Tel: +44 (121) 288 0768
apetito food
apetito and wiltshire farm foods

1 Year

return on
investment

87%

straight through
processing of PO invoices

100%

visibility over
procurement process

“With SoftCo’s Smart Automation technology we will ensure that
not only is our P2P process the best-in-class, but it gives us
enhanced capability to meet future growth in our business.”

Kevin Rosevere, Head of Finance, apetito

Challenge

apetito is the UK’s leading creator and supplier of meals for the health and social care sector, faced numerous challenges with their manual P2P process. The disjointed process involved manual tasks across multiple systems, lacking an interface with SAP for matched invoices. The approval, receipting, and processing of invoices lacked automation and was costly and time-consuming. As apetito were growing approximately 10% annually, the manual process strained their finance team and in return carried a high risk of errors. Recognizing the need for streamlined processes and tighter internal controls, apetito sought a solution to automate and optimize their procurement operations.

Solution

SoftCo provides apetito with an end-to-end Procure-to-Pay solution, encompassing all elements from Pre-approved spend and e-Procurement through to automated invoice capture, matching and approval. In addition, apetito use SoftCo Advanced Analytics, which combines SoftCo real-time reports with Amazon QuickSight Business Intelligence Service to inform and support decision making. SoftCoP2P fully integrates with apetito’s existing ERP system, SAP. The solution enables apetito to capture invoices electronically on receipt and reducing the time required and improving the accuracy of invoice registration and validation. SoftCo SmartMatch on invoices saves hundreds of hours of employee time and facilitates straight-through processing of invoices.

Results

SoftCoP2P now manages all of apetito’s operational spend. By utilizing Pre-approved Spend across the entire organization, apetito gains real-time tracking and visibility into consumed resources. They have achieved an impressive 80% straight-through processing rate for PO invoices, with 10% not compliant and 10% requiring validation by the AP team. This has reduced their month-end close time by 60%. With SoftCo’s advanced analytics, apetito gains complete control over their P2P process, leading to increased early payment discounts and the elimination of late payment penalties. Integration with SAP enables seamless data tracking across entities, establishing a single source of truth. Currently, apetito pays 90% of vendors on time, reflecting the success of their transformation with SoftCo.

Information

Industry:Food & Drink
Solution:Procure-to-Pay Automation
Regions:Europe
Employees:11,000+
Invoices:25,000 per annum
ERP System:SAP

apetito is renowned for providing delicious, nutritious, and sustainable meals to its customers across care homes, hospital caterers, nurseries, and independent schools in addition to delivering meals to people at home and in care. The company is a world leader in innovation across specialist ranges such as texture modified meals for those who live with swallowing difficulties and is three times winner of the coveted Queens Award for Enterprise – twice for innovation and once for sustainability.

“SoftCo’s Smart Automation Technology gives us enhanced
capability to meet future growth in our business.”

Hear what our customers say

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“They are always asking the right questions, making sure that they understand exactly what our requirements are.”
“Rather than just technically describe an issue, SoftCo knew the functional problems we had.”
“SoftCo has created a frictionless process, saving considerable time & effort.”
“SoftCo enabled us to quickly gain control over our AP process after switching to remote working.”
“We chose SoftCo to address our P2P requirements because of their proven expertise.”
“SoftCo has fulfilled everything that we were looking for, and more.”
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“SoftCo Procure-to-Pay has delivered a ROI within one year, helping in our global expansion.”
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“SoftCoAP has delivered us direct savings, giving a lot more confidence in our year-end.”
“SoftCoP2P has allowed us to reduce invoice processing times by 70%, reducing costs and time.”
“SoftCo allows us to bring a more compelling proposition to our clients.”
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“Our goal is to reach 90% automation with the procurement & invoice handling.”
“We chose SoftCo because of their expertise in procure-to-pay and their prior experience.”
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“The SoftCo AP system has been faultless, reducing our invoice query times by 75%.”