Here are 6 insider tips gleaned from a recent interview with a best-in-class company that implemented a purchasing system 3 years ago that’s helping them profitably manage over $100 million in indirect spending, up from $8 million when the project began.

Read the full post on Spend Matters

The client organization is a category leader in the hospitality industry, operating nearly 700 hotels in North America, and offering more than 76,000 rooms nationwide.

The client signed contracts for Verian’s Purchase Manager, Invoice Manager, Expense Manager, Asset Manager, Advanced Budgeting, Vendor Connectivity (Supplier Portal), and Spend Intelligence software solutions.

The company serves many different types of guests, such as families looking for affordable getaways, government or military personnel on relocation, business travelers who require temporary housing, and travel coordinators who need multi-location extended stay accommodations with direct billing capabilities.

The client organization specializes in providing business and leisure travelers with functional hotel suites at exceptional values. Their guests enjoy fully-equipped kitchens, in-room Wi-Fi Internet access, unlimited local phone use and personalized voicemail, pet friendly accommodations, and pools and fitness centers at select locations.

Additionally, because every hotel is company-owned, each is inspected and reviewed throughout the year to ensure that corporate specifications are consistently achieved. The company believes that maintaining such high standards means their guests will have a stay that is worth repeating.

The client’s initial objective is to gain more control over their purchasing and invoice approval processes to better comply with stricter auditing standards. The company retained a consulting group to help them drive better definition of their internal processes, and to help them select a purchase-to-pay vendor.

After considering several top industry vendors, the company felt the depth and breadth of Verian’s solutions offered the most value, and the best ability to control their diverse purchasing and invoice processing activities.

In addition, the client felt that Verian offered a more expansive suite for managing more types of spending, citing the efficiencies Verian produced by helping them gain control over the most spending in a single system.

The client agreed that Verian’s product depth will be of critical importance as they bring initially targeted categories of spend under management, and then move on to gain visibility and control of large categories of unmanaged spend such as facilities maintenance and management.

“We are truly fortunate that this hospitality leader has chosen to join our Verian family of customers”, said Tehseen Ali Dahya, President and CEO of Verian, “We are ready to help them achieve their vision of better spend visibility and control, so they can drive savings.”

About Verian

Verian provides the broadest purchasing and invoice processing software suite on the market. Founded in 1997 with headquarters in Charlotte, NC, Verian helps clients in a wide array of industries control spending and enhance visibility by providing them with a single software platform to automate their entire purchase-to-pay process. Verian’s broad and flexible product offering provides affordable, easy-to-use solutions that fit companies now – and when they expand. Verian provides solutions to notable customers in industry segments such as energy, including oil & gas, retail, industrial, healthcare, financial services, government/non-profit and many others. Learn more at Verian.com.

Media Contact:

J. Shannon Lowe, Marketing Communications Manager
704-971-6992, slowe@verian.com

Is it possible there could be savings for your business hidden in the way you’re exchanging data?

With today’s technology, there are numerous ways of data exchange. Some are industry standards, such as EDI, XML, and cXML. There are also many others that are proprietary to individual businesses.

Of the industry standards, EDI, or Electronic Data Interchange, is one of the most popular.

EDI was formally standardized in the mid 1990’s as a means of set data exchange between two business entities. The strict formatting of EDI documents, such as purchase orders and invoices, is intended to be rapidly communicated and translated by computers, requiring little to almost no human intervention.

Sounds a little bit like The Matrix, right?

So why generate an EDI document that requires specialized computer software to properly interpret and understand? It’s simple, really – savings, in both time, and money.

We all know how time-consuming and expensive it is to produce and transmit documents like purchase orders and invoices using paper and snail mail. And the costs only go up if there is erroneous data that has to be corrected by the sender or receiver.

Many businesses use EDI to reduce the costs and time required to exchange documents like these.

Here’s what a typical EDI document looks like in computer language:

EDI Document Sample
IT1*135*1.000000*EA*1.9800**SK*EDIITEM1*VC*EDIITEM1*PL*1

That’s it?! Yep – that’s all there is to it. Of course, this is only a sample, but you get the idea.

By nature, EDI formatting is very compact. In fact, a single purchase order or invoice can often be generated with a file size of only 1KB!

Compared to the costs of manual paperwork, erroneous transactions, postage, and manpower, you can certainly see how EDI would be a simpler, faster, more effective, and more economical way of exchanging data between businesses.

The compact nature of EDI even gives it advantages over other electronic formats.

Why is this important? Well, when it comes to paying data providers for these types of electronic exchanges, companies are charged by how much bandwidth and data storage they consume.

An XML file with the same data as our sample above would actually be five times larger.

