PolyOne Corporation

Benefits

After implementing DataServ’s AP automation solution, PolyOne was able to decrease its workforce, provide increased visibility into payable obligations, and eliminate paper. Says Krista Van de Wiele, PolyOne’s  Accounts Payable Manager: “Prior to implementing DataServ’s P2P solution, we had three different processing centers with about 10-15 additional employees. After DataServ’s solution was in place we  managed to decrease the workforce to three processors  and were able to keep up with the regular demands of the AP position.”  

DataServ worked with PolyOne to understand their unique situation while also offering suggestions and ideas for integrating “best practices” into PolyOne’s workflow. “We needed a solution that was going to work globally and supply our plants and controllers the same visibility they had when the paper invoices were being processed at the individual account units. We were also able to implement best practices, which were attainable since all the AP invoices were being processed centrally.”

As Van de Wiele mentioned, by eliminating paper DataServ has provided her department with improved access to documents and information to give PolyOne better controls and audit responsiveness. “Everything is electronic,” she says. “You can create a temporary user ID and let the auditors look up the invoices. If you are not comfortable with that, it is easy to export a document and send it electronically to the auditors. It is far less time-consuming than fumbling through  file cabinets and making copies.”

PolyOne’s automation solution has also greatly  improved their month-end closing process. “Since all  invoices are in one place, approvers receive reminders  and AP can look up invoices quickly online and not  fumble through file cabinets. This has also led to  improved visibility into obligations and improved  month-end closing, as we don’t have to wonder if the  invoice is sitting on an AP processor’s desk or if it is  lost in the mail. We are able to use the report to  determine what needs to be accrued for the month.”  

PolyOne’s AP automation solution includes the use of DataServ’s sophisticated Invoice Processing Machine, which uses optical character recognition (OCR) and a 5-step quality review to provide PolyOne with 99.9% clean electronic data and document images in a matter of hours of invoice receipt. This puts PolyOne in a better position to take advantage of supplier discounts. With the increased visibility that comes with DataServ’s workflow, PolyOne is able to identify those departments that don’t make payments in a timely fashion. “There are built-in reports that allow you to monitor those departments that do not respond timely,” Van de Wiele says. “There are ways to put them on the repeat offender list. Just like in anything, you have overachievers and you have those that will get to it when they have time.”