AP Automation Can Improve Supplier Relationships

GM and other North American automakers get a clunker rating for their supplier relationships. Photo credit – https://flic.kr/p/bv3RsA

The most recent North American Automotive – Tier 1 Supplier Working Relations Index Study has shed some light on the financial implications of having good supplier relationships. Can accounts payable automation help?

The study examined the automotive industry and how its suppliers view the major car manufacturers and their relationships…something that can be relevant to all industries.

General Motors, Ford, Nissan and FCA missed out on a total of $2 billion because of poor relationships with their suppliers. The author of the study found two main factors that affected this relationship.  The first had to do with how contracts are honoured and if the purchasing department worked to improve relations (procurement). The second related to buyers, and how they were active in resolving issues.

From the article:

This study highlights the importance and the tangible benefits of treating your suppliers fairly and honestly as valued partners. This may sound obvious, but with the problem of late payments continuing to plague SMEs in many countries, it’s clearly something that some buyers are not taking on board.

A key element of this relationship is timely payment, something that e-invoicing technology from Palette can help with by automating and speeding up the payment process. We have worked with a number of suppliers in the transport industry – including automotive components supplier US Farathane – to help them improve their purchase-to-payment processes and relationships with buyers. After all, business is all about successful and long-lasting relationships.”

The demand for accounts payable automation and accounts payable automation software is growing, as shown by sales growth of the PaletteArena purchase to pay platform, which has seen a 25% increase in sales in 2015 so far (see the article here). The accounts payable p2p cycle is being transformed by software that can match purchase orders and contracts to invoices, and increased use of electronic invoicing to reduce the costs of handling paper.

See the full article on the Palette blog here.