SharePoint vs OpenText: The Best Purchase Order Automation Tool in North Las Vegas

In the current competitive marketplace, businesses of all sizes must develop ways to increase productivity and efficiency, while reducing expenses wherever possible.

An excellent place to begin is with business process automation (BPA). Via BPA, you could streamline repetitive and taxing tasks, reduce the stress on your team members, and improve your workflows by developing productivity and amplifying accuracy.

There are a variety of tasks and business fields that can make use of BPA. Some of the most frequent adopters are Accounts Payable departments who can utilize BPA to automate invoicing, purchase order processing, and payroll.

In this article, we’re taking a closer look at purchase order automation - how it works, why automation is a great solution for this area, and compare two of our favorite PO process automation software: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

To start, let us talk about what purchase order automation is and how it works.

What is Purchase Order Automation?

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

With automation, purchase requisitions can be produced in a matter of seconds using pre-formatted templates, and transmitting capability can send authorizations straight to the supply chain vendor after the approval process is complete.

This eliminates any need for physical interference, document filing systems, and makes the operation simpler and more controllable.

The Purchase Order Process

Though the purchase order process might differ from one business to the next, the following provides an excellent example of a typical, hand-operated purchase order process.

Step 1: The first step is purchase order creation.

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

Step 3: After that, the purchase order must be sent to the contractor.

Step 4: Once filled, the company will then obtain its service or product.

Step 5: Then the company will receive the vendor invoice.

Step 6: The invoice should be verified and approved, and payment is released to the supplier.

Step 7: The final step of the purchasing process is to file the relevant files to generate an audit trail.

This might not seem like a lot of steps, but for this workflow to go smoothly, all participants from your AP personnel, to sales representatives, suppliers, and executives, must all provide precise, prompt responses. Several businesses can testify that this is grueling.

There are many benefits to automating this procedure, which we’ll discuss in the next chapter.

The Benefits of an Automated Purchase Order System

There are a number of benefits to adopting purchase order automation tools for your business. These include:

• Reduced Expenses

• Time Saved from Hand-Operated Processes

• Real-Time Visibility Into Operations

• A Quicker, More Optimized Purchasing Procedure

• Lessened Physical Error

• Improved Human Resource Utilization

So, now that we have covered what purchase order automation is, the parts of the operation that could be automated, and the advantages of purchase order software, let us now go over a couple of our favorite automation solutions, OpenText and Microsoft SharePoint.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management platform (ECM) that in its base form, is a program for managing, collaborating on, and distributing data.

However, with the integration of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can quickly customize SharePoint’s functionality to incorporate automation to most of your AP procedures.

Pros

• Fantastic UX/UI

• Minimal learning curve for new users

• Metadata search aid searchability

Cons

• No local data capture or imaging feature

• Struggles at fulfilling compliance standards in a few industries

• SharePoint Online is not designed to meet Corporate ECM needs

OpenText Overview

OpenText is similarly an ECM platform but includes advanced add-ons that empower businesses to automate processes, enhance business operations, and lower the risk associated with administration and intellectual property.

Pros

• A better option for business with a high level of compliance

• Powerful document filtering, management, classification, and access authorizations

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

Cons

• Complicated UX/UI

• Typically demands professional tuning to guarantee that it meets organizational requirements

• Can get costly for corporate features and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Table

How Wave Can Aid You in Implementing Purchase Order Automation in North Las Vegas

The reality is hand-operated workflows in your accounting system just slow your organization down, generate hindrances and process headaches, and consequently hurt your development and flexibility.

Longer than necessary payment cycles can also result in higher costs associated with purchase order management and invoice processing, impede your visibility and control, and can disrupt your supplier partnerships.

At Wave, we can help you to streamline your accounts payable (AP) processes completely, including purchase orders, procurement, data entry, approval process, invoicing, payments, and even document storage platforms.

We work closely with Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Netsuite, Oracle, in addition to ERP and ECM systems like the ones we’ve examined in this article and also Xerox, MFiles, Oracle, and much more.

We can assist you in implementing your AP automation software on-site, in the cloud, or in a hybrid model depending on your organizational rules, budget, and compliance guidelines.

To discover more, connect with us right now for a free consultation.