethical and
transparency transparent finance commercial • Strengthen the supply chain: Some of your suppliers are
leads to better- and procurement considerations are currently dealing with increased cash flow pressures and
informed decision- processes would equally important other related challenges. Complete visibility into your supply
making across the lead to 11–20% cost when evaluating chain will help you identify supplier vulnerabilities so you can
organization reduction suppliers take actions to strengthen your supply chain (eg: accelerating
Source: Harvard Business Review Analytic Services
payments to strategic or smaller suppliers).

12
S E C T I O N 1 : T O DAY

WHAT YOU NEED:

PRIORIT Y
E N A B L E YO U R WO R K FO R C E A SaaS-based solution that easily integrates with your
#3 T O O P E R A T E R E M O T E LY existing ERP and financial systems, to support a truly
remote workforce.
The current state of business operations may If paper is the enemy of efficient payables processes, automation is its
seem disjointed and strange. best friend. With a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) e-invoicing solution, a web
browser is all that’s needed for access. So, your AP teams can continue
For many employees, it might be the access to the building is banned – processing invoices from wherever they are, ensuring there are minimal
first time they’ve been required to work what if one of those documents is disruptions to the flow of goods, services, and money.
from home. And even as lockdown an important invoice from an at-risk
restrictions ease, there is still a concern supplier, a new strategic supplier
amongst employees regarding their set-up form, or a credit note? Things to consider
safety when returning to the workplace.
Further, many CFOs feel that remote So, with most procurement and finance • Integration with existing solutions: By integrating systems, you
working will become the new normal, staff working remotely, how can you eliminate manual tasks associated with aggregating data from
even after we come out of the crisis. find ways to keep the organization’s multiple sources. Integrated systems minimize human error, support
processes moving? How can your touchless information exchange, and allow for more timely data
Consider all the paper documents left workforce continue their business collection.
sitting on employees’ desks, waiting operations, if they don’t have access
to be processed but haven’t because to the tools they need to do so? • Plug and play capabilities: ‘Plug in, plug out’ via open APIs and
application partnerships. This way you can easily integrate e-invoicing
capabilities with existing ERP and back-end systems already in use.
CONFIDENT IN PLANS FLEXIBLE WORK IS
• Any time, any device access: Through web access, finance
T O C R E AT E SA F E A BETTER MODEL
professionals can review and approve invoices and address supplier
W O R K P L AC E S
68% of CFOs say crisis-driven inquiries whenever and wherever they are. Users can access
Two-thirds of CFOs are “very transitions to remote work will e-invoicing applications on-the-go and a seamless user experience
confident” their company make their company better in the across all devices (including mobile) only requires them to learn once,
can create a safe workplace. long run. use everywhere.
Employees may not be so sure. Source: PwC COVID-19 CFO Pulse Survey

13
S E C T I O N 1 : T O DAY

PRIORIT Y
E N A B L E YO U R WO R K FO R C E
#3 T O O P E R A T E R E M O T E LY

Benefits of remote working

Ensures continuity of operations in the

63 %
89 %
94 % event of a disaster – 75% of remote
workers say they continue with their
work regardless of disasters vs
28% non-remote workers.

thought it would believed it would thought it would

increase their decrease their have a positive
frequency of levels of stress. impact on their
Source: Flexjobs Corporation and Rebel +
physical exercise. personal life. Connect

Why is this so important?

• Concerns over loss of productivity due to remote working have declined.
• Recent PwC study suggests 68% of companies feel that this new flexibility in working will serve the company well in the long run1.
• 44% say they’re finding new ways to serve customers.
• Use of social technology in the workplace has increased and will continue to remain a key component of everyday communication.
• Organizations cannot afford to ignore the relevance of remote working in their operational and automation plans going forward.

