On the issue of adoption...

A recent blog post from Chris Rauen at Ariba discusses accounts payable automation, promoting the use of e-invoicing as an integral component of an effective accounts payable automation strategy.

According to a 2010 PayStream Advisors e-invoicing benchmarking report, the top inhibitor to realizing the "paperless office" remains a reluctance on the part of vendors to adopt e-invoicing. According to the report, 85% of all invoices still arrive in paper format, either via traditional mail or faxes and e-mails that must be printed before processing.

While the transitioning of suppliers to electronic invoice submission is a noble initiative that would certainly enable a goal of streamlined A/P processing, evidence makes it clear that such efforts rarely achieve the desired result, while placing a burden on suppliers to alter their process runs a risk of straining the vendor-customer relationship.

The bottom line is that companies looking to stay ahead of the curve with matters of process efficiency must focus the bulk of their efforts on maximizing opportunities on their end of the transaction. This scenario demonstrates the true value of technology that can augment or replace manual data processing efforts without requiring any changes on the part of suppliers. In fact, creating efficiency in this manner will serve to improve vendor relations, as payments can be made more quickly and accurately, satisfying vendor terms rather than imposing new ones on them.