Supplier Information Management Posts

Supplier Information management Spotlighted by the Sourcing Innovation blog

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

Managing many connections with suppliersLavante was recently spotlighted by Michael Lamoureux on the Sourcing Innovation  blog.

The Sourcing Innovation Blog is a the leading supply and spend management blog focused on education and technology. It is a wholly owned service of ToP KaTS Consulting, a consultancy that focuses on the Supply Chain, Optimization, Analytics, and Technology needs of modern business. 

Here is an excerpt from their article…

Lavante Connect is one of the more powerful, and more streamlined, supplier information self-management solutions on the market. In the Lavante Connect solution, the supplier is walked-through the 3 to 5-step process of completing their profile and is updated with respect to their progress, and percentage of work remaining, after each step. In the Lavante system, the supplier goes through the following easy to follow process: 

  1. Company Profile
  2. Legal Identification
  3. Certifications
  4. Payment Information (may be optional)
  5. Specific Information (may be optional)

Profile information walks the supplier through the definition of headquarters information, address information (notices, payment, warehouse, etc.), references, ownership, diversity, business structure, and contacts.

Legal ID walks the supplier through entry of business numbers, tax numbers, and other government identification in the countries that the supplier operates in. It also makes sure that the supplier uploads the appropriate documentation required by the customer, such as W9s in the US.

Certifications walks the supplier through the insurance and certification requirements of the customer and makes sure that the supplier specifies all of the relevant information and uploads the appropriate documents.

Payment walks the supplier through the specification of the payment types they accept (pCard, check, EFT, wire, etc.) and the specifications for each payment type.

Specific Information, of which there can be more than one tab, walks the supplier through the specific information requests unique to the client, such as required product and service information, sustainability information, etc. and the documentation that needs to be supplied.

The ease of use comes not only in the easy to follow registration, and profile completion process, but the fact that the system:

  • validates everything that can be validated,
  • eliminates duplication of data entry whenever possible, and
  • forces e-signatures and verification for all legal documents.

Not only does the system validate that all data entered is in a valid format, but it integrates with as many third party systems as possible to verify that the entered data is correct. Business numbers and tax numbers are automatically verified against government databases, address information is validated against address databases, bank and p-card information is verified through penny-transactions, etc. The system makes it hard for a supplier to make a mistake and harder for any errors to persist for more than a few days. It also alerts the supplier as soon as certifications or registrations are about to expire or information has to be re-verified (according to the customer’s schedule, where such customer may require re-verification of contact information every six months).

All address, contact, and similar data is automatically indexed and can be mapped to any other information requirement that makes sense. So, if headquarters also happens to be the payment and legal notice address, it only has to be entered once. Same for contact information.

For the most part, SIM isn’t complex, and neither are supplier portals, but few master the usability and simplicity required to onboard even the technology unsophisticated supplier quickly and easily with complete profiles, no errors in critical information, and fresh profile data. Lavante Connect is in this group.

To read more go to: Lavante Connect – Streamlined Supplier Self Management

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Posted in Ask the Experts, Sourcing Innovation, Supplier Information Management, Tax ID Numbers, Technology, Vendor File Cleansing, Vendor File Management, W9 | No Comments »

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Ask The Experts

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

Lavante has created the Ask the Experts resource page to provide a place where the AP & Procurement community can access direct links to support information.   The information Lavante provides is open to the general public. You do not have to be a Lavante customer to participate in any of the  Ask The Experts webinars or to benefit from the forums.

 

Vendor Management Survey

Take Survey

Vendor Management Sandbox
Free Trial

 

About the Speakers:

Jeff Wiest Lavante

Jeff Wiest led the accounts payable function for the U.S. Financial Shared Services Center of Tyco Electronics since its formation over 10 years ago. During that time he oversaw the post-acquisition integration of more than 20 payables functions into the service center. He was instrumental in the implementation of electronic technology solutions that have resulted in significant efficiency improvements and cost savings. Prior to joining Tyco, Jeff served in various accounting roles for AMP Incorporated.

Contact Jeff Wiest

 

 

Jeff Ulanoski Lavante

Jeff worked for over ten years with Rite Aid Corporation as Director of AP, during which time he led that company’s Transaction Tax and Accounts Payable organizations. During his tenure at Rite Aid, Jeff was a key player in the integration of the Brooks Eckerd AP process into Rite Aid. His experience included the introduction of technology-enabled solutions and Best-of-Class processes to improve corporate efficiency, reduce costs, increase cash flow and mitigate risk. Prior to Rite Aid, he spent five years at Foot Locker as Manager of Transaction Taxes.