14
S E C T I O N 1 : T O DAY

HOW
H E I N E K E N ’ S E X P EC T E D T I M E- SAV I N G S
O N I N VO I C E P R O C E S S I N G :

BASWAR E
60
on all order
%
CAN HELP related paper
invoices

E L I M I N AT E PA P E R I N VO I C E S
• World’s largest open, global commerce network
on all
• Transact with > 2 million active buyers and suppliers in 175 countries

40
non-order
and 220+ interops
• 100% supplier connectivity from the largest to the smallest,
% related paper
invoices
including your long-tail
• Capture 100% of data (covering PO/non-PO based and direct/indirect spend)

GA I N S U P P LY C H A I N V I S I B I L I T Y
• Centralize and standardize spend into one platform, layered with

95
advanced analytics
• Easily track and benchmark spend by supplier, category, and department % on all
electronic
• View managed versus unmanaged spend, track process efficiencies, invoices
and improvements
• Mitigate supplier risks by gaining complete visibility into all your
suppliers and spend

ENABLE REMOTE WORKFORCE Basware has helped us

• Cloud-based solutions support decentralized operations and remote workforces achieve significant savings
• Integration with 250+ ERPs - co-existence with existing ERP/financial systems
• Any time, any device support to access the application from anywhere across the accounts payable
department.
Ed Prins, Financial Services Manager, Heineken
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TOMORROW

16
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W H I C H O F T H E F O L L O W I N G F I N A N C I A L AC T I O N S I S YO U R
C O M PA N Y C O N S I D E R I N G A S A R E S U LT O F C OV I D - 1 9 ?

86%
Implementing cost containment 82%
80%

70%
Deferring or canceling planned 67%
investments

58%
56%

Changing company financing 46%

plans 44%

April 8 April 22 May 6

2020 2020 2020
Source: PwC COVID-19 CFO Pulse Survey

CFOs expect some of the cost-containment back to normal (whatever the “new normal” Automating your AP and procurement processes
actions taken in the thick of the crisis to will look like), your Finance and Procurement means lower processing costs, fewer exceptions,
continue for the foreseeable future. A majority departments may be tasked with delivering more fewer manual tasks, and the ability to redirect limited
of respondents (80%) to the CFO Pulse with fewer resources. The focus will also shift resources to more strategic activities. Leveraging a
survey state that their company is considering from purely keeping processes moving to drive layer of analytics on top of automation ensures easy
implementing additional cost measures1. What cost containment, spend control, and processing accruals and more accurate cash forecasting in real-
this means is that even after we come out efficiencies. time, which will prove critical for the C-suite as we
of the current crisis and things start to get come out of this crisis.

17
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THREE
NEXT
STEPS
These three next steps – layered on top of an
existing foundation – will enable your organization
to leverage automation to achieve the strategic
objectives around processing efficiencies,
cost control, and spend management.

PRIORIT Y
L E V E R A G E A D VA N C E D A U T O M A T I O N
#1 TO R E M OV E M A N UA L E F FO RT

PRIORIT Y
ENSURE COST CONTROL BY DRIVING
#2 PROCUREMENT POLICY COMPLIANCE

PRIORIT Y
A C C U R AT E LY F O R E C A S T C A S H F L O W S
#3 I N R E A L-T I M E U S I N G A N A LY T I C S

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PRIORIT Y
L E V E R A G E A D VA N C E D A U T O M A T I O N
#1 TO R E M OV E M A N UA L E F FO RT

Manual data entry 1/3 of AP staff

We know increased remote working will become part of and invoice routing spends between 4–8
are top 2 challenges hours/week resolving
the new normal as we come out of this crisis, and manual for AP departments exceptions
processes require one thing – working hands. But if your Staff is stuck in tactical Dispute handling
workforce is not physically in the office, your operations issues and cannot increases costs and
focus on payment lengthens processing
are significantly delayed and may even come to a halt. performance cycles
Source: Levvel Research

The most vital part of business is the

exchange of cash for goods. If your
invoice processing comes to a stop,
so does your business. Suppliers
must be paid. Supply chains must
keep flowing.

That’s where AP Automation comes

in, taking slow, paper-based and
manual processes and turning them
into digitized, electronic ones.

