Previously posted on the AP Optimization Blog

More than any time in recent history has the statement "cash is king" more certain! Every day we read of corporations that can't meet payrolls or pay bills. Even the state of California recently informed their vendors they will be paying late. The inability to pay the bills rolls through out the business chain.

Corporations determine the price for their goods and services based on a model that ensures they have sufficient cash to meet payrolls, replenish inventories and grow their business. In order to shorten the conversion to cash cycle they often offer a discount to customers if they pay early, often 10 days or less.

When payments are rendered at the latest date possible, this generates the least flexibility in the vendor business model. Worse yet, if the payment is at the last moment or even later and the early payment discount is still taken, then the vendor cash flow model is jeopardized.

Given the critical importance to generate adequate cash flow, corporations are now looking beyond the traditional avenues of increasing sales or decreasing cost. Many companies are seeing declines in sales and have already initiated labor reductions.

Companies have found improvements in the non labor spend process to be one of if not the most rewarding scenario.

While it is common to focus on labor reductions in the Accounts Payable process through automation, management of payment terms often generates the greatest reward.

Assume the following scenario:
Sales of $5,000,000,000 with 30% of revenue going to pay for non labor goods and services. If the automation is tempered with process optimization, payment within payment terms is now consistent. The corporation is now enabled to negotiate discounts they previously did not request since they knew meeting short payment cycles were impossible. The payment term to request is typically based on cash management principals that ensure the terms are sufficient so they more than offset interest rates incurred for short term financing. Following this scenario, if this corporation can negotiate 2% payment terms for an additional 5% of the $1,500,000,000 spend they can reduce cash paid to vendors by $1,500,000 per year. This goes straight to the bottom line profit as an increase. Assuming a 10% profit margin on sales, this would in turn offset a decline in sales of $15,000,000. When the economy does turn around these significant savings don't vanish such as savings from labor reductions. With labor reductions, once business improves, rehires eliminate the prior labor reductions.

The above scenario is based on $5B sales revenue. It is an easy reach to estimate that Open Text current clients would elevate this number 100 times generating profit in excess of $150,000,000 just related to capture of payment terms. Add to this additional savings derived from implementation of optimal automated Accounts Payable processing related to capture not of new discounts but capture of 100% of current payment term discounts, the elimination of duplicate payments and the traditional labor savings...cash really does become KING!

Want more info on this topic? Listen to a podcast I recorded recently here.

Previously posted on AP Optimization Blog

Question: To ensure best practice invoice processing, should we expect to receive EDI, E Invoice Networks or Paper Invoices?

Answer: YES

For most large corporations, a best practice scenario includes the ability to receive invoices from all sources.

EDI is a common form of invoice receipt for major suppliers delivering high number of invoices for selected goods and/or services. While this technology has been in place for several years it is a proven technology.

E Invoicing Networks or Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment (EIPP) has been around for several years with some success, but recent economic downturn has driven a renewed interest in this as a cost reduction effort. The critical success factor of getting suppliers to subscribe to the networks has significantly improved.

Paper still remains as the primary source for invoice receipt. The utilization of OCR to extract the meta data from the paper invoices has shown dramatic increases as corporations strive for straight through processing similar to that provide by EDI. Most large corporations are have either upgrading their imaging solutions or for those that have not implemented image many ore planning on implementing within the next year.

One important consideration, regardless of the source, invoice meta data often contains exceptions. Where practical, images of the invoice should be linked to the SAP invoice process to facilitate best practice resolution.

With SAP Invoice Management, varying source meta data is not an issue. Visibility of the image during processing and linkage to the invoice document is standard.

So...what is the best source of meta data...ALL!

Previously posted on Blogging GTEC 2009

It's great to be back on the GTEC.CA blog as we ramp up for the main event in October 2009. What a year it has been for the world of Government 2.0 and enterprise collaboration. Use of social media and online communities for citizen engagement are now routinely front page news. "Enterprise 2.0" has moved from the fringe of public sector priorities into the mainstream, and early adopter departments and agencies worldwide are showing tangible and measurable success.

