In my several years as an analyst in this space, it has always been apparent to me that the AP automation solution landscape is quite crowded and confusing with multiple providers offering different and varied capabilities to automate all or part of the AP process, making it that much more difficult for enterprises to select a solution. The providers range from high speed scanning and document management to eInvoicing and electronic payment solutions. So, in our effort to bring some clarity to this marketplace we developed the ePayables SMARTSet™, a low-cost, comprehensive set of research tools and templates designed to guide organizations though the process of automating their AP process and selecting the best-fit solutions for their specific requirements and budgets. One of the five documents in the set is the AP automation Solution Provider Landscape, this report provides a clear view of the AP automation landscape and differentiates the types of solutions available in the market today and the approach they take to automating all or part of the AP process.
Leveraging the extensive work done on the ePayables SMARTSet™ we developed a new type of report – ePayables Solution Spotlight. This report will help readers better understand a specific category of automation within AP (i.e. scan and capture, eInvoicing, etc.), it will also include relevant market research on technology usage and trends in that category.Each Spotlight report will feature a specific solution provider and will include a detailed description and deeper, more penetrating analysis of the offering. Overall, the document is designed to help readers understand a specific solution provider and its place in the market.
Our latest Spotlight (which can be found here) is on the Scan, Capture & Workflow category and one of the providers in this category – Scan One. What you’ll find in the report is a description of the AP automation solution provider landscape as well as market research focused on technology usage in this category. The second half of the document provides a detailed description of Scan One’s offering based on briefings and live product demo’s from Scan One’s team. We have provided a company overview, details on how Scan One allows its customers to automate various parts of the AP process and a discussion on the deployment approach and pricing structure. Below is a brief summary of Scan One’s current offerings, all of which are described in further detail in the document.
Scan One offers modular and comprehensive accounts payable services that receive and process invoices based on its clients’ requirements and includes an approval workflow module and optional payment automation solutions. One of the more unique aspects of Scan One’s offering is the pre-processing of invoices that its staff conducts in order to ensure that the clients AP staff only receives exceptions that cannot be objectively resolved by Scan One. The complete Scan One offering includes:
- Inbound mail-room processing – Receives and opens invoices (and other documents)
- Invoice scanning – Leverages high-speed scanners (performed at the Scan One facility)
- Pre-Processing – Invoices go through unique pre-processing steps before entering the workflow or customer system in an ERP friendly manner:
- Data capture – Uses very consistent and structured dual-pass data entry (completed by Scan One’s offshore partners)
- Proprietary Business Process Engine (BPE) – Routes invoices through approximately 250 standard AP rules and additional customer-specific rules
- AP Processors – On-shore Scan One personnel review any exceptions to the rules in the BPE to ensure that they cannot be resolved objectively by Scan One before submitting to the client
- Automated coding and approval workflow – Leverages a cloud-based solution to automate coding and invoice approval
- Optional integrated payment automation services
Also mentioned in the report are also some of Scan One’s more recent offerings:
- Self-Managed Suite – This is Scan One’s low-cost option, a slimmer version of the full AP product/service delivered in a more self-service manner
- Payment Automation Service – This is a service that is delivered via strategic partnerships and enables Scan One to process and execute payments on behalf of their customers.
If you want to learn more about scan, capture and workflow solutions for AP and about Scan One’s products and services, I would encourage you to download this piece.
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