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SECTION 2: TOMORROW

PRIORIT Y
L E V E R A G E A D VA N C E D A U T O M A T I O N
#1 TO R E M OV E M A N UA L E F FO RT

WHAT YOU NEED: Things to consider

An accounts payable automation • Intelligent routing: Smart routing functionality ensures that invoices are automatically sent to
solution that drives touchless the approval workflow without the need for any manual effort. Based on the data on the invoice,
processing and minimizes the system automatically determines the recipient and sends the invoice along for coding and
processing.
exceptions so you can focus
• Automated matching: AP automation enables the use of any combination of invoices, POs, goods
your limited resources on more receipts, quality checks, contracts, etc. at the line or header level for straight-through processing of
strategic activities. PO-based invoices. And when information is missing, recognition methods review the available data
to calculate the best matching scenario.
Taking slow, tedious, manual, paper-based
• Coding templates: You can apply coding templates to automate the processing of invoices for certain
processes out of the AP cycle and moving
non-PO invoices based on supplier, commodity, and the requesting user. Data from the invoice
to an automated process provides clear and
header or invoice lines are used to define proper invoice coding and automate the process, reducing
compelling benefits. Advanced automation
manual intervention.
means less human intervention, fewer errors,
and more efficient processes. AP automation • Smart coding: Some solutions also go beyond just using pre-defined coding templates to deliver
solutions further increase straight-through what we call “smart coding.” Smart coding automates invoices that are not linked to a purchase
processing of invoices – by applying intelligent order or a payment plan. Based on historical coding and invoice header data, this functionality
logic to automatically route, code, and match creates coding for invoices.
invoices.
• Payment plans: Another area where touchless processing delivers significant benefits is for
More invoices are processed without human recurring payments that may not have invoices already associated with them. Some examples of
intervention, freeing up AP staff to focus on these are rent, utilities, mobile phone plans, etc. The AP automation solution you choose should be
more value-added activities such as resolving able to easily identify recurring payments and support the automation of these payments – whether
exceptions, analyzing spend, and managing they are based on schedules, budgets, or amounts.
supplier relationships.

20
SECTION 2: TOMORROW

PRIORIT Y
L E V E R A G E A D VA N C E D A U T O M A T I O N B E N E F I T S O F A P AU T O M AT I O N
#1 TO R E M OV E M A N UA L E F FO RT

R O L E O F A I A N D M L I N A P AU T O M AT I O N
31 % Reduction of AP invoice
processing costs.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies

help to further optimize your operations by delivering advanced
capabilities across the invoice processing lifecycle.
32 % Improvement in on-time
payments.

• Mirror offline processes, including • Provide data needed to pinpoint

automatically notifying approvers, process bottlenecks, and help you
authorizing steps, and matching POs, understand why certain invoices take
with fewer human interactions and longer than others or why certain
fewer errors.
• Capture and serve up your invoice
data in a single view so that you
invoices have more exceptions.
• Aggregate historical data collected
into predictive analytics that can
24 % Less time spent on
supplier inquiries.

can identify efficiencies and areas calculate the probability of on-time

needing improvement to help your or late payments.
organization achieve 100% touchless

37
AP processing.
% Improvement in invoice
matching due to better
data accuracy.

Source: The Hackett Group

21
SECTION 2: TOMORROW

PRIORIT Y
E N S U R E COST CO N T R O L BY D R I V I N G
#2 P R O CU R E M E N T P O L I CY CO M P L I A N C E

Year-after-year, savings are a top priority for 74% Buying from an unapproved supplier

procurement departments and organizations as a whole, Buying from an unapproved supplier, right price,
68%
and this year is even more critical as organizations but through an unapproved buying channel.

have taken a significant hit to their top-line and are now 51%
Buying from an unapproved supplier for an
unapproved spend category.
focusing heavily on containing costs. 43%
Buying unapproved goods/services from an
unapproved supplier.
Buying from an approved suppliers but at a
34%
In this scenario, enforcing compliance hurt the bottom-line, lead to internal different price than negotiated/contracted.
with purchasing policies and mitigating conflict, and slow down the buying Source: The Hackett Group

maverick spend become critical as process.

