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Author: Kim Bührle

  • How to Automate Order Confirmations

    How to Automate Order Confirmations

    3 Questions – 3 Answers:

    How to automate purchase order confirmations

    Learn what makes the purchase order confirmation special and what sets this unstructured document apart from other transactional documents. 

    Explore the challenges of automating order confirmations and discover how the processing of order confirmations can be automated efficiently with the help of intelligent automation solutions. 

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    We understand every business has unique operational challenges – and we’re here to help you overcome them.

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  • Product Demonstration: Invoices

    Product Demonstration: Invoices

    Product demonstration

    Invoice processing with the Netfira Platform

    Explore how Netfira manages invoice processing in our detailed demonstration of the Netfira Platform. This video will guide you through the functionality of our platform, showing you how it automates the extraction, processing and integration of invoice data into your existing systems.

    Note: At the moment, we only provide this video in English. 

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    We understand every business has unique operational challenges – and we’re here to help you overcome them.


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  • Which Automation Technology Is Better for Your Operations: RPA or IDP? 

    Which Automation Technology Is Better for Your Operations: RPA or IDP? 

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    Which Automation Technology Is Better for Your Operations: RPA or IDP?

    Processing transactional documents is an integral part of business operations. These operational tasks must be completed efficiently so that employees have enough time for value-adding tasks. There are many different automation solutions on the market which rely on cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Robotic Process Automation (RPA) or Intelligent Document Processing (IDP). This blog article will focus on two prominent technologies utilised to achieve process optimisation and efficiency in the processing of transactional documents: Robotic Process Automation and Intelligent Document Processing. Intelligent automation solutions relying on RPA or IDP technology are often used for the same goals, but their fields of application, strengths and weaknesses differ significantly. The question is: Which automation technology is better suited for the needs of your business operations: RPA or IDP?   

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    Managing Transactional Documents

    Transactional documents are essential pieces of information recording a business transaction between two parties. In procurement, for example, these transactions are mostly made between buyers and suppliers; in sales departments, they take place between a sales rep and a customer or another business partner. Managing transactional documents, such as invoices, shipping documents, purchase order confirmations, and customer orders, involves repetitive and time-consuming manual tasks. Intelligent automation solutions can help streamline the processing of these documents by automatically extracting and processing data, reducing processing times and errors. By automating these tasks, teams can free up valuable time to focus on more strategic activities.  

    Which Automation Technology Is the Better Choice for Your Operations: RPA or IDP?

    Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that uses software robots, also called bots, to automate repetitive, rule-based tasks in business processes. RPA mimics human actions and interactions with computer systems to execute tasks such as data entry, data processing, and communication with other systems without human intervention. 

    Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) refers to the automation of data extraction from complex semi-structured or unstructured documents and converting it into structured usable data. IDP automation solutions automate all steps of document processing from document pre-processing, document classification, data extraction, data validation, and export to downstream systems.  

    Advantages of Robotic Process Automation

    1. Powerful solution for automating rule-based tasks

    RPA is suitable for automating repetitive, rule-based tasks such as data entry and invoice processing. For instance, RPA bots can open and flag emails with attached documents, key in documents into systems and extract data from transactional documents. 

    2. Cost reduction

    In the long run, RPA can significantly reduce operational costs by automating repetitive and manual tasks, thereby reducing the need for manual work.  

    3. Faster processing times

    RPA solutions can execute tasks around the clock, leading to faster processing times and improved turnaround times for various processes. 

    Disadvantages of Robotic Process Automation

    1. Limited scope of use

    RPA software can only be used where processes are already digitised. The software robots cannot work with ambiguous documents either. Consequently, they can currently only be used for structured processes and documents as well as routine activities. 

    2. Lack of flexibility

    Software robots are very inflexible. The platforms on which RPA interacts change frequently, and the required flexibility often cannot be configured. Software robots cannot react flexibly to deviations or variants, for example, when data is not structured, or decisions within the process are complex and non-linear. Changing regulations or updates that require minimal changes to an input screen can set back an RPA project by months.    

    3. Difficult scalability

    The more applications a software robot serves, the more challenging scalability becomes. 

