How a Digital Mailroom Can Enhance AP Automation in Your ERP

Some companies are committed to leveraging their ERP investments to the fullest extent possible and, as a result, they exclude the use of third-party workflow automation. While the pros and cons of this approach have been explored in other blog entries in this space (see left-hand column), we have found that attaching a fully functioning digital mailroom at the front end of your ERP’s accounts payable (AP) automation process can create significant value for your company without causing any conflict or concerns regarding your ERP investment.

The term “digital mailroom” is not well understood, but in a Software as a Service (SaaS) environment like DataServ’s it serves as the front end for document and process automation and is optimized for documents of all types. Based on the many years DataServ has provided digital mailroom services to clients, here are the key benefits that our clients receive with these capabilities:

• Simplicity - A single point of entry for all invoices, regardless of format or source, which delivers a single stream of electronic data to your ERP.
• Time savings - SaaS optical character recognition (OCR) eliminates manual keying of invoice data and saves time and money versus doing it yourself.
• Improved accuracy - 99%+ clean data at the front end of your payables review process avoids mistakes and problems and speeds the entire process.

A digital mailroom component at the front end of an ERP AP automation solution can increase the value you receive from all those dollars you invested in an ERP system. Don’t fall into the trap of believing you have to use your ERP to handle the heavy lifting with regard to AP automation – third-party workflow automation components like digital mailroom can provide enormous benefit.

“ERP’s are tremendous business tools and are incredibly valuable to large organizations, but sometimes it makes sense to add specialized third-party capabilities to achieve the best result,” said Brandon Loeschner, National Practice Leader at RubinBrown. “Adding a digital mailroom component to the front end of your AP automation process enhances your ERP investment because it can significantly reduce overhead costs and improve process efficiencies.” 

To view a short video on DataServ’s digital mailroom, click here. For questions about how digital mailroom can improve your AP automation process, email us at info@DataServ.com.