SharePoint vs OpenText: The Ultimate Purchase Order Automation Tool in Irvine

Considering the current competitive marketplace, organizations of all sizes must develop ways to increase productivity and efficiency, while reducing costs wherever necessary.

A great place to start is with business process automation (BPA). Via BPA, you could expedite tedious and laborious tasks, reduce the burden for your colleagues, and upgrade your system by adding efficiency and raising reliability.

There are several operations and business sectors that can take advantage of BPA. Among of the most common adopters are Accounts Payable departments who can utilize BPA to automate payroll, invoicing, and purchase order processing.

In this post, we’re going to hone in on purchase order automation - how it functions, why automation is an excellent option for this area, and compare a couple of our favorite PO process automation software: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

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

What is Purchase Order Automation?

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

Via automation, purchase requests can be created in a few seconds using pre-formatted templates, and routing capability can send approvals directly to the supply chain vendor after the approval process is done.

This eliminates any need for manual intervention, paper filing methods, and makes the operation simpler and more efficient.

The Purchase Order Process

Although the purchase order process might differ slightly from business to business, the following provides a great example of a typical, hand-operated purchase order system.

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

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

Step 3: After that, the purchase order should be routed to the contractor.

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

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

Step 6: The invoice will need to be verified and approved, and payment is released to the vendor.

Step 7: The last step of the purchasing procedure is to archive or file the associated documents to create an audit trail.

This might not seem like a lot of steps, but to make this process to run efficiently, all parties from your AP staff, to sales agents, suppliers, and managers, must all deliver accurate, timely responses. Many businesses can testify that this is way harder than it sounds.

There are many advantages to automating this procedure, which we’ll explore in the following section.

The Advantages of an Automated Purchase Order System

There are several advantages to adopting purchase order automation software for your business. These include:

• Cost Savings

• Time Saved from Physical Processes

• Real-Time Visibility Into Operations

• A Quicker, More Optimized Procurement Method

• Decreased Human Error

• Improved Human Resource Utilization

Now that we have reviewed what purchase order automation is, the parts of the process that can be automated, and the gains of purchase order solutions, let’s now take a closer look at two of our favorite automation options, OpenText and Microsoft SharePoint.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management software (ECM) that, at its core, is a tool for managing, collaborating on, and publishing content.

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

Pros

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

• Moderate learning curve for new users

• Metadata search enhances searchability

Cons

• No integrated data imaging or capture capability

• Struggles at following compliance standards in a few industries

• SharePoint Online is not made to meet Enterprise ECM requirements

OpenText Overview

OpenText is also an ECM solution but includes advanced add-ons that empower companies to automate processes, augment business operations, and reduce the risk connected to management and intellectual property.

Pros

• A better alternative for companies that must adhere to strict regulations

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

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

Cons

• Complicated UX/UI

• Typically necessitates expert tuning to ensure it meets organizational needs

• Can be expensive for enterprise capabilities and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Diagram

How Wave Can Help You Implement Purchase Order Automation in Irvine

The reality is by-hand workflows in your accounting framework just slow your firm down, create hindrances and process headaches, and sooner or later hurt your development and flexibility.

Extended billing cycles can also contribute to greater costs associated with purchase order management and invoice processing, reduce your transparency and control, and can add strain to your vendor partnerships.

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

We collaborate with Netsuite, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Oracle, in addition to ECM and ERP tools like the ones we have mentioned in this piece and also Oracle, Xerox, MFiles, and more.

We can help you deploy your AP automation software on-site, in the cloud, or in a hybrid concept based on your organizational rules, budget, and compliance guidelines.

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