Ardent’s FinTech Influencer Series highlights innovative voices in the world of Accounts Payable (“AP”) automation. This series is the go-to spot for progressive thoughts on how technology, transformational thinking, and revolutionary ideas are changing how AP work gets done. Continuing our FinTech Influencer Series, today we are speaking with Sanjoy Malik, Chairman & CEO of Urjanet, Inc.
Ardent Partners: Welcome Sanjoy and thank you for spending some time with me today. Let’s get started. Please tell me about your background, your company, and how you ended up in the ePayables industry?
Sanjoy Malik: I am a serial entrepreneur and have built and operated several technology businesses over the past 25 years. In addition to being the Founder and CEO of Urjanet, I also founded and am the current Chairman of Cognosos, a provider of real-time asset-tracking and monitoring solutions. Previously, I founded Air2Web, a leader in mobile marketing services, and Synchrologic, the first enterprise-class data synchronization platform for mobile devices. I am also on the Cox Cleantech Advisory Board and a founding member of the Atlanta chapter of TiE, a nonprofit organization devoted to mentoring entrepreneurs.
In 2009 I founded Urjanet in Atlanta at the Georgia Tech VentureLab. The goal was to completely automate utility-bill auditing by collecting and standardizing data from a variety of disparate utility service providers to help energy management companies and large enterprises optimize energy utilization.
Utility bills are some of the most complex invoices, with the added complexity of recurring every month. As a result of our ability to automate utility invoice capture we began receiving requests from our energy management customers to provide a smaller data set that they could use for the purpose of bill payment, and thus, we developed a solution that enabled them to pay their bills faster. We recognized that there is a similar need in the accounts payable (“AP”) market. Accounts Payable automation providers and AP practitioners are burdened with high volumes of paper-based utility invoices and manual processes every month. We saw this as an opportunity to bring greater efficiency to the market through the use of our technology.
Ardent: What is your perspective on the ePayables market today?
SM: We see the ePayables market as an industry that is transforming AP departments from being a back-office function to a strategic area that is focused on scalable efficiency and cost-reduction. The utility industry lags behind most markets as it relates to invoice automation, which is why utility-invoice processing is still very manual and costly. Utility providers are not rapidly adopting electronic invoicing methods, such as EDI, or joining P2P platforms. This is an impediment for AP leaders that want to achieve a 100% touchless and paperless department. Urjanet is addressing this need with an automated solution that enables AP automation providers and AP practitioners to digitize utility invoice capture, which supports the automation of downstream AP functions.
Ardent: What should we be paying attention to now and in the future (technologies, trends, etc.)?
SM: We should be keeping an eye on those leading AP automation organizations that are truly offering 100% touchless invoice processing. This requires that invoice ingestion methods be inclusive of all invoice types. Many utility invoices are being processed manually simply because AP service providers do not have a great solution for utility invoices. An automated solution for utility invoices enables AP departments to achieve their goal of complete end-to-end automation.
The use of alternative data for more informed decision-making is also something that we should keep an eye on. There is a vast amount of intelligence housed in utility data, and when accessible at scale, has the ability to transform businesses across industries from AP automation to financial services and energy and sustainability. How data is accessed is also key. Technology is advancing and data capture methods are simplifying data aggregation. Methods that involve automated consent from the consumer (or business) offer direct access to authoritative data sources while maintaining data sharing and privacy compliance.
In the future I anticipate that we will see the delivery of more insights being derived from all of the data that is housed within AP. There is an enormous amount of intelligence that can lead to better resource allocation, cash flow management, vendor selection, and more.
Ardent: How has the market/industry changed in the past five years and what do you think it will look like five years from now?
SM: The AP market has consolidated over the past five years, but it still remains crowded and competitive. Today, there are more than 12 billion B2B invoices processed per year in the U.S., and approximately 25% are utility invoices. And while eliminating paper and manual invoice capture is a top initiative according to your 2019 State of ePayables market research, almost half of all invoices are still received via email and paper, and we’re still years away from 100% paperless processing.
Five years from now, the industry will see automated solutions become more widely available to small- and medium-business markets as price points drop. The industry will also be driven by growth drivers including error-free processing, compliance, fraud reduction, and decreasing delayed payments.
Ardent: As an executive at Urjanet, what keeps you up at night?
SM: Extreme focus on doing the right thing for customers and maintaining an innovative company culture that will continuously drive transformation in the AP space.
Ardent: On a personal note, what is your favorite book or movie and why do you like it?
SM: My favorite movie is Shawshank Redemption because it’s a feel-good story about a lasting friendship, and a great representation of how you can prevail over negative circumstances.
Ardent: Thank you Malik for your time and insight on the market.