every dollar saved directly impacts the
It’s worth noting that buying WHAT YOU NEED:
bottom-line.
from an unapproved supplier is not An electronic procurement solution that enables
So, what drives maverick spending? only the most common type of non- your users to easily get exactly what they need,
Generally speaking, employees want compliance, but it’s also the riskiest
to do the right thing, but they may because unapproved suppliers have while complying with procurement policies and
not know the proper procedures or not gone through proper screening. negotiated contracts.
maybe they found a method they As a result, companies face supply
The way to ensure compliance with purchasing policies and negotiat-
feel works better for them. Perhaps chain risk in the form of fraud,
ed contracts is to provide an electronic procurement (e-procurement)
they don’t agree with the compliance uncertainty, unsavory practices
solution that enables end-users to quickly find and order exactly what
process and have experienced little or by the supplier, and more.
they need. This allows them to stay compliant with procurement
no repercussions for not following it.
policy without having to understand the intricacies of that policy.
Whatever the cause, maverick spending
The solution should also provide procurement teams with the right
can damage procurement’s efforts,
digital capabilities to support strategic initiatives behind the scenes.

22
SECTION 2: TOMORROW

PRIORIT Y
E N S U R E COST CO N T R O L BY D R I V I N G
#2 P R O CU R E M E N T P O L I CY CO M P L I A N C E

If e-procurement truly makes people’s lives easier Things to consider

and their time spent more valuable, then they
• Ease of use: A consumer-style shopping experience that fits naturally into the way people already
will use it every single time. Achieving 100% user
work, makes it easy for users to use the system to request goods and services – increasing
adoption of an e-procurement solution is the
compliance and relieving procurement from “policing” the organization.
single most important milestone in reaching your
strategic goals of spend visibility and cost control. • Access to products: Catalog management tools that keep your supplier catalogs up to date with the
best products and prices, requiring little manual work from procurement. And punch-outs to external
Electronic procurement enables you to reduce websites, so your requesters can access a variety of choices for goods and supplies (eg. Amazon.com).
maverick spending, control costs and achieve your
strategic objectives. • Guided purchasing: Potential savings do not translate into actual savings unless employees purchase
goods and services from preferred vendors. Guided purchasing increases compliance with supplier and
pricing policies, simplifying the procurement process for end users and ensuring time and effort spend
on negotiating favorable contracts is productive.
Every $1 spent under
• Sophisticated search: Advanced search capabilities that allow users to find the products and services
management (eg. through an
they need easily and quickly help drive user adoption of any procurement solution. It’s not just about
e-Procurement system), yields
having a simple and intuitive user interface; it’s the underlying data model and indexing capabilities that
between 5¢ and 15¢ in savings.
make all the difference.
According to analysts, • Budget visibility: Budget check matrices inform approvers of the impact of purchases on budgets. This
improving spend compliance proactive approach gives managers the visibility to see how purchase requests impact budgets as the

4
from 60% to 95% would
% reduce cost of goods sold by
requests are submitted versus after the money has been spent and budgets used up.
• Advanced approvals: Modern e-procurement tools should automatically issue POs and place orders as
4%, translating into a direct
each item on an approved requisition without waiting for the other line items on the same order that
impact on operation cost
may require extra approvals.
reduction and profitability.
Source: Forrester Research and Payables Place

23
SECTION 2: TOMORROW

PRIORIT Y
A C C U R AT E LY F O R E C A S T C A S H F L O W S
#3 I N R E A L-T I M E U S I N G A N A LY T I C S

Organizations with decentralized

payables operations, disparate T O P 5 BA R R I E R S T O
financial systems, and manual T R A N S PA R E N C Y
processes often find they lack easy
access to their financial data. Or,
Manual processes that result in incomplete data
where data is available, it is often
incomplete or inaccurate. The manual 45%
effort involved in collecting and
compiling data, affects data analysis Lack of tools/technology to evaluate and monitor suppliers
and audits, making it more difficult to 44%
see patterns, spot issues before they
arise, and deal with bottlenecks. No way to properly analyze data

