SoftCo for Retail
Automating some of the world’s leading retailers
Automating some of the world’s leading retailers
Retailers face significant challenges managing Procure-to-Pay processes for both Goods for Resale (GFR) and Goods not for Resale (GNFR), while simultaneously managing new store launches, driving customer traffic, ensuring well-stocked shelves and everything else in between. The manual processing of many invoices, coupled with the challenge of tracking their status and guaranteeing vendor payments, consumes valuable time, carries a risk of errors, and potentially damages vendor relationships. SoftCoP2P for Retail is configured for the retail industry based on a decade of experience working closely with some of the world’s largest retail brands. SoftCoP2P simplifies the management of a large, complex supply chain, processing Incoterms across multiple currencies and languages, and automates the processing of surcharges. It enables Retailers with a significant store footprint to manage and control specific budgets with speed and accuracy.
SoftCoP2P delivers unrivalled savings. Smart Matching, powered by AutoML Machine Learning, removes manual elements of invoice matching, resulting in an industry-leading 90% touchless invoice processing. Smart Coding and Smart Routing also utilize Machine Learning to automatically determine the correct routing and coding of invoices, resulting in 89% faster processing of non-PO invoices compared to manual environments. Surcharge processing is automated regardless of the way in which they are presented, reducing the time to process by 95%.
SoftCoP2P is truly global, handling multiple entities and multiple currencies in multiple languages. It eliminates maverick spending and delivers efficiencies, cost savings and 100% visibility & control over the entire procure to pay process. SoftCoP2P software boosts your key vendor relationships by providing an efficient onboarding process and full visibility over the status of their invoices. The solution enforces and optimizes pricing agreements with your preferred vendors. It also manages the request, purchase, and control of contract-based spend.
“SoftCoP2P provides Primark with complete visibility, significantly reduced manual workload and a 1 year return on investment.”
408 retail stores in 14 countries
800 factories in 26 countries
350,000
Primark needed to manage a complex global supply chain, provide real time transport visibility, and support their vendors with early payments to ensure products are on shelves in as little as six weeks from the time of ordering.
Primark now automatically match 98% of their 350,000 Free on Board (FOB) Incoterm invoices allowing them to pay key vendors to terms, calculate actualised margins and put in place supports such as supply chain finance. The result is a faster release of goods from dock to warehouse, as the invoice is also used for customs clearance, thus reducing demurrage costs.
Bulk Barn was growing at a significant rate and faced several challenges with their manual P2P process specifically relating to new store openings, renovations, and ongoing operational costs. This lack of control and visibility resulted in budget overruns and an inability to pay suppliers to terms. The knock-on impact of this was lost EPD opportunity and late payment penalties.
Bulk Barn now use SoftCoP2P for Retail incorporating Pre-Approved Spend for individual store non-trade spend. Each store raises requisitions which are approved immediately from pre-determined set of vendors for each store location.
“The fact that the solution is flexible and customizable has been crucial for us, it will allow us to achieve even greater efficiencies as we continue to grow.”
300 retail stores across Canada
$300M per annum
60,000
“The SoftCoP2P system will increase the level of automation and standardization in the Group’s processes.”
740 retail stores in 60 countries
$700m per annum
30,000
Superdry’s Procure-to-Pay process for their 30,000 GNFR invoices in 15 languages was entirely manual leading to difficulty in enforcing the correct approval processes and paying vendors on time. Each invoice had to be split by entity, saved to a manual shared drive before being manually keyed by the AP team to their ERP system. This led to difficulty in enforcing the correct approval processes and paying vendors on time, resulting in the P2P process being highlighted as in need of urgent addressing during an audit process.
Superdry now use SoftCoP2P for Retail to enforce the correct approval of GNFR spend. Invoices are automatically captured, validated and matched to the appropriate PO.
SoftCo Vendor Management delivers the benefits of working efficiently with preferred Vendors. Purchasing is optimized, costs reduced, and administration is eliminated. The cloud-based solution ensures Vendors have full online visibility of all orders and invoices and queries and disputes are addressed immediately.
SoftCo non-PO invoice handling reduces processing time by up to 90%, with industry leading compliance and audit checks. SoftCo Non-PO Smart Coding intelligently identifies and learns coding patterns allowing it to automatically code invoices, saving time and eliminating error.