It doesn’t sound like much when you look at smaller transaction volumes, but if your business is exchanging hundreds, or even thousands of these types of documents each day, EDI can save significant space and bandwidth, which translates into lower data costs.

Can EDI save your company time and money? Give it some thought. It’s secure, compact, accurate, highly efficient, and best of all, paperless.

Co-authored by:

Jojo Serquina, Software Engineer
Shannon Lowe, Marketing Communications Manager

Tool to Migrate Data to the Cloud

Verian’s Data Migration Tool to migrate data to the cloud provides seamless transition to customers moving from traditional on premises versions of Verian’s software to cloud-based (SaaS) instances.

Many companies require on premises customers to start a brand new implementation when they move to the cloud, often on a completely different release and code base than their existing on premises system.

Verian’s Data Migration Tool removes these barriers by making it possible for customers to smoothly and expediently migrate to the cloud without losing any of their transaction data, providing them with all the benefits of the cloud platform without losing business continuity.

“This tool makes the process completely transparent to the user and once all the data is migrated, tested and validated, all the users have to do is switch to a different URL and they will have access to the latest features and functions on the cloud platform and their data including transaction history.” says Bhavin Shah, Director of Product Strategy at Verian.

Multi-Language Conversion

Verian has added functionality to its software suite that allows global customers to achieve higher levels of success with the platform by expanding deployment to users in other countries.

Conversions for multiple languages are now under way and will continue to expand to more areas of Verian’s applications over the course of the product roadmap.

Cloud Faxing Enhancements

Verian has reduced the steps required to enable customers on the cloud by adding functionality that provides reliable and robust faxing capabilities out of the box on the cloud platform. This new feature boosts turnkey capabilities during implementation, translating into faster setup for Verian customers.

About Verian

Verian provides the broadest purchasing and invoice processing software suite on the market. Founded in 1997 with headquarters in Charlotte, NC, Verian helps clients in a wide array of industries control spending and enhance visibility by providing them with a single software platform to automate their entire purchase-to-pay process. Verian’s broad and flexible product offering provides affordable, easy-to-use solutions that fit companies now – and when they expand. Verian provides solutions to notable customers in industry segments such as energy, including oil & gas, retail, industrial, healthcare, financial services, government/non-profit and many others. Learn more at Verian.com.

Media Contact

J. Shannon Lowe, Marketing Communications Manager
704-971-6992, slowe@verian.com

The client organization works in partnership with forward-thinking leaders both nationally and globally, and has worked with over 15,000 individuals and organizations since 1976. Beneficiaries of their services include entities like foundations, donors, corporations, social investors, nonprofit organizations, government institutions, community organizations, activists, social entrepreneurs, and others.

The organization strives to break down the walls between entrepreneurs and their efforts to help them bring positive change to their communities. They provide services such as grantmaking, fiscal sponsorship and nonprofit management, shared spaces and services, consulting, global services, mission related investing, advocacy, and integrated services.

The client organization currently processes their invoices and expense reports through a highly manual, labor-intensive process. Invoices are received across more than 100 locations and have to be approved and coded before being sent to the headquarters office for payment.

Due to the heavy volume of invoice and expense report transactions, this manual process has typically resulted in late payments, poor visibility into financial commitments, and other types of inefficiencies.

The client organization plans to implement cloud-based (SaaS) versions of Verian’s Invoice Manager and Expense Manager software solutions to remedy these situations.

Invoice Manager will help them streamline invoice processing by storing, coding, matching and routing invoices digitally through an easy-to-use Web interface. Expense Manager will reduce costs, cycle times, and handling times associated with their expense reporting processes.

“It’s a thrill to announce that this major nonprofit organization has selected Verian to provide invoice and expense automation”, said Tommy Benston, Client Executive, “We look forward to automating these processes, and providing significant efficiencies to their team.”

About Verian

Verian is the leader in universal purchasing and invoice processing systems. Founded in 1997 with headquarters in Charlotte, NC, Verian helps clients in a wide array of industries control spending and enhance visibility by providing them with a single software platform to automate their entire purchase-to-pay process. Verian’s broad and flexible product offering provides affordable, easy-to-use solutions that fit companies now – and when they change. Notable customers in industry segments such as energy, including oil & gas, retail, industrial, healthcare, financial services, government/non-profit and many others all trust Verian for intelligent purchase-to-pay automation solutions. Learn more at Verian.com.

Media Contact

J. Shannon Lowe, Marketing Communications Manager
704-971-6992, slowe@verian.com

Check out The Craziest Things Employees Tried to Expense Last Year on Bloomberg Business Week.

Isn’t that incredible? So which is scarier – that employees tried to expense things like a goat, a baby giraffe, and laser tattoo removal, or the possibility that crazy expenses like these might go unnoticed if visibility is not provided quickly to the right people?