Automating your accounts payable 25%

and procurement operations
ensures that you gain visibility Lack of visibility into the purchase-to-pay process
across processes and spend. The 22%
analytics capabilities available as
part of automation solutions, enable No immediate support from top management
you to drill down into transactions,
22%
identify and resolve bottlenecks, and
ultimately gain actionable insights. Source: Harvard Business Review Analytic Services

24
SECTION 2: TOMORROW

PRIORIT Y
A C C U R AT E LY F O R E C A S T C A S H F L O W S
#3 I N R E A L-T I M E U S I N G A N A LY T I C S

WHAT YOU NEED: Things to consider

A single, centralized platform that • 100% spend visibility: You can only get 100% spend visibility when all spend is captured and
delivers complete visibility across your available for analysis. Layering this data with robust analytics capabilities helps consolidate
spend, right-size the supply base, and negotiate favorable contracts with suppliers.
operations and accurately forecasts
what the future looks like. • Easily analyze spend: Once you have all your supplier and spend data consolidated in one place,
you can evaluate how you’re spending money, who you are spending with, and the cash flows
in and out of the business. This enables you to easily identify areas of spend that are critical to
With so much data running through your your business to keep operations moving versus areas that are more discretionary and can be
processes, your organization might feel lost targeted for spend control and reductions.
when it comes to finding your way through it all. • Community benchmarking: Leverage packaged dashboards, reports, graphs, and KPIs, to quickly
But once you have a centralized platform that identify ways to optimize spend, improve cash management and supplier performance, as well
consolidates all your data and provides 100% as reduce costs and streamline processes. Monitor your metrics and performance over time and
visibility, Finance departments are empowered against the best-performing companies in the community, so you can set realistic improvement
to deliver critical information to the broader goals and easily measure success.
company and support strategic decision-making.
• Supplier performance: Your solution should make it simple to compare suppliers against
Easy access and the ability to analyze all the similar vendors, helping you to understand market rates, track performance, and negotiate
available information, changes the way Finance more favorable contracts. It should also help you set realistic goals with suppliers and measure
departments do business. Measly reports created success, so these relationships are properly maintained and in-line with your business objectives.
in Excel do not offer the real-time, full visibility • Predictive analytics: Leverage historical data, machine learning, statistics, and analytics to
reporting that modern analytics provides. These create a predictive model to help forecast future events. Data-driven predictive models can help
intelligent analytics applications show stats and companies solve long-standing problems in new ways – such as committed spend. It starts first
alert-up (instead of drilling-down) on items that with a business goal such as using data to gain visibility and cut costs, then evolves to the next
need attention. level – how to use data to predict cash flow needs for the business.

25
SECTION 2: TOMORROW

ADT AND T YCO HAS ACHIEVED

COST SAVINGS AND CONTROL
HOW WITH AUTOMATION

BASWAR E Cost savings

Direct cost savings in excess of

CAN HELP £400,000 in the first year alone

Increased
L E V E R AG E A DVA N C E D AU T O M AT I O N
• Configurable business rules/logic for invoice routing, matching, approval,
visibility
Assuring AP best practice
including workload management and balancing
through increased visibility
• Superior PO matching capabilities to increase touchless processing and intelligent
routing of non-PO invoices
• Leverage AI and ML to minimize human intervention, reduce errors,
and increase efficiencies
Control &
ENSURE COST CONTROL reporting
• Comprehensive business marketplace that supports catalog and non-catalog A single point of
purchasing, vendor punchouts, and supplier enabled content control & reporting
• Connect to both strategic and long-tail suppliers, ensuring users always see
the most current prices and available products Basware has helped us
• Ensure preferred suppliers, contract terms and purchasing policies are visible
and accessible to end-users and approvers throughout the buying process
achieve a 75% reduction
in invoice cycle time, down
AC C U R AT E LY F O R EC A S T C A S H F L O WS
from four weeks to five
• View spend by supplier, category, and department; managed vs unmanaged spend
• Track process efficiency and continuous improvement and drill into the days, so we are processing
transactional details behind the trends 250,000 invoices much
• Predictive analytics and committed spend analytics give you a 360° view of spend more efficiently.
today, and offer insights into the future for more strategic, data-driven decisions
Steve Katona, UK Accounts Payable
• Compare KPIs/metrics against other companies to track and improve performance Manager, ADT and TF&IS
26
SECTION 3:
THE FUTURE

