Best-in-class organizations are constantly innovating, something that should be taking place in all areas of an organization, including the B2B payment process.
While many companies are slow to adopt innovation in their payables and billing processes, there are compelling business reasons to do so:
- Speed is necessary when processing payments
- Outdated processes stand in the way of growth
- Payment flexibility with virtual cards, checks and ACH require automation
- Visibility into supplier payments means a more detailed cash management strategy can be designed
Real innovation goes beyond integrated payables to automating receipt of invoices, approvals and processing, but also includes the entire procurement workflow right through to electronic payments. A cloud-based solution is the foundation of this type of innovation. And when C-level executives take a more proactive role in implementing B2B payment innovation, the benefits are more assured and likely to spread across the organization.
Firms that have automated invoice processing see increased visibility into data and consequently, into spend, especially when they also manage 100% of disbursements electronically.
The biggest benefit of capturing your B2B payment data is that it can lead to an increase in working capital especially when you analyze areas like days inventory outstanding, days sales outstanding and, days payable outstanding. Constantly monitoring those three figures will help you discover where improvements can be made, and that is what will free up your working capital.
The insight into your payment data and spend that innovation in your B2B payment process will provide also leads to these benefits:
- Reduced costs
- Increased cash flow
- Accurate payments
- Real-time access to information
- Comprehensive view of each transaction
- Identification of structural inefficiencie
Don't leave B2B payments out when looking at ways to bring innovation into your business or you’ll be missing out on some real gains.
