SharePoint vs OpenText: The Best Purchase Order Automation Platform in San Diego

In today’s competitive landscape, businesses of all shapes and sizes must find ways to enhance productivity and efficiency, while lowering expenditures wherever possible.

One of the best places to begin is with business process automation (BPA). Via BPA, you could simplify monotonous and time-consuming workflows, ease the stress on your team members, and improve your workflows by increasing productivity and raising accuracy.

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

In this piece, we’re going to hone in on purchase order automation - how it functions, why automation is a great solution for this area, and evaluate a couple of our preferred PO process automation tools: Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

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

What is Purchase Order Automation?

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

With automation, purchase requisitions can be generated in a few seconds using pre-formatted layouts, and transmitting functionality can deliver approvals straight to the supply chain dealer after the approval process is complete.

This removes any need for physical involvement, record filing processes, and makes the process smoother and more efficient.

The Purchase Order Process

While the purchase order process can differ slightly from business to business, the following offers an excellent example of a typical, by-hand purchase order system.

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

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

Step 3: Then, the purchase order must be sent to the merchant.

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

Step 5: The vendor invoice will thereafter be received by the firm.

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

Step 7: Then the final step of the purchasing process is to file the related files to provide an audit trail.

This might not seem like a lot of steps, but for this process to run efficiently, all individuals from your AP team members, to sales agents, suppliers, and supervisors, must all provide correct, prompt responses. Several businesses can testify that this is grueling.

There are several benefits to automating this process, which we will explore in the next section.

The Advantages of an Automated Purchase Order System

There are many advantages to adopting purchase order automation solutions for your business. These include:

• Reduced Expenses

• Time Saved from Hand-Operated Tasks

• Real-Time Operational Visibility

• A Faster, More Optimized Purchasing Method

• Reduced Human Error

• Better Utilization of Human Resources

Now that we have covered what purchase order automation is, the parts of the process that can be automated, and the advantages of purchase order tools, let’s now talk about two of our favorite automation options, OpenText and Microsoft SharePoint.

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 material.

Regardless, with the addition of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can quickly customize SharePoint’s capabilities to include automation to many of your AP operations.

Pros

• Excellent user experience and interface

• Moderate learning curve for new users

• Metadata search improves searchability

Cons

• No integrated information capture or imaging feature

• Struggles at meeting compliance standards in a few industries

• SharePoint Online is not designed to meet Enterprise ECM requirements

OpenText Overview

OpenText is also an ECM solution but includes powerful add-ons that enable firms to automate processes, improve business operations, and reduce the risk related to governance and intellectual property.

Pros

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

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

• OpenText Documentum expands its features with case and inventory management functionality.

Cons

• Complex UX/UI

• Often demands specialist tuning to guarantee that it satisfies organizational needs

• Can get costly for enterprise functionality and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Diagram

How Wave Can Aid You in Implementing Purchase Order Automation in San Diego

The truth is hand-operated processes in your accounting framework basically slow your business down, cause bottlenecks and process issues, and ultimately hurt your development and adaptability.

Longer than necessary payment cycles can also result in greater expenses associated with purchase order management and invoice processing, limit your visibility and control, and can damage your vendor partnerships.

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

We work closely with Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, Netsuite, Oracle, and ECM and ERP tools like the ones we have examined in this piece and also Oracle, Xerox, MFiles, and much more.

We can assist you in implementing your accounts payable automation software locally, in the cloud, or in a hybrid concept contingent on your organizational regulations, budget, and compliance requirements.

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