    4. Monitoring for possible errors is necessary

    Employees must check that the RPA software robot does not make any mistakes. For example, if OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is used to read PDF files, the reading process can be faulty. Since RPA technology cannot recognise errors or check data readouts for plausibility, these errors could then be transferred unnoticed to a database.  

    5. RPA requires clean data

    RPA software requires a particular data quality. The effort required for its preparation and cleansing is often underestimated. However, good data quality is a mandatory prerequisite for the successful digitisation of business processes and the automation of workflows.    

    6. High costs

    According to Deloitte, robotic process automation costs for a single software bot may range from 5,000 to 15,000 dollars. Most of the time, costs of RPA tools comprise and depend on: RPA vendor pricing, the number and complexity of bots that constitute the RPA deployment, the initial process analysis, RPA consulting, and engineering costs, the cost of third-party robotic process automation integrations, and finally maintenance, support, and RPA scaling costs. 

    Advantages of Intelligent Document Processing

    1. Orchestration of workflows

    IDP offers more than just automating isolated tasks. IDP solutions transform the handling of transactional documents, such as advanced shipping notices, purchase order confirmations, quotes or invoices, from a manual and error-prone process into a seamless and automated workflow. Orchestrating the flow of multiple tasks, IDP solutions cover the extraction, processing and exporting of document data in downstream systems.  

    2. Use of Artificial intelligence

    IDP software solutions employ a range of sophisticated technologies, including AI, OCR and machine learning, to accurately extract data from all kinds of documents thus guaranteeing high data quality. 

    3. High flexibility

    IDP automation technology is very flexible. IDP solutions can extract data with a very high accuracy regardless of the format and complexity. Intelligent Document Processing can automate complex processes lacking simple rules. It can be used in many ways, reacts flexibly to variants, exceptions and deviations; updates and adjustments to the application systems are no problem.  

    4. Short implementation time and easy scalability

    IDP cloud solutions combine the benefits of IDP with the benefits of cloud computing. IDP solutions which are not implemented as on-premise solutions but which operate in the cloud can unlock their full potential. Cloud-based IDP solutions offer a short implementation time of just a few weeks and easy scalability.  

    5. IDP can understand and relate content

    The flexibility of Intelligent Document Processing systems directly stems from their ability to analyse and relate content and to understand the business context. Unlike RPA technology, IDP solutions are not inflexible and rigid systems but are adaptable. Accounting for different document types, formats and supplier-specific rules, IDP solutions can offer customisable workflows tailored to business’ needs. Processing transactional documents, this applies to the extraction of data, the comparison of data across various data sets, the validation of information, and the further processing or transfer of the correct information to downstream company systems.  

    6. Powerful exception management

    In document processing, exceptions are an expected part of the process. IDP solutions are well-equipped for reliably and efficiently spotting and handling exceptions and edge cases in document processing. This functionality ensures business continuity and transparent processes, boosts operational resilience, and reduces the need of manual intervention or IT support.  

    7. IPD solutions improve over time

    In contrast to RPA, IDP can process unstructured data in free texts as well as complex documents such as order confirmations and customer orders. Deviating terms in supplier documents, ambiguous units of measurement, or various languages are no longer a problem because – unlike RPA – IDP learns continuously. When IDP solutions employ human-in-the-loop automation for managing exceptions, errors and edge cases, the system allows users to intervene and handle exceptions when necessary. By interacting with the system through human input, the software learns and improves proportionally with the volume of data fed into it. 

    Disadvantages of Intelligent Document Processing

    Even though there are no real disadvantages or limitations of Intelligent Document Processing solutions, the costs of IDP solutions need to be considered as they can range in price from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars.  

    In case organisations only want to automate isolated and repetitive tasks, RPA is better suited.  In general, businesses need to individually evaluate which automation solution fits their budget, meets their needs and is best suited for fulfilling their automation goals. 

    Conclusion: Which Technology is Better: RPA or IDP?