But what are organizations really trying to accomplish with a 2.0 strategy? Why is a renewed emphasis on collaboration important to the departmental mission? Beyond the hype, beyond the fluff - what the real objective? Ultimately success in the knowledge economy -whether public or private sector - rests on connecting the three fundamental elements of business: People, Processes and Content. Balancing these three elements is not as easy as it seems. As public sector workplaces became automated in the 1980s and '90s, this world of "1.0" meant focus on process and content - the rapid rise of email, of shared network drives, of workflow tools endlessly routing items into inbox task lists: transactional content was pushed and pulled from eyeball to eyeball. Process and Content? Yep! Got it covered. People? Err... not so much.

Public sector employees personify contributors to the knowledge economy: program development, delivery of citizen services, protection of infrastructure and populace, regulation and monitoring to ensure high quality of life for residents. Information is the lifeblood of public sector activity - and this content comes from people.

When we talk about this new generation of collaboration - inspired by the tools and practices of the 2.0 phenomenon - we often hear the term "social": social networking, social media, social computing. Social in this context does not mean leisure, or fun and games, it means people. It means bringing the human voice back into the wired world of the electronic workplace. Organizations wanting to adopt a 2.0 strategy are seeking a more Social Workplace. The "Social Workplace" is an ideal expression of Web 2.0 technologies to connect people with their peers and with critical content and information. Culturally, it helps break down hierarchical and administrative barriers to innovation and idea exchange among rank and file employees. Technologically, it introduces simpler content creation and communication tools and uses the Web to bridge geographical and generational gaps.

As Web-based collaboration becomes energized by the introduction of social and rich media, sharing and maintaining quality content can accelerate employee productivity. Where individual knowledge was previously hidden, successful teams are seeing shared information and experiences becoming part of broader organizational culture. Employees who actively share their knowledge emerge as experts, and departments that encourage employees to share their knowledge build stronger peer-to-peer and community networks, accelerating internal productivity gains. Providing a variety of simple, interactive, personalized community tools accessible over the Web or smart phones can achieve measurable positive results in this Social Workplace. In Part 2 of this discussion, we'll explore the essential scenarios best served by the Social Workplace:

• Attraction, retention, and better use of talent as part of human capital management
• More transparency in corporate governance and communication
• Enablement of front line staff to respond and serve
• Support for a more virtual enterprise
• Respect and protection of institutional memory

Stay tuned...

Previously posted on my Content Management for Life Sciences Blog

Traditionally, electronic document management systems focused on the needs of Regulatory Affairs and provided several basic functions such as document security, version control, document control and electronic approval. EDM systems have grown over the years to accommodate the needs of chemistry, biology, pre-clinical, clinical, quality assurance, quality control, medical writing, legal and compliance. Enterprise-class systems that scale and accommodate a range of business processes have flourished with these increasing demands on the EDMS.

In the past, organizations focused heavily on the document management aspect of content management, and neglected issues such as retention, archival, workflow and reporting. The evolution document management has lead to an enterprise-wide strategy which encompasses the entire content life cycle from creation and approval through to retention and disposition.

Through the benefits of information sharing and reduced duplication of efforts, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are recognizing the pure cost advantage of a single ECM system for the housing of all business content. By deploying a single ECM platform for the management of finance and operational content, drug development documents, clinical trials and patient record information, standard operating procedures (SOP), and quality control documents, companies can lower the total-cost-of-ownership of content management technology. With integrated business performance enhancement capabilities such as business process workflow, group collaboration, and intelligence reporting, organizations can implement automation to their processes, on top of their document or content management platform.

A content management system may support the following industry-specific applications: regulated content approval and control, submissions content management and assembly, quality issues tracking and corrective and preventative actions management, and learning management. And the following enterprise applications: records management, business process management and workflow, contract and vendor management, business intelligence and reporting, ERP data and document archiving and integration, and email management.

A true enterprise approach touches on a wide range of technologies and business processes.

Here at Open Text, we're excited for the upcoming Canada 3.0 Conference in June, so from time-to-time we thought we'd bring you some of the great blog posts they're writing as part of the event.

