Time for Change
Introduction
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is an Ontario-based electricity generation company whose principal business is the generation and sale of electricity in Ontario. OPG's generating portfolio has a total capacity of over 19,000 megawatts (MW) making them one of the largest power generators in North America.
Problem
Annually OPG receives approximately 110,000 invoices from existing vendors. Although the majority of them are less than 5 pages, their AP department routinely receives invoices with over 100 pages (mainly Utilities invoices).
OPG had been using a scanning and indexing service for their Accounts Payable documents which did not provide the required automation and workflow.
In mid 2008 OPG initiated an invoice automation project with ReadSoft, utilizing their invoice automation software suite which would be integrated within OPG’s SAP system.
The move to ReadSoft required OPG to find a partner with experience in providing all of the required front end services to support their AP automation project, which would include invoice receipt, scanning, processing and OCR data capture utilizing ReadSoft for Invoices software.
Solution
Octacom was the selected vendor, chosen from an extensive evaluation process. They were identified as a company with strong technical capabilities and extensive knowledge in OCR and Accounts Payable scanning and data capture processes.
Octacom now provide all front end services for OPG’s invoices – approximately 110.000 annually - and manage the PO Box service for invoices sent through the mail. OPG Vendors can also submit invoices by fax and email.
Octacom’s services include daily receipt, tracking, scanning and processing. In addition, they provide Vendor verification processes, exception reporting and data capture and secure upload to OPG utilizing ReadSoft for Invoices. Images and data are seamlessly routed through to the ReadSoft Cockpit at OPG for invoice processing and approvals. Octacom manages all front end services required for a truly automated invoice processing environment.
Results
Octacom achieved OPG’s project objectives that included delivering a higher automation of repetitive tasks; cost savings (with Octacom’s pricing on a per invoice basis, no investment was required by OPG for the development of in-house expertise) and significant improvements in process turn-around times.
Octacom has become a collaborative and highly regarded member of the OPG team.
For more information about this case study and how a similar approach may be beneficial for your company, please contact us.
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