SharePoint vs OpenText: The Best Purchase Order Automation Platform in Austin

In today’s competitive marketplace, firms of varying sizes must develop ways to boost productivity and efficiency, while reducing expenditures wherever possible.

One of the best places to begin is with business process automation (BPA). Through BPA, you could simplify repetitive and laborious processes, reduce the load on your team members, and enhance your workflows by increasing productivity and raising reliability.

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

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

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

What is Purchase Order Automation?

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

With automation, purchase requests can be produced in a few clicks from pre-formatted templates, and transmitting functionality can deliver authorizations straight to the supply chain dealer when the approval process is finished.

This eliminates any need for manual intervention, document filing systems, and makes the process smoother and more manageable.

The Purchase Order Process

Although the purchase order process may differ from one business to the next, the following offers an excellent example of a standard, 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: Following that, the purchase order must be routed to the merchant.

Step 4: Once filled, the firm will then receive its service or product.

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

Step 6: The invoice will need to be examined and authorized, and payment is released to the supplier.

Step 7: Then the final step of the purchasing procedure is to file the associated records to generate an audit trail.

This may not seem like a great deal of steps, but for this process to operate normally, all participants from your AP team members, to sales agents, suppliers, and executives, must all provide accurate, prompt responses. Most firms can confirm that this is grueling.

There are numerous benefits to automating this process, which we’ll explore in the next section.

The Benefits of an Automated Purchase Order Process

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

• Cost Savings

• Time Saved from By-Hand Processes

• Real-Time Insight Into Activities

• A Quicker, More Streamlined Purchasing Process

• Reduced Human Error

• Better Human Resource Utilization

So, now that we have established what purchase order automation is, the elements of the operation that could be automated, and the advantages of purchase order solutions, let us now take a closer look at a couple of our favorite automation options, Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText.

SharePoint vs OpenText

SharePoint Overview

SharePoint is an enterprise content management software (ECM) that in its base form, is a tool for monitoring, collaborating on, and publishing content.

Having said that, with the inclusion of Microsoft PowerApps Power Automate, you can easily modify SharePoint’s functionality to incorporate automation to several of your AP operations.

Pros

• Fantastic user experience and interface

• Moderate learning curve for new users

• Metadata search optimizes searchability

Cons

• No local information capture or imaging capability

• Struggles at following compliance guidelines in some sectors

• SharePoint Online is not designed to fulfill Enterprise ECM requirements

OpenText Overview

OpenText is similarly an ECM platform but offers powerful add-ons that allow organizations to automate workflows, enhance business functions, and decrease the risk related to governance and intellectual property.

Pros

• An excellent alternative for companies that must adhere to strict regulations

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

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

Cons

• Complex UX/UI

• Usually necessitates professional tuning to guarantee that it satisfies business requirements

• Can be expensive for corporate features and add-ons

SharePoint & OpenText Pricing & Features Table

How Wave Can Aid You in Implementing Purchase Order Automation in Austin

The reality is by-hand workflows in your accounting framework simply slow your business down, create hindrances and process issues, and ultimately hurt your development and scalability.

Prolonged payment cycles can also result in higher expenses associated with purchase order management and invoice processing, reduce your visibility and control, and can disrupt your supplier relationships.

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

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

We can assist you in implementing your AP automation tool on-site, in the cloud, or in a hybrid concept depending on your business regulations, budget, and compliance guidelines.

To learn more, reach out today for a free consultation.