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

In the current competitive landscape, organizations of varying sizes must develop ways to increase efficiency and productivity, while cutting costs wherever possible.

One of the best places to begin is with business process automation (BPA). Through BPA, you can streamline repetitive and taxing processes, ease the load on your staff, and enhance your workflows by adding efficiency and amplifying accuracy.

There are a variety of tasks and business fields that could benefit from BPA. Among of the most prevalent adopters are Accounts Payable departments who can use BPA to automate purchase order processing, payroll, and invoicing.

In this piece, we’re going to hone in on purchase order automation - how it operates, why automation is a great option for this area, and assess two of our favorite PO process automation software: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

To start, let’s go over what purchase order automation is and how it functions.

What is Purchase Order Automation?

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

Via automation, purchase requests can be produced in a few seconds using pre-formatted templates, and transmitting capability can send approvals directly to the supply chain contractor after the approval process is finished.

This removes any need for human interference, record filing methods, and makes the process faster and more efficient.

The Purchase Order Process

While the purchase order process might look slightly different from one company to the next, the following offers a great example of a standard, by-hand purchase order system.

Step 1: The first step is creating a purchase order.

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

Step 3: Then, the purchase order should be forwarded to the vendor.

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

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

Step 6: The invoice should be reviewed and approved, and payment is issued to the vendor.

Step 7: The final step of the purchasing process is to file or archive the associated documents to generate an audit trail.

This may not seem like many steps, but to make this workflow to go smoothly, all participants from your AP team members, to sales reps, suppliers, and managers, must all provide correct, prompt responses. Several businesses can confirm that this is easier said than done.

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

The Benefits of an Automated Purchase Order Process

There are many advantages to adopting purchase order automation software for your organization. These include:

• Reduced Expenses

• Time Saved from Manual Processes

• Real-Time Visibility Into Operations

• A Quicker, More Efficient Procurement Process

• Reduced Human Error

• Greater Use of Human Resources

So, now that we’ve established what purchase order automation is, the aspects of the operation that could be automated, and the advantages of purchase order tools, let’s now take a closer look at two of our preferred automation tools, Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management solution (ECM) that, at its core, is a tool for handling, collaborating on, and distributing data.

Having said that, with the inclusion of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can simply customize SharePoint’s capabilities to include automation to most of your AP operations.

Pros

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

• Short learning curve for new users

• Metadata search adds improved searchability

Cons

• No local information capture or imaging feature

• Struggles at fulfilling compliance requirements in a few industries

• SharePoint Online is not made to fulfill Enterprise ECM requirements

OpenText Overview

OpenText is also an ECM solution but offers advanced add-ons that allow organizations to automate processes, enhance organizational operations, and reduce the risk related to management and intellectual property.

Pros

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

• Strong document filtering, management, classification, and access permissions

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

Cons

• Intricate UX/UI

• Usually requires specialist optimization to guarantee that it satisfies business needs

• Can be pricey for enterprise features and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Diagram

How Wave Can Assist You in Implementing Purchase Order Automation in Detroit

The reality is manual processes in your accounting framework basically slow your business down, cause hindrances and process issues, and ultimately hurt your development and scalability.

Longer than necessary payment cycles can also result in increased costs associated with purchase order and invoice processing, limit your transparency and control, and can damage your supplier partnerships.

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

We collaborate with SAP, Netsuite, Microsoft Dynamics, Oracle, as well as ERP and ECM tools like the ones we’ve discussed in this post and also Xerox, MFiles, Oracle, and more.

We can aid you in implementing your accounts payable automation software on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid model contingent on your business rules, budget, and compliance requirements.

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