This one comes from Ken Coates, Dean of Arts at the Unversity of Waterloo.

The rapid development of the digital media sector has startled observers for the last few decades. Time and time again, a new twist emerges which transforms the commercial potential of the digital economy. It was only in the mid-1990s that the Internet emerged as a viable electronic platform. The emergence of e-commerce sparked the dot.com boom (and subsequent bust), just as the expansion of mobile telecommunication sent the digital industry off in new directions.

The transformations continue, with social networking, file-sharing, mass digitization, and eventually ubiquitous computing spreading the impact and enhancing the possibilities of the digital sector. This makes it, of course, extremely difficult to anticipate future directions in the digital economy, although one main trends seems quite clear. For the past twenty years, tool makers have held the upper hand, particularly in North America. The fascination with technological fundamentals has focused attention on the development of Internet backbones and new devices. The result has been impressive, with faster speeds, new devices, and improved delivery systems.

Perhaps, however, the greatest change has been the emergence of content -- the creative element -- as the fast-growing sector of the digital universe. At the level of the delivery systems, the Internet and devices--desktops, mobile devices, and the like, there remains an enormous amount of under-utilized capacity. While technological innovation must and will continue, the fastest changes will likely occur on the content/creative side. At present, companies like Facebook, Myspace and LinkedIn have emerged as dominant players (although one hopes that there proves to be a limit to digital narcissism).

The future, it seems, will be strongly influenced by increased development on the content side. Content-rich sites like hulu.com have the potential to transform the television sector. Clearly, news and information sites have undercut the viability of traditional newspapers. With governments, universities, special interest groups, google books, digital publishers, and others rushing to place content on line, content has become king.

In general, the digital torch is being past from the tool makers to tool users Telematic theatre - using the Internet to enhance the theatrical experience -- has real potential. User generated content, like YouTube, continues to grow, albeit without viable business models. The development of professional content, combined with micro-charging systems, will likely emerge as a centre-piece of the 21st digital economy.

To date, few companies, regions or countries have capitalized on the potential of the "creative triangle," the intersection of technology, international business and the creative sector. The unique cultures of these three areas -- each with different concepts of innovation,
radically different approaches to the cultivation of talents, and very different business models -- it is not surprising that natural unions have not emerged.

There is, however, a virtuous connection possible in the digital content sector. The technology firms need content to capitalize on the investment in infrastructure, creative organizations and people need markets and income from their work (particularly as traditional audiences continue experience pressure), and businesses need new products and services to capitalize on global opportunities. Bringing these sectors together and search for the sweet spot that draws on the
unique contributions from each is one of the core challenges of the new economy.

Previously posted on Blogging GTEC 2009

Last week we discussed the concept of a "social" workplace and the value of collaboration among public sector information workers. But where is the real return? What specific areas can benefit most from an investment in collaborative technologies and encouragement of better communication of information?

Managing Human Capital

Recruitment, attraction and cultivation of a skilled public sector workforce remain an expensive challenge, even when economic conditions expand the pool of candidates. A flexible and committed workforce who can fill critical gaps during periods of staff turnover and use collected intelligence to prioritize tasks can only exist when information is simple to find, and experts are ready to share.

Skills and learning management, expert finders, employee on boarding and mentorship, alumni networks, succession planning, and career development: these are the key functions that often determine an organization's ability to attract, maintain, and cultivate a talented employee base. Collaborative tools deliver in-house networks that weave the strong social fabric of trust, connection, and shared goals among colleagues.

Self-Service and Peer-to-Peer Empowerment

Time spent on repetitive tasks, struggling with email inbox overload, trying to track down the right person to answer a question - sound familiar? As departments downsize, right-size, reorganize, merge, spin-off, or decentralize, complexities compound, and productivity and a sense of accomplishment suffers. Disengagement sets in.

Organizations that build a Social Workplace can make effective use of simple and intuitive content creation tools. Measurable productivity gains, reduced search times, efficient reuse of shared content are demonstrated with web-based authoring tools for FAQs, project knowledge bases, best practices, or meeting notes. Employees who are encouraged to share their educational background, previous work history, and expose hobbies and interests very often are called to share these formerly hidden skills on new projects. Easy location of in-house experts, regardless of level or role, becomes a natural part of internal knowledge discovery.

