Issue

Syensqo currently use Readsoft as an Invoice Management tool and as an OCR scanning tool for Supplier Invoices.

The Invoice Mangement tool handles the processing and approval of Inbound Supplier Invoices - eg who has to approve an Invoice higher price than the PO, or perform a missing GR if required.

The OCR tool handles the scanning into the system of any paper or PDF Invoices.

With the transition to S/4 HANA Private Cloud edition this will need to be reviewed. 

The options are

• Do not use any Invoice Approval tool - continue with current OCR setup, assumed to be impractical due to volume of invoices
• Use a non recommended SAP 3rd Party tool - assumed not advisable due to the significant effort to get it integrated with S/4 HANA Cloud tools and Fiori
• use the SAP recommended tools
  • Readsoft  - which is currently installed for scanning globally and for Invoice processing
  • OpenText - currently not installed but is the recommended SAP option as SAP have a strategic agreement with OpenText and is Currently marketed to SAP customers as SAP IM

Both these tools have similar functionality and both can handle the OCR scanning and the invoice approval processes.

In addition it is not technically necessary to have one tool provide both functions. Readsoft OCR can be used alongside OpenText as Invoice Management tool.

Recommendation

The recommended option is to

• Use Open|Text VIM (aka SAP IM) for Invoice processing as its better integrated to S/4 HANA Cloud editions and already has Fiori Apps. 
• Use the OpenText OCR as using the same provider for both processing and scanning ensures better compatibility, easier upgrading/patching going forward and minimises licence costs
• ECC will continue to use Readsoft and as users switch over to the S/4 HANA they will use Opentext.

As the recommended SAP option for S/4 HANA Cloud - OpenText/SAP IM for Invoice Processing due to its greater compatibility with S/4 HANA Cloud editions. 

replacing Readsoft to ensure smoother implementation and synchronised Upgrades & Patching

Background & Context

All Supplier Invoices have to be processed by hte Invoice Management tool - it validates the invoice data and runs any approvals queries etc for Supplier Invoices before posting htem in the SAP Accounts Payable module for payment..

Invoices flow from suppliers into the Invoice Management tool from a number of sources

All of these processes will need to continue to flow into the Invoice Management Tool (unless they are removed (eg Xerox) regardless of whether Readsoft or OpenText is used.

But the OCR tool that is used for scanning in some areas can be Readsoft or OpenText

So the OCR and Invoice Management Tool decision is two separate decisions, but are connected - which tool should be used for OCR and which for Invoice Management..

The more important decision is the invoice processing - as all invoices that come in will need to go through the processing, but only invoices that are scanned (ie not EDI, Ariba Network, Govt Portal etc) will go through the OCR system.

Supplier invoices coming into Syensqo will need a process to approve invoice in the following scenarios

• PO Based Invoices where there is a price discrepancy
• PO Based invoices where there is a quantity discrepancy or no GR has been entered
• Non PO Based Invoices that need to be coded to a cost object and approved by  the cost object owner

Users will need a tool in S/4 HANA (essentially a Fiori App) to send invoices for processing and approval and for approving or rejecting the Invoices.

Whilst an increasing number of invoices will be received via interfaces and so not need OCR scanning, there will always be a residual requirement to bring paper and PDF invoices into the after some kind of OCR processing. This should be available to work with the three invoice scanning centres.

Assumptions

No Invoice Management Tool

The volume of invoices that will require some kind of approval will be too high for a purely manual process, so not having any invoicing tool is not practical

Non SAP Tool

A non SAP recommended tool is not viable due to the expected effort to integrate with S/4 HANA.

Different vendor for scanning and Invoice Management

Whilst its technically possible to use a scanning tool from one supplier and an invoicing processing tool from another it does cause issues.

The use of two different systems run by different vendors means there are 

• Potential gaps with dataflows, error handling & workflows
• Custom integration/Middleware
• Compatibility issues
• More complex implementation
• More complex Upgrades & Patching

In addition OpenText gives both OCR and Invoice Processing as a single licence.

So there would be a cost implication to using Readsoft for OCR and OpenText for Processing.

