Accounts Payable (AP) on a company’s balance sheet indicates what it owes to its suppliers. Depending on the size of the organization, it gets complicated to pay supplier on time. Multiple concerns such as delays in payment processing, failure in recognizing payment deadline, online fraud, etc. take place. The question is, can IoT resolve this?
WHAT IS THE INTERNET OF THINGS?
We love how Happiest Minds puts it, “Internet of Things (IoT) is an ecosystem of connected physical objects that are accessible through the internet. The ‘thing’ in IoT could be a person with a heart monitor or an automobile with built-in-sensors, i.e., objects assigned with an IP address and can collect and transfer data over a network without manual assistance or intervention. The embedded technology in the purposes helps them to interact with internal states or the external environment, which in turn affects the decisions taken.”
Learn More: Merlin for AP Automation Software
IOT IN AP WORLD
Now that we have a balanced perspective about the Internet of Things (IoT) let’s explore how it impacts accounts payable. Let’s take an Invoice Receipt Management for example; Fig 1.
In Fig 1, the transition from paper-based invoicing to E-invoicing comprises receiving and sending of data via phone and laptop. On these devices, online dashboards and OCR systems work and interact in unison. Now if you integrate with your existing ERP, the emphasis is effortlessly on operational excellence.
BENIFITS OF IOT FOR AP PROFESSIONALS
Now let’s discuss the impact of IoT on accounts payable-
Purchase Orders to Expense Reimbursement
From purchase orders to expense reimbursement & invoice approvals, digital authorization technology powered by IoT can easily record individual signatures that are either passcode-enabled or stylus-recorded.
Mobile Solutions for Improved Communications
AP can access data, seek approvals, and process work on time, with negligible dependence on AP resources with mobile solutions.
Centralized Data and Consolidated View
With this feature, AP can check on cash flow and unlock capital and redirect it to new avenues with more returns. More precisely, it would mean the unlocking of capital and simultaneous disinvestment in profitable business portfolios.
Strategic Alignment
While from an operational point of view, IoT lends buyers the opportunity to offer dynamic discounts to their suppliers, at a strategic level, savings captured through IoT enable devices to align AP/Finance as organization’s strategic partners in achieving business goals.
Unlike AI that we perceive as a threat to humans, IoT in accounts payable is popularly know for increasing human efficiency. In a high-compliance, high-risk environment, connected devices and automation intend to deliver more people-powered processes, irrespective of geographical location, to create cost-effective, accurate results.
Conclusion
To harness IoT to its fullest potential, organizations must start early on inducting a state-of-the-art AP automation software. This is the way to transform accounts payable into a strategic powerhouse. Change is not easy to come by but to initiate change is where change begins. If your DNA is coded to achieve success, consider digital transformation of your accounts payable through IoT.
Related Read:
- Blog – Let’s get Internet of Things (IoT) Ready for Procurement!
- Blog – Procurement’s Internet of things
- Blog – Five Precepts to Digital Procurement Transformation
- Time and Cost Efficient Accounts Payable Automation
- White Paper – Building a Business Case for AP Process Automation
- White Paper – 4 Pillars to Accounts Payable Automation