27
SECTION 3: THE FUTURE

It is known that the global pandemic has brought

attention to the inefficiencies in current processes and A S A R E S U LT O F C OV I D - 1 9, I N W H I C H O F
is providing the incentive to change the way things T H E F O L L O W I N G A R E A S A R E YO U P L A N N I N G
C H A N G E S T O YO U R S U P P LY C H A I N S T R AT E GY ?
operate. However, global trade, ongoing climate change,
unpredictable weather-related events, etc. will continue
to have an impact on the economy, operations, and how Understand financial and operational health of suppliers
organizations look at business continuity. 54%

While the crisis was unexpected and unprecedented,

organizations have stepped up and adapted to the new Develop additional, alternate sourcing options
way of working. The crisis accelerated trends from years
56%
into weeks, and ideas or initiatives that once seemed
impossible have now been accomplished with urgency.
The experience over the last few months has shown that Change contractual terms
automation and digitization are essential to maintain 38%
business continuity and resilience.
Use automation to improve the speed and accuracy of
Organizations have no choice but to adopt these decision-making
technologies to future proof their business. While
26%
starting with solutions that deliver the best time to
value, you also need to ensure that you are setting Source: PwC COVID-19 CFO Pulse Survey
yourself up for long-term success with a broader vision
around supply chain risk, working capital optimization,
and environmental sustainability.

We are seeing that “business continuity” is the new

“business as usual,” and organizations that plan for the
future starting now will be best positioned for success in
the new normal.

28
SECTION 3: THE FUTURE

THREE
FINAL
STEPS
Once you have the foundation in place to eliminate paper
and manual steps from your P2P processes, you also
need to future proof your business operations. These
three, final steps can help you get the most out of more
advanced technologies around risk management,
working capital, and sustainability.

PRIORIT Y
LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO
#1 M I T I G A T E S U P P LY C H A I N R I S K

PRIORIT Y
O P T I M I Z E W O R K I N G C A P I TA L
#2 T H R O U G H A U T O M AT I O N

PRIORIT Y
D R I V E E N V I R O N M E N TA L
#3 S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

29
SECTION 3: THE FUTURE

PRIORIT Y
LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO
#1 M I T I G A T E S U P P LY C H A I N R I S K

Globalization, changing roles of procurement, and M O S T C P O S F E E L P R O C U R E M E N T- R E L AT E D

R I S K S H AV E I N C R E A S E D OV E R T H E L A S T
digital transformation are catalysts driving change
12 MONTHS
that bring both challenges and opportunities. Open
business networks are making supply chains larger and Increased significantly Increased somewhat

more diverse across borders. Connecting with suppliers Broadly unchanged Declined somewhat
across the globe opens the door to finding the perfect Declined signicantly
supplier for your needs. But it also opens the door to
something not quite as pleasant — supply chain risk. 3% 0%

Failing to get a handle on managing supplier risk

19%
could lead to:

• Over-reliance on certain suppliers

• Supply interruptions or discontinuities
• Critical technology failures 34%
• Cyber-attacks and vendor fraud
• Environmental incidents

The last thing you want, particularly in a climate 42%

where social media moves news at the speed of light,
is to deal with a PR nightmare as a result of the risks
listed above. Source: PwC COVID-19 CFO Pulse Survey

30
SECTION 3: THE FUTURE

PRIORIT Y
LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY TO
#1 M I T I G A T E S U P P LY C H A I N R I S K

WHAT YOU NEED: Things to consider

An automated solution that enables you to
• “Always-on” risk management: Know your suppliers. Know when
better manage risk, increase visibility across change happens and provide timely notification to enable early
the full supplier ecosystem, and reduce costs action. When your procurement and AP teams have access to
and labor associated with these processes. continuous monitoring and timeline notifications, they’ll be
empowered to better control their purchasing and payment
processes.
Supplier management is no longer about negotiating the • Automate risk management: Automating risk management will
cheapest possible price with suppliers; there’s too much risk free up time for strategic initiatives. So, instead of spending hours
associated with thinking merely in terms of dollar signs. gathering supplier information and obsessively checking regulatory
You need open dialogs and increased communication compliance mandates, your teams can focus on evaluating potential
between buyers and suppliers. risk and taking preventative actions if needed.

