Over the years, we’ve heard about lots of successful e-invoicing initiatives, and if there’s one clear trend, it’s this: success is deeply rooted in the planning and execution of implementation.
In a recent webinar, Becky Morgan, Operations Support Coordinator at Graphic Packaging, explained how the company was able to meet its project goals within the first year of implementing Taulia’s e-invoicing solution.
We heard about how Graphic Packaging’s shared services processed 100k e-invoices within 10 months of go-live, moved all high-volume suppliers to the platform, and cleared the majority of enquiries coming into AP.
Much of this success came down to 5 key implementation strategies:
1. Establish a dedicated point of contact for the project. Graphic Packaging started out with multiple points of contact, but soon felt that “things were getting lost in the cross hairs.” So they established a single lead, setting up an inbox for this dedicated point of contact. This helped the lead partner connect directly with the rep at Taulia, and ensure that everything about the e-invoicing set-up “passed through this funnel and no communications were lost.”
2. Create a business-centric questionnaire. An initial supplier contact questionnaire can help you map early on how each supplier is going to fit into your e-invoicing initiative. Graphic Packaging used a template questionnaire, supplied by Taulia, which they adjusted to ensure they were getting the information needed from their particular suppliers. For Becky, this helped to:
a. Streamline the questionnaire for their particular business case
b. Launch the suppliers on the solution properly
c. Identify which e-invoicing avenue best fit their business needs
3. Research and analyze each vendor. Review your vendors’ history, their invoice procedures, and any special circumstances to identify a) who is in scope, and b) what their requirements are. For Becky, this helped save time from project’s outset: “I don’t want to call a supplier about e-invoicing if they are coming through ERS! So if they are on another invoicing avenue, if we pay by P-card, or if they are on a different program – we definitely want to know that going in.”
4. Educate your suppliers. E-invoicing may be entirely new to some of your suppliers, and a lack of understanding of the initiative can put them off onboarding. It’s crucial to provide suppliers with comprehensive information on the e-invoicing process at both a high level and on its finer details. Graphic Packaging and Taulia helped to educate supplier’s on a range of issues, from reviewing the product’s capabilities and what it means to send a true e-invoice, to how to manage a failed submission report and how to fix invoice errors.
Tip: If you’re targeting towards 100% e-invoicing rate you should:
a. Continue partnering with suppliers post-implementation, continuing to enroll them onto the solution and working with them on invoice submission
b. Educate internally, reaching out to all functions involved in the supply chain, to ensure that everyone beyond AP sponsors e-invoicing and complies with the process. Taulia supplied a range of training resources, such as PDFs, slide shows, webinars, and videos.
5. Establish continual communication. Your provider isn’t just there to supply a software solution. Establish them as a true partner to ensure you’re benefitting from their expertise throughout the implementation journey. For Becky, it’s crucial to “take advantage of the meetings that you’ll have with your platform host.” Graphic Packaging designated regular meetings with Taulia to “flush through the problems that we were having with our implementation team” and to establish “strategies to move forward successfully.”
For any strategies you adopt, Becky offers 3 key tips going forward:
1. Set clear and obtainable project goals. Sit down together as a team and get these goals down on paper, identifying where you are at, what needs to change, how you are going to make change happen, and where you need help.
2. Create an implementation guideline. Base this on your specific business case, your system functionalities, and the platforms you want your suppliers to use.
3. Create a knowledgeable and dedicated internal team. Pull in your internal experts to learn the systems and processes, train the teams, and manage enrollments and submissions.
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Of course, these implementation strategies are just the beginning of an e-invoicing journey. Watch the webinar for more details on how e-invoicing transformed AP at Graphic Packaging, how they are working towards future objectives, and an in-depth look at Taulia’s solution.
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