The step after invoice receiving: invoice processing
Even though we are all becoming more environmentally aware, we still produce a lot of 'residual waste' every day. Hans Wolfs, Manager Accounts Payable at Renewi, says: "For our 5,400 FTEs in nine countries, collecting and processing waste is central. And of this waste we are able to reuse 93%, a major 'green' USP compared to our competitors. We implement sustainability in all parts of the organization. Our business premises in Lommel, where over 110 employees work at the Shared Service Center, consumes hardly any energy and is self-sufficient." But before moving into this "responsible" Shared Service Center, invoice processing took place in an old-fashioned, paper fashion in Mol where the Flemish SSC was located.
"I joined Renewi (then Van Gansewinkel) in 1998 and experienced the old situation. Everything was going well, but when in 2003 we had about 45,000 invoices a year to process, we had to change course. I got into a conversation with the sister company of 4Exchange, ICreative, and we decided to take a look at an organization that had been offering their invoice processing solution for some time. This was exactly what we were looking for and looked very user-friendly. We were immediately convinced."
E-billing & Onboarding vendors
Renewi had taken the first step toward digital invoice processing, but this was only the beginning. "Colleagues who booked the paper invoices also scanned them. In a corner was a scanner where everyone scanned their own invoices and then converted them to data files. But with the arrival of invoice flow from Holland, this method of working became too cumbersome. We even hired extra people to scan and validate these invoices this way: we had four people on site who threw themselves into this full-time."
Renewi wanted to go further: Together with 4Exchange , we wrote to all our suppliers asking them to submit future invoices in PDF or XML using administration-specific e-mail addresses. With this approach, invoices would in future reach us sorted and thus require less searching.
The result was overwhelming: as a result of this project, we were already receiving thirty percent of invoices as e-invoices." At Renewi, however, seventy percent 'paper' continued to arrive. Together with 4Exchange , Hans Wolfs wanted to make a significant 'digital shift' here as well. "With 10,000 suppliers supplying invoices in their own way, this is a real challenge. Our OCR system needed a lot of time to capture the various invoice templates in the process, regardless of all the new templates from new suppliers. We then considered modifying the software, but that gave us no guarantee of making significant strides and expanding recognition, which was below 50 percent, to 90 percent. In 2013, I spoke with a business associate who had run into the same problem. He advised us to outsource the paper invoice processing."
From thirty to sixty percent in no time
"Together with 4Exchange, we wanted to build out that 30 percent electronic billing and reduce the remaining 70 percent within a year. With 4Exchange's help, the thirty percent has now grown to sixty percent. The 4Exchange platform really gives suppliers every opportunity to submit invoices, after which we send them as e-invoices receiving." Whereas Renewi was once a paper-based organization, the company operates 100% paperless.