The conversation shouldn’t just circulate around “how • Systematic approach to supplier monitoring: Through automation,
much?”, but around sustainability, diversity, ethics, and you can extend monitoring beyond your current top suppliers to
reputation to avoid risk. Your suppliers are an extension of reach new suppliers and eventually, give more visibility into your
your brand, thus a direct reflection of your business’ own long-tail of suppliers.
beliefs.

31
SECTION 3: THE FUTURE

PRIORIT Y
O P T I M I Z E W O R K I N G C A P I TA L
#2 T H R O U G H A U T O M AT I O N

When people think about working capital management,

improving the collection of sales invoices (Days Sales
Outstanding) and optimizing inventory first come to mind.

However, optimizing accounts payable (Days Payables Outstanding)

and procurement are also excellent working capital opportunities.
These functions are best optimized through automation that streamlines
processes across the entire P2P process and collects vital financial data
for analysis.

With actionable analytics, businesses can make the right decisions to

release funds for self-financing projects, acquisitions, and growth plans
or to finance their discount programs to save in purchasing costs.

32
SECTION 3: THE FUTURE

PRIORIT Y
O P T I M I Z E W O R K I N G C A P I TA L
#2 T H R O U G H A U T O M AT I O N

WHAT YOU NEED: Things to consider

The ability to take advantage of process automation to integrate cash • Electronic payments: Automate your
management and working capital optimization into the P2P process. payments processes, by moving away
from paper checks to ACH, wires and
Services that release cash from operations without causing financial strain on your supply chain card payments. Reduce transaction
are key to working capital management. These services maximize cash flow and put existing processing costs, gain increased
excess cash and newly released cash to better use. Contrary to traditional trade financing visibility across cash flows, reduce
solutions, modern working capital optimization solutions are completely digital, enabled for risk of fraud and improve supplier
multiple funders, and can concurrently address different geographical and funding needs. relationships.
• Dynamic Discounting: Use your
excess cash to offer early payment
to suppliers against discounts
W O R K I N G C A P I TA L S O L U T I O N S AVA I L A B L E F O R E V E RY S U P P L I E R T Y P E
determined by the acceleration of
Supply Chain Financing payment.

COST OF CAPITAL
• Supply Chain Financing: Harmonize
ANNUAL SPEND

Dynamic Discounting
payment terms and offer strategic
e-Payments suppliers an option to receive
payments early based on their cash
flow requirements through your
preferred funding sources.

33
SECTION 3: THE FUTURE

PRIORIT Y
D R I V E E N V I R O N M E N TA L
#3 S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

Most organizations overlook that paper invoicing has

consequences far beyond just inefficiencies and
higher costs.
The environmental impact of invoicing is not often factored into the
equation. Almost 10% of trees cut down globally become paper for invoices.
For an organization receiving 20,000 invoices a year, that amounts to 96
trees, 300 tons of water, and 24 tons of CO2 annually5. Globally, 70% of
invoices are still sent in paper format6 – that’s a lot of trees, water, energy,
and CO2 emissions.

By switching to electronic invoicing and automating your P2P processes, you

are not only reducing the amount of paper used within your organization,
but you are also making a significant difference to the environment.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF PAPER INVOICES IS SIGNIFICANT

Ten percent of trees cut down globally Energy used to produce invoices equals
every year becomes paper for invoices. annual consumption of 20 million
households.
Source: The World Counts

34
SECTION 3: THE FUTURE

PRIORIT Y
D R I V E E N V I R O N M E N TA L
#3 S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

WHAT YOU NEED: Things to consider

An automation solution that enables you to eliminate paper
• Eliminate paper: Getting rid of an over-reliance on paper
invoices and manual processes and allows you to benchmark means you can reduce your contribution to CO2 emissions
your carbon emissions and other green initiatives. while reaping the benefits of cost savings and efficiency.

