In today's fast-paced business landscape, optimizing accounts payable (AP) processes is crucial for finance leaders seeking operational efficiency. During a recent webinar with Uwe Diemer, Global Process Owner of P2P, Heidelberg Materials, and Meng Liu, P2P industry analyst, Forrester, we discussed the benefits of AP automation and real-world experiences of delivering this.
During the lively discussion, we covered 3 core areas:
The Value of AP Automation
Finance leaders should understand they are sat on a vast amount of untapped potential within their AP teams. Unlocking the value with technology and the automation of day-to-day operations can be a significant value accelerator as well as deliver benefits to other processes such as budgeting, forecasting, and compliance management.
Overcoming AP Challenges
During the session, Uwe shared Heidelberg’s AP automation journey, how in practice they used Basware to address their specific challenges. Meng went on to expand upon the common pain points in AP processes that Forrester sees in its role as an industry analyst. These include disconnected systems, manual operations, and fragmented standards. Meng emphasized the importance of partnering with the right solution provider who can address industry trends and provide an exceptional customer experience.
The Future of AP Automation
In the final part of the webinar we looked to the future of AP automation, focusing on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. We discussed how AI can handle exception handling and improve processes like non PO invoice handling and PDF invoice processing. We also addressed the misconception of job displacement, emphasizing that automation empowers employees to focus on strategic tasks and decision-making.
Watch the full webinar here and delve deeper into the subject and unlock the full potential of AP automation,