Atradius operates in more than fifty different countries and has finance departments in thirty of them. A key priority for the credit insurer was for all finance departments to transition to a single, centralized digital invoice processing system. And that proved to be quite a challenge. Marcel Verharen, Oracle Financials Business Lead, took the lead and asked 4CEE for support.
Atradius had a clear goal in mind: to transform the processing of the 30,000 incoming invoices per year from paper to digital and to standardize this process globally.
From now on, all finance departments must process invoices in the same way, using software from Basware and Kofax. Deviations from the standard template are permitted only when specific legal requirements necessitate them.
But that transition was easier said than done, as Marcel’s story shows. “We want all finance departments in every country to work the same way. But that’s a cultural thing. And it means a change in your daily processes.”
In his story, he therefore emphasizes that change management is an aspect that should not be underestimated in such an implementation process. His advice is to get people on board right from the start and build support. In addition, it’s important to continue providing guidance to all employees until they are comfortable with the new situation.
Before a process can be standardized and automated, it’s crucial to accurately assess the current situation. That’s exactly where the project began for Marcel and his team: gathering information from all finance departments. “That immediately got everyone involved in the project,” he says. “For each country, we examined what the existing processes looked like at that time and what was actually happening in day-to-day operations.”
This sometimes yielded surprises: “It turns out that over the years, many work processes have developed sort of naturally, but nobody is actually aware of them. And they’re at odds with the standard process we wanted to implement.”
In these cases, it was important to engage in dialogue, Marcel explains. They clearly explained what the new process would look like and, above all, the benefits of this new way of working.
In addition to differences in working methods and the inevitable linguistic and cultural differences, variations in legislation from country to country also posed a challenge in this international project. For example, e-invoicing is currently a hot topic. Atradius operates in Italy, among other places, where the government has introduced the Clearance Model. This means that the government requires full transparency into all invoices and that e-invoicing is mandatory. Naturally, this also has implications for the digital invoice processing workflow.
Marcel explains how his team, together with 4CEE, successfully implemented the new invoice processing system. Atradius decided to start close to home and first roll out the new process in the Netherlands and Germany. This allowed them to experience firsthand how it works and what the implications are. They were able to learn a great deal from this and apply that knowledge during the rollout in subsequent countries.
Atradius’s thorough preparation and clear objectives also contributed to the success, as did taking ample time to train the financial staff involved. The account manager at 4CEE picks up on this and shares a tip: “It’s important not to let too much time pass between training the employees, testing the software, and the actual go-live. To maintain momentum and engagement, it’s better to start testing and go live immediately after training.”
The gentlemen also cite the strong collaboration between Atradius and 4CEE as a key success factor. “When you work together, you can achieve a great deal.”
More than 30 countries have now switched to digital invoice processing. Marcel discusses the benefits of this new way of working. “For us, it primarily results in a fast, automated invoice flow. The sooner we receive the invoices, the sooner we can pay them.” With a wink, he adds: “Of course, that aligns perfectly with our business as a credit insurer.”
Marcel also notes that automation has eliminated many manual tasks. “This allows us to assign employees to work that offers greater added value—such as conducting analyses or providing information to the rest of the organization.”
Marcel cites sustainability as an important additional benefit. Basware recently investigated the environmental benefits of a company switching from paper-based invoice processing to a digital process. The findings show that for every 20,000 incoming invoices per year, you save more than 90 trees that would otherwise be cut down for paper. It also saves 300 metric tons of water and reduces CO2 emissions by approximately 30 metric tons.