    If businesses seek to perform rule-based, simple and repetitive tasks in document processing automatically, they can easily rely on RPA technology. However, its scope of application is highly limited: bots are only good for executing a task that will always be the same, such as pulling a PDF from an email. An IDP solution, on the other hand, provides an end-to-end solution that gives enterprises control and flexibility over the entire process including the extraction of document data, the processing and interpretation of data as well as the export and archiving of information. Thus, in comparison to the flexibility, scalability and accuracy of IDP solutions, the limitations of RPA tools outweigh the benefits and often fall short of what is now possible in automated document processing.  

     Explore the differences between RPA and IDP technology based on a real-life use case in our next blog article Automated Invoice Processing: Comparing RPA and IDP Solutions.

    Webinar: Auftragsbestätigung-en automatisieren


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    Pfleiderer Case Study

    Learn how Pfleiderer successfully digitised its procurement through process automation.

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  • Why purchasing should choose an AI-based automation solution 

    Why purchasing should choose an AI-based automation solution 

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    Why purchasing should choose an AI-based automation solution

    Cutting-edge technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionise procurement. In operational purchasing, there is still a predominantly manual process chain with many error-prone activities. The pressure on purchasing is increasing as the effort required for manual operational processes increases exponentially with the number of transactions and suppliers. For businesses to remain competitive and future-proof, operational activities must be automated. Manual tasks must be completed quickly and without error, so that team members have more time for value-adding tasks. Therefore, it has become increasingly important to implement automation solutions that optimise document processing. AI-powered software solutions automate document processing efficiently and reliably which enables a smooth electronic connection between business partners.  Read more about the benefits and the steps involved in choosing an AI-based automation solution in purchasing. 

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    Step 1: Collect and evaluate data

    In every company, data is collected on a daily basis. The first step should be to get an overview of where and how data is collected and what data is available. Find out here why clean data is foundational to efficient processes and how the Netfira Platform improves data quality through automation.  

    Step 2: Identify and evaluate fields of application

    This data is a prerequisite for identifying and evaluating fields of application in the company. AI technology can be used profitably in many areas – such as the purchasing department.  Moreover, AI technologies far exceed the possibilities of conventional Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and are therefore better suited for implementing sustainable digitisation and automation strategies in the long term. For more information on the differences between AI and RPA and the advantages of AI, check out the blog article “Which intelligent automation solution for procurement is better: RPA or AI?“ 

    Step 3: Develop a strategy and select an automation solution

    The vision of a paperless office with automated operational processes is shared by many future-focused companies. A strategy developed to achieve this includes the definition of strategic goals which includes the selection of suitable AI-based software. Doing that, some questions need to be answered: What resources are available? Which software provider do I work with? Which platform is used? Do I use a self-hosted cloud? Do I work with the company’s own IT or do I use the services of an external IT department? 

    Netfira’s checklist for defining software requirements helps you to prepare and accelerate the software selection process.  Subsequently, the software selection checklist from Netfira supports you in defining goals that meet the SMART criteria and selecting a suitable software solution that meets your needs.  

    Automating operational purchasing with AI

    The use of AI-powered software solutions in operational procurement leads to automation, acceleration and optimisation. AI can support the exchange of information and at the same time relate content. In operational procurement, this applies to the extraction of data, the comparison of data and the validation of information. 

    How the Netfira Platform uses AI to automate purchasing

    With the AI-based solution from Netfira, B2B documents such as orders, order confirmations, advanced shipping notices, invoices and other documents can be automatically exchanged and processed between purchasing and its business partners. AI enables purchasing to connect business partners electronically. All significant suppliers, including the small ones, can be connected quickly and easily with the AI-based Netfira Onboarding App. Thanks to AI, unstructured data can be harmonised in free texts or in documents such as order confirmations and customer orders. Deviating terms in supplier documents, ambiguous units of measurement or rare languages are no longer a problem as Netfira’s AI is constantly learning. Manual intervention is hardly necessary. 

