Conexiom
Background
CAPP/USA is a leading supplier of process instrumentation
controls, HVAC, and electrical and flame safeguard controls.
Founded in 1950, CAPP/USA has earned a reputation as a trusted
partner serving the pharmaceutical, chemical, petro-chemical,
steel, food, pulp and paper, government, utility, and supplier
industries. In addition to an impressive portfolio of brand name
products, they’ve honed their internal engineering expertise
to manufacture their own line of quality HVAC and process
instrumentation products.
With over 80,000 customers, CAPP/USA offers a massive inventory
with over 1.8 million products carefully sourced from trusted
brands. To ensure customer needs are always met, they’ve built
relationships with hundreds of leading vendors from around
the globe. Naturally, working with this many suppliers adds
complexity to business processes, especially when it comes to
managing thousands of vendor invoices. Inspired to become more
efficient to better serve their customers, CAPP/USA was eager to
improve their accounting processes.
Challenges
Need to Manually Enter High Volume of Vendor Invoices
As a busy supplier, CAPP/USA easily receives hundreds of vendor
invoices every day. With only a small percentage of EDI-enabled
vendors, they found themselves spending countless hours
manually processing vendor invoices. In a typical day, several
hundred invoices are received and need to be entered, verified,
and approved by the accounts payable team. “We often found our
team working two hours of overtime daily, which was frustrating
and sending operational costs through the roof,” described
Elizabeth “Sis” Richardt, Operations Manager at CAPP/USA.
Need to Process Invoices Faster
Paying bills on time is critical for maintaining strong supplier
relations and ensuring the best available pricing. Yet manually
processing invoices is expensive, inefficient, and slow. Labor-intensive
reconciliation processes and delayed payment cycles can erode
profitability by risking early payment incentives and introducing late
fees. Processing errors can further delay payment cycles too. “Getting
invoices in and out faster and with better accuracy is the key to
maintaining high vendor and staff satisfaction,” shared Richardt.
Key Results
• Accelerated invoice processing speeds
• Maximized early payment discounts
• Saved thousands of overtime hours
• Increased employee satisfaction
Need to Reduce Invoice Processing Errors
Manually processing supplier invoices introduces the opportunity
for natural human error. Shuffling a mountain of paper means that
invoices can sometimes be lost or misplaced, resulting in time-
consuming vendor inquiries, payment reminders, and possibly late
payment penalties. On the other hand, one simple mistake while
re-keying data can create a host of challenges that further delay
processing times and risk dynamic discounting options. “Mistakes
are unavoidable when working with these volumes, but making time
for resolutions places additional strain on our already over-worked
team,” shared Richardt.
The Solution
CAPP/USA was excited to streamline their accounting practice
with Conexiom® Invoice Automation. “Manually processing vendor
invoices was simply taking far too much time,” proclaimed Richardt.
“We were ready for change and we turned to Conexiom for help.”
Conexiom was a natural fit because it captures critical data from
computer-generated invoices and automatically processes them in
the existing financial system without requiring human intervention.
By mapping vendor invoices directly to their ERP, it also solved the
problem of manual re-entry and long reconciliation times.
While Conexiom is a popular choice in the world of sales order
automation, this was its inaugural application on the invoice
automation side. “We’d heard about Conexiom and instantly a
light bulb went off,” shared Richardt. “We immediately began
Streamlining Vendor Invoices
with AP Automation
CAPP/USA
866-860-3388 [email protected]
exploring its application for vendor invoice processing.” The fit was
obvious and CAPP/USA eagerly started to forage into new territory.
“The mapping process was extremely smooth and after the initial
learning curve, it became lightening fast and now new vendors can
easily be ready in less than one week.”
Benefits
Faster Processing Speeds with Higher Accuracy
Now invoice processing happens in seconds rather than hours
or days. From receiving invoices to capturing and entering data,
Conexiom has completely transformed the accounting process.
“By minimizing human intervention, we’ve increased processing
speeds while ensuring total accuracy. We’ve achieved our goal to
get invoices in faster, as well as our goal to reduce the AP team’s
stress levels. It’s a big win,” exclaimed Richardt.
No More Manual Reconciliations
Without requiring any changes for CAPP/USA’s suppliers,
Conexiom processes invoices immediately without having to
wait for the AP team, regardless of invoice format. Reconciliation
against purchase orders happens in seconds rather than hours
using multiple criteria like invoice numbers and dollar figures.
“Since the team is no longer overloaded with volume, it’s quick
and easy to spot exceptions where the data isn’t 100% aligned,”
said Richardt. “Now the team just focuses on the issues and their
workload has easily been cut in half.”
Eliminated Overtime and Maximized Discounts
Reducing the bottleneck of vendor invoices waiting to be
processed has eliminated overtime and saved the company
thousands each week. “Conexiom has significantly reduced the
cost of processing vendor invoices, which ultimately makes us
more profitable,” shared Richardt. “As an added benefit, not only
does automation provide instant visibility the moment we receive
an invoice, but it’s accelerated processing speeds ensuring we
maximize our early payment incentives. Our suppliers are thrilled
and our staff is too!”
The Future
CAPP/USA is delighted by the change and eager to continue
to add more vendors as their business grows. “We’ve already
enrolled our largest 25 vendors and we’re working on our next 25
right now,” stated Richardt. “The experience of working with the
entire Conexiom team has been an absolute pleasure and they’re
incredibly understanding. They’ve done everything possible to
make our lives easier and we’re extremely grateful.”
The fit for CAPP/USA has been natural and the results have already
exceeded expectations. “Our suppliers are pleased with the
move to automation and our vendor relationships are stronger
than ever. Internally we’ve never been more efficient and it’s very
exciting,” exclaimed Richardt. “We highly recommend Conexiom
because it’s the total package. It’s undeniably more accurate and
faster, while removing the tedious manual tasks from our AP team
to make their lives easier, which creates happier employees and a
better work environment.”
About Conexiom
Conexiom® allows manufacturers and distributors to focus on
serving customers and managing supplier relationships instead
of entering data. The patent-pending Conexiom solution was
created by ecmarket, a cloud solutions developer. Conexiom
revolutionizes critical sales and accounting business practices
by automating manual entry with 100% accuracy. Conexiom
effortlessly converts emailed and printed customer purchase
orders and supplier invoices into automated sales orders
and invoices, enabling companies to focus on driving growth.
Conexiom helps organizations across the globe maintain a
competitive edge. For more information visit conexiom.com
“We would highly recommend Conexiom because it’s the total package. It’s undeniably more
accurate and faster, while removing the tedious manual tasks from our AP team making their
lives easier, which creates happier employees and a better work environment.”
Elizabeth “Sis” Richardt
Operations Manager at CAPP/USA