Constraints

The Invoice Management tool should be 

• Able to handle invoices coming into the system from a number of sources - eg eMail PDF scans, Government Portals, SAP Business Network, EDI Inputs
• Able to ID the correct approvers and transmit Invoices to them with minimal manual input

Local governments can mandate the use if an Invoice Portal for all invoices to be passed through - so the system will need to be compatible with this.

The system should be able to receive inbound invoices from multiple sources - eg Portals, SAP Business Networks, EDI etc 

The system should be certified as compatible with S/4 HANA Cloud Private edition.

Impacts

If the invoices are not processed and approved in a timely fashion then the suppliers of Syensqo may begin to refuse to supply Syensqo and so cause disruption to the business

If the Invoice Management tool cannot reliably receive inbound interfaces from all the inbound processes and networks then invoice payments may be delayed

If the Invoice Management tool is not reliable or does not integrate to SAP smoothly then invoice payments may be delayed.

If the tool is not reliably integrated with S/4 HANA Cloud then errors and lost data could occur causing disruption and delays to payments to suppliers.

Business Rules

All PO related Invoices that have differences outside of tolerance levels will require approval. 

Invoice payments on time are tracked and monitored for compliance with local prompt payments standards so timely payment is a requirement. 

Local governments can mandate the use if an Invoice Portal for all invoices to be passed through - so the system will need to be compatible with this

Options considered

The following options were considered

Option A: Use Readsoft OCR and Process Director for Invoice Management

Use one of the tools already recommended by SAP and (where possible) approved or validated for working with S/4 HANA Cloud

Note that currently only OpenText is validated as the preferred tool for S/4 HANA Cloud - but the actual selection of Readsoft or OpenText can be handled at Detailed Design 

Option B: Use OpenText OCR and VIM for Invoice Management

Use one of the tools already recommended by SAP and (where possible) approved or validated for working with S/4 HANA Cloud

Note that currently only OpenText is validated as the preferred tool for S/4 HANA Cloud - but the actual selection of Readsoft or OpenText can be handled at Detailed Design 

Evaluation

	Use SAP Readsoft Process Director & OCR	Use SAP OpenText VIM &  OpenText OCR
Invoice Document Functionality MM Invoices FI Invoices DownPayments	Pro  MM Invoices Pro  FI Invoices Pro  Downpayments	Pro  MM Invoices Pro  FI Invoices Pro  Downpayments
Non Invoice Documents Assets POs GRs Customer Orders/Payments	Pro  Asset document processing Pro  PO document processing Pro  GR document processing Pro  Customer document processing	Con No Asset document processing Con No PO document processing Con No GR document processing Con No Customer document processing
Syensqo Knowledge	Pro  Syensqo are already using Readsoft Process Director so are familiar with the tool and what it is capable off  Pro  Capability to "lift and Shift" current approval logic and flows (possibly with some adjustment due to upgrades Pro  Syensqo already have OCR installed globally and are familiar with it	Con  OpenText is currently not used by Syensqo so there will be a learning curve Con  Will need to define the approval processes and build them in OpenText Con  Syensqo do not have OCR installed and would need to replace Readsoft
Other Functionality	Pro   Customisable Workflows Reporting tools Code exists inside SAP   Pro  Provides proven OCR capabilities	Pro Customisable Workflows Reporting tools Code exists inside SAP Pro  Provides proven OCR capabilities
Syensqo Integration	Pro  Already Integrated with Xerox, Elemica, Italy Govt Portal	Con  Not currently Integrated with Xerox, Elemica, Italy Govt Portal
Adaptation to Cloud	Con  Generally, Process Director is compatible with S/4 HANA, but Kofax (which acquired Readsoft) is  working on ensuring compatibility with S/4 HANA cloud environments and some features or customizations might need to be adjusted or re-implemented for the cloud environment. Con  Readsoft is not currently certified for S/4 HANA Cloud Private Edition	Pro  Is the recommended option for S/4 HANA Cloud Private option. Currently labelled as SAP IM (Invoice Management) Pro  OpenText is the strategic partner for SAP and has "Cloud-Native" Architecture Pro  OpenText is certified for S/4 HANA Cloud Private Edition
Standard Fiori Apps	Con  Web based UI (not common look and feel with S/4 HANA Fiori, is developing Fiori Apps for Process Director	Pro  OpenText already has Fiori apps as part of standard suite

See also

Change log

Workflow history