    The Netfira Platform: A cloud-based SaaS solution

    The Netfira Platform relies on AI to automate the bidirectional exchange of B2B documents and data.  Automating document workflows in the cloud increases efficiency, optimises processes, and unlocks procurement’s full potential. SaaS solutions allow flexibility, scalability and low costs. In addition, the automation solution can be implemented without training and internal IT is hardly involved in the project. The central advantage is that IT teams, who are usually busy with existing responsibilities, do not have to be convinced of the automation strategy and do not have to deal with a work-intensive project. When implementing the Netfira Platform, there are only five tasks that require action from internal IT teams. The Netfira Platform is offered as a SaaS solution hosted in the cloud.  

    The benefits of SaaS and AI

    Artificial intelligence and the SaaS service model are two technologies with high future potential. Connecting the two with each other leads to even greater added value for purchasing. AI works more effectively in a web-based platform than in a locally installed solution, as a cloud solution offers frequent and free updates. Thus, AI-based automation solutions that operate as a SaaS model in the cloud bundle a multitude of advantages that enable purchasing to become future-proof: The flexibility of the cloud goes hand in hand with the flexibility of a learning AI, which can even process unstructured content with extremely high data accuracy. On top of that, there are low costs, a quick roll-out as well as uncomplicated and cost-effective scalability.

    Why purchasing should choose the AI-based Netfira Platform

    Thanks to its innovative AI, the Netfira Platform increases operational efficiency along the Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process by automating all documents, including purchase order confirmations, invoices, shipping notices, purchase orders, quotes and many more. With Netfira, the entire supply chain can be digitised and automated so that internal and external partners are seamlessly connected with one another. Manual and thus error-prone tasks are significantly reduced so that buyers have more time to concentrate on strategic and value-adding activities. The optimisation of the purchasing process with an AI-powered automation solution has positive effects on all downstream processes and involved departments.  


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  • The challenge with processing unstructured order confirmations

    The challenge with processing unstructured order confirmations

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    The challenge with processing unstructured order confirmations

    The challenge with processing unstructured order confirmations is nothing new. Every day, purchasing departments are met with a flood of these documents and tasked with the manual process of entering this important but often unstructured information into their purchasing system. To make matters worse, the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the global shipping crisis and caused global delays to orders.

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    In procurement, the pressure caused by this supply chain disruption has manifested itself through a backlog of order confirmations that need to be processed. Procurement managers are reporting a dramatic increase in purchase order confirmations as the ongoing disruption is forcing suppliers to provide multiple order confirmations for each purchase order. Not only are the volume of order confirmations increasing, but also the number of discrepancies and variances that require action. The need for business leaders to future-proof their processes against disruption in an uncertain and interconnected world comes into focus. Purchasing needs to implement intelligent solutions enabling automated processing of order confirmations to mitigate risk, handle discrepancies and improve supplier relations.  

    Purchase order, purchase order confirmation and invoice – what is the difference?

    Purchase orders, purchase order confirmations and invoices are central documents in procurement which need to be processed on a daily basis. They serve different functions and play an integral role in the B2B communication as they provide better visibility into the purchasing processes, include basic order details and provide a legal basis.

    The difference between structured and unstructured documents

    Documents like purchase orders and invoices are classified as semi-structured or structured documents. While there are several styles of invoices, for the most part they all contain the same information such as company name, address and phone number, invoice number, due dates, line items, total amount due etc.  Moreover, information is assigned to certain columns and positions in a clearly structured way. That is why OCR software is often used to digitally capture the information on invoices. The same holds true for purchase orders. These documents specify the quantity, quality, unit and total price of goods or services that suppliers must provide.  They also state the general terms and conditions such as delivery terms, price, payment terms, payment means etc. Because of the structured nature of invoices and purchase orders, these documents are relatively straightforward and easy to process – either manually or automatically. Purchase order confirmations, on the other hand, are unstructured documents. What kind of information and how it is confirmed mainly depends on the supplier creating and sending the document. 

    The challenge with processing unstructured order confirmations

    For purchasing, checking, comparing and processing incoming purchase order confirmations has always meant laborious and error-prone manual work. The greatest challenge with order confirmations certainly lies in its unstructured nature. In contrast to invoices and purchase orders, for example, purchase order confirmations are unstructured documents.  Unstructured means that the supplier confirms specific components as they see fit. Therefore, it often happens that order confirmations from different suppliers have a different structure. For instance, this can apply to the delivery date. On order confirmations, there can be a desired delivery date and an actual delivery date. The information is considered structured if data is contained neatly within its designated column. However, information often bleeds into the column next to it. The challenge here is to find out which information is the desired delivery date and which is the actual delivery date. This lack of structure increases the manual workload for procurement teams significantly. Therefore, digital automation solutions which are capable of processing this kind of unstructured data reliably and quickly come more and more into focus.

