Issue

Syensqo currently use Readsoft as an Invoice Management tool

This tool handles hte 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.

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

• use a new 3rd party tool
• use the SAP recommended tools - Readsoft or OpenText 
• do not use any Invoice Approval tool

Recommendation

The recommended option is to use the SAP proposed tools - Readsoft or Opentext. 

Background & Context

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

Assumptions

The volume of invoices that will require some kind of approval will be too high for a purely manual process.

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 

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 is not reliable or does not integrare ot SAP smoothly then invoices payment may be delayed

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 a new 3rd Party Tool

Use a "best of breed" invoicing platform utilised for simplicity and efficiency but not recommended by SAP for S/4 HANA

eg 

• Esker Accounts Payable Automation
• Basware AP Automation

These tools can have simpler and more user friendly Invoicing tools but do not sit within SAP itself so rely on integration to handle the transfer and information flow between the systems. 

They may not cover all scenarios out of the box, create another system to integrate with and test and create the risk of data loss if integrations fail.

Option B: Use an SAP proposed tool (Readsoft or Opentext)

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 C: Do not use an Invoice Management tool

Have invoices come into SAP and Block then handle the unblocking process as a manual process. Its a simple setup that sits purely in SAP but may not be practical due to volume of work. WOuld also require custom workflows to handle the approval of POs by the business.

Evaluation

	Use a new 3rd Party Tool	Use an SAP proposed tool (Readsoft or Opentext)	Do not use an Invoice Management tool
Ability to handle High Volumes	Pro  Are designed to handle significant loads	Pro  Are specifically designed to handle Enterprise level loads on SAP systems	Con  Does not scale for high volumes without significant staffing
Ability to handle Multiple Sources	Pro  Depend son the supplier but likely to have good coverage Con  May be gaps for some areas eg SAP Business Network	Pro  Native to SAP so should be able to handle all sources SAP can work with	Pro  Basic Invoices can be created and parked as its native to SAP Con  Will require enhancements to map to the Invoice and any custom workflows
Ease of integration / compatibility to SAP	Con  Integrations will exist but is an external system to SAP	Pro  Sits within SAP so integration is not an issue	Pro  Sits within SAP so integration is not an issue  Con  Will need custom workflows to be built to support approval processes
Simplicity of landscape	Con Separate, additional system	Pro  Sits within SAP itself	Pro  Sits within SAP itself

See also

Insert links and references to other documents which are relevant when trying to understand this decision and its implications. Other decisions are often impacted, so it's good to list them here with links. Attachments are also possible but dangerous as they are static documents and not updated by their authors.

Change log

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