Fortunately, by way of automated expense management systems, crazy expenses like these can not only be caught quickly, but denied on the spot using advanced mobile approval workflow apps.

Smart phones and tablets have become an integral part of the toolkit for traveling executives. It stands to reason that these tools should be used to make managing expenses much easier for decision makers on the go. Mobile approval workflow apps are making that possible.

Gone are the days when expense reports have to sit and wait for managers and executives to get back to their offices for approval. Using a mobile approval workflow app on their smart phone or tablet, a decision maker on the go can now switch seamlessly between scanning emails, checking their Twitter feed, and reviewing (and denying!) that baby giraffe expense.

For a few years now, business automation systems have been integrating with email applications to provide managers and executives with the ability to approve or deny expenses by replying to their emails. While this helped them in some cases to reduce expense report cycle times, emails often did not contain all the information necessary for them to make final decisions.

For example, even in the case of legitimate and inconsequential expenses, managers could not review their departmental budgets alongside expenses on their mobile devices to assess the impact on available funds. This situation interrupts the decision making process, requiring extra work.

Mobile apps are now much more advanced, providing user interfaces that display all sufficient data on mobile devices in a much more user friendly fashion than email.

Decision makers on the go can now use mobile apps to view entire expense reports, summary information, line-item details, pictures, budgets, attachments and even custom user-defined fields, all on their smart phones or tablets.

So make sure your expense management system features advanced mobile apps for approval workflow.

Your decision makers will get much quicker visibility, the ability to take swifter action, and more controls to prevent your employees from trying to submit any crazy expenses.

Co-Authored by:

Ganesh Sundaresan, Senior Product Manager, Verian
Shannon Lowe, Marketing Communications Manager, Verian

The client company’s operations represent a mix of development and exploration opportunities with oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves.

The E&P company operates by acquiring assets that will increase in value through development drilling and lease consolidation. The company’s long term approach allows it to acquire and develop assets throughout market cycles.

The leading E&P company is planning a multi-stage project with Verian. Phase one includes rolling out Verian’s Purchase Manager to streamline procurement and solve purchase order (PO) issues, then deploying Verian’s Materials Transfer Manager to advance inventory management capabilities.

By automating these processes, Verian will help the customer improve visibility regarding where their inventory is located, and when that inventory moves. This enhanced visibility will enable more accurate cost accounting and planning and accurately identifying materials at the well and available in the yard. The system will also create proper accounting entries when materials are transferred between locations.

Phase two of the project will include integration to the customer’s ADP system for PO related invoicing, as well as PO delivery to network vendors.

“Verian understands the unique challenges faced by E&P companies, especially in the area of materials transfers”, said Tehseen Ali Dahya, President and CEO of Verian, “Our systems are designed to help them overcome these challenges, and we look forward to working as a team to make this customer successful.”

About Verian

Verian is the leader in universal purchasing and invoice processing systems. Founded in 1997 with headquarters in Charlotte, NC, Verian helps clients in a wide array of industries control spending and enhance visibility by providing them with a single software platform to automate their entire purchase-to-pay process. Verian’s broad and flexible product offering provides affordable, easy-to-use solutions that fit companies now – and when they change. Notable customers in industry segments such as energy, including oil & gas, retail, industrial, healthcare, financial services, government/non-profit and many others all trust Verian for intelligent purchase-to-pay automation solutions. Learn more at Verian.com.

Media Contact

J. Shannon Lowe, Marketing Communications Manager
704-971-6992, slowe@verian.com

Typically, on-premises ERP has been the engine that runs internal business processes, including those related to spend visibility and cost management.

Although, not without a growing list of challenges.

A recent Gartner study found that many companies are “tired of the long installations of ERP and upgrades, when other businesses are reaping value such as quick time to productivity, greater ROI, and lower costs.”*

What’s the alternative? Out of over 100 companies surveyed, Garter found that 95% were already using, or planned to use SaaS (cloud-based) solutions in the near future.

Correlating with this trend, here are 7 reasons SaaS is the right platform for purchase to pay systems:

1. Faster user adoption

Most employees are already familiar with SaaS through the daily use of other Web-based and mobile applications. This familiarity means faster user adoption and a consistent user experience from home, from work, and on the road.

2. Reduction of IT support needs

SaaS delivers access to a provider’s software without having it installed on internal network infrastructure, which means no more investments in hardware or time spent trouble shooting with the IT department.

3. Hassle free upgrades

SaaS removes technical barriers to regular software upgrades. When version upgrades roll out, they happen automatically, many times at no additional charge.