Automation is an opportunity for organizations of all sizes to reinforce • Leverage automation: A digital process means you can
their green credentials by reducing CO2 emissions. These emission savings encourage some of your teams to work remotely for a day or
are mainly from client-side gains through the elimination of paper and two per week. Working from home decreases emissions from
enabling remote working. one of the costliest contributors to the carbon problem—
transportation.
• SaaS solutions: Cloud computing means less infrastructure
is required to power your business from a hardware and IT
perspective so fewer servers and less equipment are needed,
decreasing CO2 emissions.
• Automate procurement: Efficient procurement processes
enable bundled orders and shipments, creating less pollution
from deliveries and packaging materials.
• Business networks: Connecting to a business network means
you can identify new sustainable suppliers and source goods
and materials from companies that share your values.
• Reinvest savings: Fund other sustainability initiatives from
the cost savings you realize by going digital.

35
SECTION 3: THE FUTURE

HOW
F I N AV I A AC H I E V E D G R E AT E R
T R A N S PA R E N C Y A N D S P E N D V I S I B I L I T Y

BASWAR E
80 % of spend

CAN HELP going through

e-procurement

M I T I GAT E S U P P LY C H A I N R I S K
• Better manage supplier risks through closer collaboration and due diligence
• Extend monitoring beyond your current top suppliers to reach new suppliers

60
• Leverage partnerships to gain visibility into the entire supply chain, including
long-tail suppliers % less
suppliers
• Identify changes in your supplier base and receive timely notifications so you
can react quickly and effectively

O P T I M I Z E W O R K I N G C A P I TA L
• Accelerate invoice processing cycles to capture additional discount
opportunities

40
less purchase
• Leverage advanced technologies like dynamic discounting and supply chain
finance % invoices than
• Improve accuracy, control, and visibility over your entire payables process 3 years ago
• Increase forecasting and cash flow management accuracy to optimize your
working capital requirements

D R I V E E N V I R O N M E N TA L S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y
We now have a uniform
• Reduce reliance on paper (with e-invoicing, Basware Portal and SmartPDF) to
minimize emissions purchasing method
• Leverage our network and partnerships to identify and connect with throughout the Group. The
sustainable suppliers and source from companies that share your values number of suppliers has
• Utilize the carbon footprint index to track your CO2 emissions over time and
also benchmark against other companies in the Network decreased considerably.
Ismo Karjalainen, Procurement Director, Finavia 36
CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION
The global crisis was unexpected and At Basware, we call this “Visible
unprecedented. It shone a harsh light on Commerce.” We see Visible Commerce as
where there are gaps; where we are the future. We see a world where there
weak; how we fail. But that’s not all it is complete visibility across all flows of
highlighted. It also showed us where money, goods, and services globally,
there is opportunity; how we can work leading to more effective and ethical
differently; how we can come together. decision-making – creating a better global
economy for all.
It showed how quickly organizations
adapted to remote working to keep
processes moving. It showed that Get in touch
automation is the only way to build
resilience and ensure business continuity. We’ll be happy to discuss your needs.
It showed us that visibility within the
organization and across the entire supply GET IN TOUCH
chain is critical to keep the flow of goods,
services, and money moving.

1 https://www.westmonroepartners.com/perspectives/report/c-suite-poll-re-entry-long-term-impacts-of-covid-19

2 https://www.pwc.com/us/en/library/covid-19/pwc-covid-19-cfo-pulse-survey.html

3 https://www.basware.com/en-us/resources/what%E2%80%99s-now-and-next-for-finance-and-procurement/

4 https://www.basware.com/en-us/resources/harvard-business-review-analytic-services-using-tr/

5 https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Environmental_Impact_of_Paper_Production

6 https://www.paymentsjournal.com/paper-is-the-enemy-of-on-time-payment/

37
T O D AY.
TOMORROW.
THE FUTURE.
To get your business on the road to continuity,
simply book a call-back from the team.
We’ll be happy to discuss your needs.

GET IN TOUCH

38