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Issue
Syensqo's Currently use Readsoft for Invoice processing and this covers two areas of functionality
- Readsoft Process Director for Invoice Management: Processes and approves supplier invoices.
- 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 OpenText VIM for Invoice processing as its better to S/4 HANA Cloud has native Fiori apps to give users a more consistent look and feel
- Use OpenText OCR as using the same provider for both processing and scanning ensures better compatibility, easier upgrading/patching going forward and minimises licence costs
- OpenText VIM is significantly cheaper than Readsoft
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 | |
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Invoice Document Functionality MM Invoices FI Invoices DownPayments |
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Non Invoice Documents Minor issue as not used by Syqensqo Assets POs GRs Customer Orders/Payments |
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| Syensqo Knowledge |
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Other Functionality |
Customisable Workflows Reporting tools Code exists inside SAP
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Customisable Workflows Reporting tools Code exists inside SAP
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| Syensqo Integration |
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| Adaptation to Cloud | Note - We expect Readsoft to "catch-up" with OpenText in terms of Cloud integration and Fiori Apps
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| Standard Fiori Apps |  Con Web based UI (not common look and feel with S/4 HANA Fiori, is developing Fiori Apps for Process Director |
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| Licence Costs |
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Calculation Cost per 1,000 Invoices is 92 EUR per month 468,000 Invoice x 92 x 12 = 516,672 25% discount = 387,504 |
Pro MM InvoicesSee 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.