4. Business specific configurations

SaaS solutions are inherently flexible, integrating well with other common platforms. They can be easily configured to meet unique business needs without the need for heavy development or customization.

5. Security and safety

The perception that SaaS poses security risks couldn’t be further from the truth. Leading SaaS suppliers offer cutting edge data security that’s better than most customer organizations can provide, and the availability of single sign on features means SaaS is naturally private and secure.

6. Affordable monthly payments

Usually, one monthly subscription fee is all it takes to gain trouble-free access to the latest technology the supplier offers, making SaaS much less costly than developing and implementing on-premises solutions.

7. Always having the latest features

Unlike on-premises systems, which traditionally require long and expensive upgrades to assimilate new features, SaaS solutions are constantly evolving. Since SaaS upgrades occur automatically and system-wide, new features are available to everyone who wants to add them, ensuring constant access to the latest features, and technology that is never out of date.

Most businesses surveyed in the Gartner study communicated that the benefits of implementing SaaS technology exceeded their expectations. They were able to measure time to value in less than 1 year, and many realized a significant reduction in their IT costs.

Choosing SaaS deployment frees up time and money to invest in other key business objectives – and that just makes good sense.

* Source: Gartner. Significant Benefits Realized with Supply Chain Management in the Cloud

Co-Authored by:

Shannon Lowe, Marketing Communications Manager, Verian
Steve Ayala, Sr. Director, Engineering, R&D, Verian

The leading continuing care provider plans to implement cloud-based versions of Verian’s Purchase Manager, Invoice Manager, and Inventory & Materials Manager software solutions.

At its various Northeastern campuses and facilities, the non-profit client company provides assistance to its residents and communities such as health care, short term rehab, hospice, home care, adult daily living care, child care, and many other supporting services.

The company also provides commerce, preservation, and recreation services to support its communities such as a solar power plant, a working farm, a farm market, formal gardens, walking trails, a greenway, a fitness center, and much more.

The company’s farm operation was recently recognized with a national environmental stewardship award for its efforts in conservation, and soil and water protection.

The client will use Verian software solutions initially to help them automate and gain better control over their current manual purchasing and inventory functions at their medical facilities. Long term goals include working with Verian to expand automated spend visibility and control to all of their campus operations.

“We are privileged to work with such a standout provider of community services, and we welcome them to our family of satisfied customers”, said Tehseen Ali Dahya, President and CEO of Verian, “They can count on the Verian team to help them achieve their goals.”

About Verian

Verian is the leader in universal purchasing and invoice processing systems. Founded in 1997 with headquarters in Charlotte, NC, Verian helps clients in a wide array of industries control spending and enhance visibility by providing them with a single software platform to automate their entire purchase-to-pay process. Verian’s broad and flexible product offering provides affordable, easy-to-use solutions that fit companies now – and when they change. Notable customers in industry segments such as energy, including oil & gas, retail, industrial, healthcare, financial services, government/non-profit and many others all trust Verian for intelligent purchase-to-pay automation solutions. Learn more at Verian.com.

Media Contact

J. Shannon Lowe, Marketing Communications Manager
704-971-6992, slowe@verian.com

That’s always puzzled me.

If you’re like most folks, you’ve probably been in more budgeting meetings than you care to count.

Isn’t it interesting how much of the budgeting conversations always center on “cutting back expenditures” or “reducing spending by X% this year”?

You know what’s even more frustrating? Many companies have these same tired discussions about spending cuts every single year. All in the interest of “savings”, right?

Well, how come the savings never seem to come, or never really seem to be what they should be year over year?

It’s because it takes more than a “slash and trash” mentality to get the job done.  Consistent, significant savings will never come until an organization learns how to get control over its purchasing patterns.

Hold on. I know what you’re saying right now. Easier said than done, right? Well, consider this.

Better control is one of the chief reasons you should automate your purchasing process.

A purchasing system can automate your purchasing routine from requisition to reporting, capturing all your spending data in a single location, so you can finally answer questions like:

• Which vendors are being used? Are we getting the best pricing?
• What’s being purchased? When? By which departments or employees?
• Is there maverick or unnecessary spending? How much, and who’s doing it?

This type of panoramic view of your entire spend helps you know what’s really going on, enabling you to modify and better direct purchasing patterns.

Using the automated system to more effectively police those purchasing patterns, you can consolidate spending with the suppliers that offer the best value, making spending compliance the norm.

Purchasing systems not only help you understand how much is being spent, they also help you identify the most cost effective ways to execute your spending, so you can direct purchasing demand toward the most attractive spending scenarios.

If you pursue this approach and take it seriously, the natural result is consistent savings. Not just once, but again and again, year after year.

Which means there will be less of those painful, frustrating meetings about spending cuts.