    The challenge with too many order confirmations

    Recent events have made comparing and processing all incoming order confirmations a near on impossible task for many procurement teams. Due to unforeseen changes and supply bottlenecks, many suppliers are forced to generate and send a new purchase order confirmation to the buyer whenever a detail of the order changes. Consequently, the buyer receives up to ten order confirmations for one purchase order which he or she must check each time. Thus, the non-transparent and unstable supply chain directly affects operational procurement. COVID-19 has revealed and intensified the fragility of complex global supply chains with existing or impending supply bottlenecks drastically increasing the volume and inconsistency of purchase order confirmations which need to be processed.  

    The benefits of automating unstructured order confirmations

    Given the increase in documents and evidence that uncertainty is here to stay, procurement urgently needs to automate the processing of purchase order confirmations with intelligent digital solutions which reliably process unstructured documents. Buyers can benefit immensely from automated processes and workflows which relieve them of time consuming, error prone and mentally draining tasks. Moreover, automated order confirmations make purchasing more efficient by increasing productivity, reducing errors and freeing up more time for value-adding activities. Buyers do not need to input data manually and repeatedly anymore. Automated order confirmations facilitate better production planning thanks to smart platform solutions that can identify delivery volume discrepancies and potential delays right away and source other suppliers or adjust the planning as needed. This foresight enhances compliance and quality and allows for flexible risk management. On top of that, automated processes provide transparency of the supply chain and help spot discrepancies faster. Buyers are in control of the processes at all times and can react to unforeseen and spontaneous changes. Thus, smart automation solutions optimise and future-proof purchasing processes for present and future challenges. 

    Learn how Pfleiderer successfully digitised its procurement through process automation.


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  • What is EDI?

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    What is EDI?

    Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is the computer-to-computer exchange of business documents in a standard electronic format between business partners. 

    What documents can be exchanged via EDI?

    The most common documents exchanged via EDI are purchase orders, invoices and advance shipping notices. But there are many others such as bill of lading, customs documents, inventory documents, shipping status documents and payment documents. 

    What EDI standards are there?

    There are several EDI standards in use today, including ANSI, EDIFACT, TRADACOMSand ebXML. For each standard there are many different versions such as ANSI 5010 or EDIFACT version D12, Release A. 

    Why are EDI standards needed?

    Since EDI documents are processed by computers instead of humans, a standard format must be used so that the computer will be able to read and understand the documents. A standard format describes what each piece of information is and in what format (e.g. integer, decimal, mmddyy). 

    How does EDI work?

    Sending EDI documents involves three steps:  

    Step 1: Prepare the document 

    Step 2: Translate the document into EDI format 

    Step 3: Connect and transmit your EDI document to your business partner 

    Main disadavantages of EDI

    • Lack of flexibility: Restrictive standards and formats 
    • Expensive for businesses and their connected partners 
    • Not all trading partners can connect to EDI 
    • Complex technology 

    Alternative to EDI: The Netfira Platform 

    EDI solution vs. the Netfira Platform

     

    EDI 

    Netfira Platform  

    Basic functions  

    Transmission of standardised data  

    Automatic document and data processing including all document types  

    Flexibility  

    Document exchange based on restrictive standards and formats  

    No standards or formats  

    Costs for connected business partners  

    Too expensive for a lot of suppliers 

    No costs for connected trading partners 

    Project costs  

    Time-consuming and costly to set up  

    SaaS solution: quick implementation and low costs  

    Connection of business partners 

    Not all partners can connect, high barriers 

    All important partners can connect easily and quickly 

    Technology  

    Complex, IT or external EDI service provider needed 

    Netfira Onboarding App: business partners can be connected without IT or external service providers  

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