Beverage Alcohol distributors face complex challenges: high-volume invoice processing, multi-channel deliveries, tight margins, unpredictable demand, strict regulatory compliance, and intricate supplier agreements. SoftCoP2P is purpose-built for your sector—streamlining the full Procure-to-Pay (P2P) cycle, from procurement to invoice processing and payment across all spend categories. Leveraging automated Smart Matching, Smart Coding, and Smart Routing, our platform delivers unmatched efficiency, accuracy, and visibility.
Benefits of SoftCoP2P for Alcohol Distributors
Supplier & Vendor Management
Purchase Control & Compliance
Cashflow & Supplier Relationships
Seasonal Demand Management
Supply Chain Visibility
Operational Efficiency
How AI & Machine Learning is Transforming Finance Automation
C&C Group is the number one drinks distributor to the UK and Ireland hospitality sectors, supplying to over 35,000 pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels across the UK and Ireland and exporting its brands to over 60 countries internationally.
Solutions & Results
SoftCo automates invoice, credit note, and statement issuance to all customers in the C&C Group. Documents are sent via email or the eBilling Portal, with billing frequencies tailored to each customer’s preferences. The accounts payable team of C&C Group now have full control and visibility over the entire AP process.
80% reduction in invoice resolution times.
100% visibility over entire invoice process.
Significant time and costs have been saved.
“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.”
LOCATION
UK & Ireland
REVENUE
€875M per annum
INVOICES PER ANNUM
60,000
“Because staff act faster, we can pay suppliers faster and have better relationships with them.”
How SoftCoP2P for Alcohol Distributors works
Streamlined Vendor Management
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.
Superior Smart Coding
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.
Agile and Efficient eProcurement
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.
Accelerated Invoice Approval workflow
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.
Fully Integrated Contract Compliance
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.
Single Payment Workflow
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.
Precise Invoice Data Capture
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.
100% Control of Project Spend
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.
Unrivalled Invoice Matching
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.
Powerful Reporting and AI Analytics
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.
SoftCo SmartConnect seamlessly integrates with over 200 ERP’s
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 SoftCo 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.
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