SoftCo eProcurement (electronic procurement software) ensures a quick and efficient purchasing process for all operational spend, in full compliance with your organization’s procurement policies. SoftCo eProcurement software streamlines capital, recurring and operational spend.
SoftCo Accounts Payable Automation delivers an accelerated, secure invoice approval process with configurable automated workflows. With multiple verifiers and approvers, invoices are routed for approval, automated email notifications are sent, followed by reminders. Un-actioned invoices are routed to an alternative approver, ensuring minimal process delay.
SoftCo Contract Compliance closely integrates with all SoftCo P2P modules. It manages the request, purchase and control of contract-based spend within eProcurement and facilitates contract and invoice matching within AP with comprehensive reports. The solution alerts you for contract expiry or renewals. All contracts and supporting information are stored in the SoftCo Compliant Archive.
SoftCoPay transforms payments from a cost center to a profit center by reducing costs, earning rebates, mitigating payment risk, and optimizing payment type. Payments are streamlined into an easy to use workflow. The seamless process, from receipt of invoice to vendor payment, delivers control and transparency with straightforward reconciliation through your ERP and a fully auditable payment process.
SoftCo Accounts Payable Automation captures all invoice data, regardless of the format received from your Vendors, using advanced Data Capture technology or via SoftCo’s outsource data capture service. Processing times are improved, and keying errors eliminated.
SoftCo Pre-Approved Spend functionality enables a seamless drawdown on pre-agreed budgets and the generation of purchase orders for spend with preferred vendors, without delay. Department budgets are not exceeded and spend with your vendors is controlled.
The SoftCo Matching Engine uses advanced RPA technology removing all manual elements of invoice matching, delivering an error-free, efficient process for all invoice types. The SoftCo Smart Matching engine applies Machine Learning technology to even the most complicated matching scenarios, such as incomplete data, missing product codes, and FX conversions to deliver 90% match rates.
SoftCo delivers industry leading analytics to empower organizations to make informed decisions. SoftCoP2P offers both SoftCo Advanced Analytics, part of the SoftCo solution, and the ability to integrate with 3rd party analytics tools. The platform provides accurate, real-time information over AP productivity, invoice processing rates and payments performance.
SoftCo has the best matching engine with 90% touchless
processing including AutoML, the new Machine Learning model.
See why our Smart Matching engine leads the market.
SoftCo’s unique AutoML Machine learning automates the time-consuming and iterative tasks associated with Invoice Automation, delivering unparalleled savings for the customer, with full auditability and control.
Utilizing millions of real data from Industry, Operations, Organizations, and Suppliers, the SoftCo AutoML Machine Learning engine ‘learns’ and improves based on 250+ match ‘patterns’ and applies this automation to SoftCo Smart Matching models, including tolerance, aggregation, and confidence match criteria. SoftCo AutoML uses real-time dynamic data. Instead of relying on stale static data, the engine learns immediately every time an invoice finishes processing, constantly improving automation customized to the specific organization.
Machine Learning (ML) is a game-changer in automating both PO and Non-PO invoicing, with full transparency and auditability. Manual invoice processing can cost $16 per invoice, whereas high invoice automation, driven by AutoML reduces processing costs by over 90%. The same ML technology is applied to the coding and routing of invoices, which are optimized by AutoML based on continuous learned patterns.
The results are unrivaled, and the savings exceptional. SoftCo delivers 90% straight through processing for PO invoices and 89% faster processing of Non-PO invoices.
Seamless, secure and timely integration with the Finance system or ERP is a key part of any P2P or AP Automation solution. Integrating your ERP with SoftCoAP will expand its capabilities, making it a more powerful business tool than ever before. SoftCo SmartConnect is a secure, highly configurable cloud based platform which manages all of the data exchange between the ERP and SoftCo. SoftCo integrates seamlessly with existing ERP systems at a single point, thus offering access to real-time information and data.
SoftCo SmartConnect has seamlessly integrated with over 200 ERP’s including Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Infor, Sage and multiple industry specific and even bespoke ERP’s.
eBook
Retail organizations are encountering industry-specific challenges. Learn how automation can resolve the significant challenges of manual AP processes and the value it adds to the retail supply chain.
On-Demand Webinar
Learn how SoftCoAP simplifies and accelerates the process of capturing and accounting for different types of surcharges, to ensure accuracy over the true costs of goods and materials.
Blog
Here we run-through important accounts payable performance metrics that can be monitored to ensure that your AP department is running both efficiently and effectively.
