Vendor Invoice Management
What is VIM, the benefits and the possibilities. Discover now!
What’s VIM?
Vendor Invoice Management, or VIM, is an OpenText product that can be implemented as an SAP solution (SaaS) to streamline your incoming vendor invoices. It is an SAP Add-on to automate vendor invoice processing using customizable workflows and machine-learning (AI). During this process – from invoice reception to invoice payment – the program also provides extensive ad-hoc reporting and analytics capabilities.
The benefits of VIM
Accounts Payable is an essential part of any 21st century business: efficiency is key. Your vendors expect timely payments, and even for your own business, being able to spot advantages – like when to have a promotion, clear delivery expectations of the final product to your customers – is an added bonus.
With VIM you will be able to:
- Streamline your invoice handling, even with exceptions, minimizing manual handling of invoices and the chances of user error.
- Speed up your invoicing processes, which allow for several benefits in itself, like avoiding penalties for late payments, organizing promotional offers, having a clear payment cycle and better reporting.
- Avoid fraud, because of set automation rules made-to-measure for your business
- Deal with large volumes in less time
The possibilities of VIM
SAP Invoice Management will allow you to handle any kind of invoice automatically, regardless of its format, on paper or digital.
But let’s explain the possibilities one by one.
How your vendor invoice reaches you is no longer of any importance: VIM can be programmed to deal with any kind of format.
How?
- Scans of paper invoices, invoices sent by email or uploaded will first be archived and then sent to OCR (Optical Character Recognition). Based on the parameters you have specified it will be able to then send it through the necessary channels. The OCR system also has the added advantage of being a self-learning system, which allows AI to improve
- Connect it to the Ariba network you’re using, and the handling process can start immediately.
- Does your organization prefer to work with IDOCs, no problem as it is a digital format that can be sent through the necessary steps.
- It can work with information sent through API, via XML or other digital channels. This is especially useful if you’re thinking of switching to a PEPPOL integration.
Based on the parameters and workflows you have specified the document will be handled by the system. After going through the inbound channels, and having been processed, it will be sent to:
- Invoice approval: your AP manager can approve the payments automatically in batches, or you can differentiate the roles who can approve different invoices if required.
- Exception handling: if an invoice does not match the required criteria to be handled automatically – a false VAT number, incomplete address, … - it will be flagged and go through the exception workflows you have set. This means fraudulent documents do not pass through the automated process unnoticed.
During the handling process it is possible to implement specific business rules, which is especially useful when handling international invoices.
Because it is a trusted SAP integration, there are a few possibilities for using the system.
- SAP GUI Workplace: your accountants and other habitual users of SAP systems will probably do most of the work via this application.
- Web Portal: for people who are not used to the SAP GUI environment, the web portal might be a solution; people in the approval process, or who want to consult the reporting and analytics.
- Fiori Apps: VIM by OpenText is also compatible with these mobile apps, which means it can be used on-the-go on your iOS or Android devices.
Next to the automated handling of your invoices, the VIM system also boasts a very powerful reporting tool which allows for continuous optimization of your workflows and processes. It is also compatible with BI cubes for extra swanky reports.
SQLI can help
As a trusted SAP partner for decades, we have in-depth knowledge and a proven track record of implementing SAP Invoice Management. We were the first to implement an SAP Invoice Management solution in Europe after all. What we can offer, tailored to your business requirements:
- A new VIM implementation, with or without OCR
- VIM upgrades
- Ariba integration
- VIM Audit and improvement proposition
Together with your team we start the inclusive consultancy process which will lead to an integrated solution, based on your actual needs. In order to achieve this, we are happy to provide workshops, a functional design with room for your input, a manual and training across your organization.
Want to benefit from our business and invoice management expertise? Get in touch with our consultants and become as efficient at handling your accounts as our other happy clients.