Open Text Shortens Time to ROI with New Release of Vendor Invoice Management for Use with SAP Solutions
New Version Goes Beyond Traditional Accounts Payable Applications with Extensive Pre-Configured Invoice Processing Scenarios, Plus Other Enhancements
Chicago, IL - 2007-09-24 - Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ: OTEX, TSX: OTC), the largest independent provider of enterprise content management (ECM) software and solutions, today announced the availability of the latest version of its popular Livelink ECM Vendor Invoice Management (VIM) for use with SAP® solutions that now incorporates an expanded set of pre-configured invoice processing scenarios, along with numerous other customer-driven enhancements. VIM is a complete application for optimizing vendor invoice processes in SAP applications, along with built-in reporting and analytics to continuously improve processes.
The new features in VIM Version 5.1 provide an easy way for companies to jump start invoice process optimization initiatives and realize significant return on investment in less time. Some of the most important issues that need to be considered when managing invoices concern how to handle exceptions such as missing goods receipts, incorrect pricing or incorrect tax. With the latest version of VIM, Open Text is providing 35 best-practice workflows for handling exceptions along with wizards to streamline the process of setting up a baseline configuration.
For existing customers using SAP solutions, such as Energen Corporation, VIM offers a cost-effective way to optimize business processes. At Energen, VIM enabled the company to reduce the number of steps required to process an invoice by 41 percent, from 14 down to nine. When factored across 60,000 invoices annually from some 8,000 vendors this represents a significant cost savings.
We are fully optimized with a streamlined process flow that takes full advantage of our SAP application-based system, said Brunson White, Vice President and CIO at Energen. Our team now has time to take a more strategic approach and focus on high-value functions such as vendor analysis and negotiation. And we are also able to consistently take advantage of vendor discounts for rapid payment. One of the main reasons this was so successful is the Open Text application s tight integration with SAP solutions. It s impossible to tell when the SAP piece ends and the Open Text piece begins.
According to Brunson, VIM has also helped to significantly increase overall vendor satisfaction with Energen by simplifying interaction with the company and ensuring rapid payment. Energen has also deployed VIM s built-in vendor self-service portal that lets vendors use the Web to securely check the status of invoices payments, to provide missing information or to review purchase orders.
Other new capabilities in the latest version of VIM include:
- Enhanced Vendor Self Service Portal capabilities
- Enhancements to VIM Analytics to increase performance and offer more reporting flexibility
- New document processing workflows
- New diagnostic tools to speed up configuration and deployment.
VIM Delivers Efficiency, Visibility, Compliance
For many organizations, the process of receiving paper invoices, routing for data entry, resolving problems, and reporting is typically inefficient. Often, most of the time spent on these processes involves manual labor and can be very costly.
To optimize vendor invoice handling, VIM routes problem invoices to appropriate individuals for resolution and approval. It includes elements for Web-based self-service for vendors and approval capabilities for internal users who don t normally use SAP solutions. VIM also provides increased user adoption of SAP applications, which helps maximize return on investment for SAP solutions. VIM uses imaging, workflow, and best-practice design to increase efficiency. An open design makes it possible to accept invoices electronically as well as via paper. Purchase orders, goods receipts, invoice transaction screens, invoice images, and transaction notes are all linked in one place to ensure timely problem resolution with a minimum of effort.
Organizations using VIM, including many Fortune 1000 companies, have significantly improved efficiencies in invoice processing, and enjoy benefits such as dramatically lower cost per invoice, improved on-time payment performance, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, more captured discounts, reduced duplicate invoices and payments, better reputation with suppliers and more leverage for terms and price negotiation. To learn more about Livelink ECM Vendor Invoice Management for use with SAP solutions go to: http://www.opentext.com/2/sol-products/sol-pro-extensions-sap/pro-ll-sap-vim.htm.
About Open Text
Open Text is the world's largest independent provider of Enterprise Content Management software. The Company's solutions manage information for all types of business, compliance and industry requirements in the world's largest companies, government agencies and professional service firms. Open Text supports approximately 46,000 customers and millions of users in 114 countries and 12 languages. For more information about Open Text, visit www.opentext.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
This news release may contain forward-looking statements relating to the success of any of the Company s strategic initiatives, the Company s growth and profitability prospects, the benefits of the Company s products to be realized by customers, the Company s position in the market and future opportunities therein, the deployment of Livelink and our other products by customers, and future performance of Open Text Corporation. Forward-looking statements may also include, without limitation, any statement relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. Forward-looking statements in this release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others, the failure to develop new products, risks involved in fluctuations in currency exchange rates, delays in purchasing decisions of customers, the completion and integration of acquisitions, the possibility of technical, logistical or planning issues in connection with deployments, the continuous commitment of the Company's customers, demand for the Company's products and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2007. You should not place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which are based on management's beliefs and opinions at the time the statements are made, and the Company does not undertake any obligations to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management's beliefs or opinions change.
Copyright © 2007 by Open Text Corporation. LIVELINK ECM and OPEN TEXT are trademarks or registered trademarks of Open Text Corporation in the United States of America, Canada, the European Union and/or other countries. This list of trademarks is not exhaustive. Other trademarks, registered trademarks, product names, company names, brands and service names mentioned herein are property of Open Text Corporation or other respective owners.
For more information, please contact
Richard Maganini
Open Text Corporation
1-847-961-0662
rmaganin@opentext.com
Brian Edwards
McKenzie Worldwide
+1-503-577-4583
briane@mckenzieworldwide.com
Michele Stevenson
Open Text Corporation
519-888-7111 ext. 2594
mstevens@opentext.com
