Five Challenges to Successful Accounts Payable Automation Implementation, Part 2

The second key challenge companies confront when automating their accounts payable department is that they most likely believe their payable department is operating just fine.

The squeaky wheel most often gets the grease, so when companies are prioritizing upgrades and technology investments it’s easy to overlook processes that are running without issue. In fact, many companies may not even realize that there are areas to be improved, assuming that the tried-and-true approach is “good enough.” Unfortunately, the accounts payable department often falls prey to this line of thinking.

According to a study conducted by Canon Business Process Services (High-Performance Accounts Payable: Three Key Drivers to Success), the differences between average and high-performing accounts payable departments can be significant. Clearly, there is ample room for even well-functioning AP departments to realize efficiencies by driving down cost and optimizing time resources with automation.

In my next column I’ll spotlight the third challenge: Companies don’t think the cost and time associated with implementing accounts payable automation will justify the benefits. In the meantime, feel free to visit the accounts payable page of our web site for more industry insights, best practices and solutions for streamlining the operational efficiency of your AP department.