Transparency and Corporate Governance

Poor decisions that contribute to negative business results are often made without the benefit of internal expert consultation. One-to-one communication tools - including email - are not conducive to open, vetted discussions on risks, precedent and implications. Organizations with narrow definitions of compliance that focus only on retention rules miss the opportunity to proactively root out and shed light on risky behaviors or patterns.

2.0 technology and culture also delivers a compliance educational opportunity beyond mere publication of statements or policies. It allows rich media, peer to peer discussion, and online interaction to deliver a compelling vision of enterprise goals and expectations. Audio, video and rich graphic content forms transcend language, geography and generations to communicate acceptable practices and instill understanding.

The Virtual Enterprise

Providing an equivalent online Social Workplace experience for employees who work away from the physical office is an important aspect of employee engagement and productivity. Geographical separation can lead to a disconnection from team or organizational shared goals. Adoption of a Social Workplace allows distributed organizations to offer the same virtual water cooler networking experience to remote staff as the more traditional office employees. Opening awareness to hidden skills and undervalued experience, finding common interests, and building personal trust and networks is the value of the human connection we find among our colleagues. The Social Workplace now brings this to the virtual enterprise.

Enable the Front Line

Service representatives, program managers, help desk staff, inspectors, and emergency responders are mobile professionals who require accurate timely data at their fingertips and they move quickly to execute on opportunities. Often the most accurate intelligence on field conditions, public concerns, hazards, or safety issues will come from peers--this is the buzz, the scoop, the first-hand observational knowledge. The pressure to be in tune with issues can be impossible when individuals are left to fend for themselves.

Organizations that get better at capturing and disseminating the intrinsic knowledge in the field will find competitive advantage with the Social Workplace. Quick and easy web or mobile capture of data, images, or text notes shared with a broader team leads to timely awareness of trends and conditions on the road. This field intelligence needs to become part of mainstream corporate memory. Seeking input directly from front line services deepens collected wisdom and shows responsiveness to changing conditions.

Previously published on The Evolution of Communication Blog

Social Media Means What?

There is a multitude of conversations taking place around how to define the term Social Media and as with most buzz words; different people will attach different meanings and value to social media.

This is the "not so popular" definition in Wikipedia, "Social media is information content created by people using highly accessible and scalable publishing technologies. At its most basic sense, social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. It's a fusion of sociology and technology, transforming monologue (one to many) into dialog (many to many) and is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers. Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal and business. Businesses also refer to social media as user-generated content (UGC) or consumer-generated media (CGM)."

In my opinion 'Media' is content. Content can be text, audio, visual, drawings etc; and these forms of content can come to us either through, TV, radio, newspapers or it can also come to us from tools like Facebook, Twitter, You-Tube, wikis and blogs. These may each equate to different forms of media, such as newspaper is print media, web content is digital media. But at the end of the day these all fall under the umbrella of "Media". Media is the vehicle we use to send out information to interested users.

When we attach the term social to media it introduces the personal aspect of interaction to that content. In my mind, content is really just data. Until we apply rich context around that content, either via relationships with people or things, then can the content become more meaningful and equate to knowledge as opposed to just data.

When I speak with people about what it means to make use of social media, particularly in the enterprise space, I like to describe this as having the ability to "socialize" your content. To me that is the value of bringing social media to the work place. As a friend of mine Brian MacLeod says, "Social media has the ability to turn tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge."

I think it makes sense to define social media as a tool set that provides individuals the ability to personalize content creation, the ability to "socialize" content.

Something that we need to keep in mind is that social media is more than just another form of media; it also speaks to something more fundamental in nature, having the ability to socialize our content demonstrates a culture shift in how we interact with other, particularly in the Enterprise. Social media and this organic growth of new media formats that are growing from the ground up also represents a shift in how we do business. It speaks to the "power of we", and the "wisdom of the crowds". It represents a change in how people are discovering, collaborating and sharing content.