Issue

Syensqo's Currently use Readsoft for Invoice processing and this covers two areas of functionality

1. Readsoft Process Director for Invoice Management: Processes and approves supplier invoices.
2. Readsoft OCR: For scanning paper and PDF invoices into the system.

Situation: With the move to S/4 HANA Private Cloud, this setup needs review to see which tools work best for the future setup.

Recommendation

The recommended option is to

• Use Readsoft Process director for Invoice processing as its better integrated to Syensqo and we assume it will catchup with OpenText in terms of Cloud integration and Fiori Apps. 
• Use the Readsoft OCR as using the same provider for both processing and scanning ensures better compatibility, easier upgrading/patching going forward and minimises licence costs

Background & Context

Invoice Management Tool and Invoice approvals

All Supplier Invoices have to be processed by the Invoice Management tool - it validates the invoice data and runs any approvals queries etc for Supplier Invoices before posting them 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 regardless of whether Readsoft or OpenText is used.

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

• Invoice Validation - PO, Vendor Numbers match up
• 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
• Invoices where there is a query (eg Tax calculation)

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

OCR Tool 

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is used to scan PDF and paper invoices into the Invoice  Management Tool. 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.

Readsoft and OpenText supply both OCR tools & Invoice Management tools and these can be deployed independently. -eg use Readsoft for OCR and OpenText for Invoice Management. This leads to a more complex system and increased licence costs. So its recommended that the same vendor be used for both. See Assumption section.

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 not in digital format (eg paper or PDF) will go through the OCR system.

Options:

1 - No Invoice Approval Tool:

• • Continue with current OCR setup
  • Likely impractical due to high invoice volume

2- Non-SAP 3rd Party Tool:

• • Not advisable
  • Significant effort to integrate with S/4 HANA Cloud and Fiori

3- SAP Recommended Tools:

a) Readsoft:

• • • Handles both scanning and invoice processing
    • Currently installed globally - Syensqo has system experience and is currently integrated to many invoice flows

b) OpenText:

• • • Handles both scanning and invoice processing
    • Not currently installed/integrated
    • SAP's preferred option (marketed as SAP IM)
    • Strategic agreement between SAP and OpenText

Key Points:

• Readsoft and OpenText offer very similar functionality
• Both can handle OCR scanning and invoice approval
• Syensqo already uses Readsoft - so is trained in it has built interfaces for it
• Opentext currently is better integrated to S/4 HANA Private Cloud Edition (uses Fiori Apps, cloud native architecture)

Assumptions

OpenText and Readsoft Future developments

OpenText and Readsoft are close competitors and both are credible solutions for Syensqo as an invoicing tool. Currently OpenText is better integrated into the S/4 HANA Cloud architecture and uses Fiori Apps. Readsoft has stated that they are developing the same tools, so we can assume that as a strong competitor Readsoft will match OpenText in this area before go live.

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, approved and paid in a timely fashion then the suppliers of Syensqo may begin to refuse to supply Syensqo and so cause disruption to the business.

This means that the Invoice Management tool must no have errors or lost data due to 

• Unreliable inbound interfaces from all the inbound processes and networks 
• Unreliable/unstable integrate to S/4 HANA Cloud 

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 may require all invoices to be processed through an Invoice Portal, necessitating system compatibility with this mandate.

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 Minor issue as not used by Syqensqo 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	Note - We expect Readsoft to "catch-up" with OpenText in terms of Cloud integration and Fiori Apps Con  Generally, Process Director is compatible with S/4 HANA, but Kofax (which acquired Readsoft) is currently 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