Contact Jeff Ulanoski


Check back for future updates on the Ask the Experts Webinar Series

 

Ask the Experts

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Posted in AP Industry, Ask the Experts, Lavante, Procurement, Supplier Information Management, Tax ID Numbers, Technology, W9, Webinar | No Comments »

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Benefits of Supplier Master Data Management | MDM Systems

Tuesday, March 19th, 2013

Large Data systems these days depend on the quality of data we feed them. Optimizing supplier relationships and ERP system effectiveness ultimately rely heavily upon our ability to collect timely accurate information. Too many times across our businesses the data that has been received from suppliers decays and leaves us with useless information for us to look at when we are trying to make decisions.

Accurate supplier data drives system effectiveness and saves time, resource, and dollars. Large volumes of data across multiple systems and departments, along with data decay are challenges to maintaining quality supplier data. Up-to-date supplier information is critical for compliance with regulations and controls, such as OFAC screening, diversity tracking, and new tax legislation.

Lavante SIM: On-Demand Supplier Information Management as a Strategy.

Lavante SIM enables companies to proactively communicate with suppliers and gain real-time visibility into suppliers and relationships. Lavante SIM drives compliance across the supplier lifecycle–from initial vendor master file cleansing, to on-boarding, to ongoing maintenance. Set important Vendor Master Controls and let the Lavante software manage your communications.

Lavante On-Demand Supplier Master Data Management

Drive master data compliance & insight across the supplier life cycle:

  • Core Supplier Data
  • Tax Information
  • Ownership & Diversity
  • Supplier Classification
  • Insurance & Risk
  • Financial Information
  • Contract Information

 Create an enterprise-wide single source of truth for supplier master data:

  • Ensure quality of supplier data
  • Gain insight into your suppliers and relationships
  • Drive compliance with regulations and internal controls
  • Drive corporate compliance with new 1099 Tax Legislation
  • Reduce supplier risk
  • Reduce cost of managing supplier information

 

Why Lavante Supplier Information Management?

  • Quick Time to Value: On-demand, “out-of-the-box” with immediate results 
  • The Highest Supplier Compliance: 8X results of alternative solutions
  • Ongoing Communication: Drives supplier participation and data quality
  • Funded by Recovery:  Works seamlessly with Lavante Recovery

Benefits of Supplier Master Data Management | MDM Systems | MDM Strategy

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Posted in AP Industry, AP Technology Innovation, Supplier Information Management, Technology, Vendor File Cleansing, Vendor File Management, W9 | No Comments »

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Vendor File Management | Collect W9 | OFAC Screening | Insurance Certification Collection | Diversity Tracking | Supplier Onboarding | USPS Validation

Tuesday, March 19th, 2013
Join CEO, Joe Flynn of Lavante in an “Ask the Expert” webinar as he interviews both Jeff Ulanoski, former Rite Aid Director of AP and Jeff Wiest, former AP Manager at Tyco Electronics on the state of Vendor Management.
Find out the benefits of using technology to:Collect and Validate W9s,  Monitor and Screen OFAC Lists, Validate Supplier Insurance Certificates, Collect and Track Diversity Status, Manage / Automate Supplier Onboarding, Validate USPS Addresses, Manage changes your Vendor File,  More….


            Webinar Event:  Wednesday, April 3, 2013 10:00 am 

Pacific Daylight Time (San Francisco, GMT-07:00)

Register Lavante Webinar

About the Speakers:

Jeff Wiest Lavante

Jeff Wiest led the accounts payable function for the U.S. Financial Shared Services Center of Tyco Electronics since its formation over 10 years ago. During that time he oversaw the post-acquisition integration of more than 20 payables functions into the service center. He was instrumental in the implementation of electronic technology solutions that have resulted in significant efficiency improvements and cost savings. Prior to joining Tyco, Jeff served in various accounting roles for AMP Incorporated.

Jeff Ulanoski Lavante

Jeff worked for over ten years with Rite Aid Corporation as Director of AP, during which time he led that company’s Transaction Tax and Accounts Payable organizations. During his tenure at Rite Aid, Jeff was a key player in the integration of the Brooks Eckerd AP process into Rite Aid. His experience included the introduction of technology-enabled solutions and Best-of-Class processes to improve corporate efficiency, reduce costs, increase cash flow and mitigate risk. Prior to Rite Aid, he spent five years at Foot Locker as Manager of Transaction Taxes.

 

 

 

See a Demo of the Lavante Product Suite where you can automatically set your corporate controls and let the application manage all communication for you

Vendor File Management

Register Lavante Webinar

Vendor File Management | Collect W9 | OFAC Screening | Insurance Certification Collection | Diversity Tracking | Supplier Onboarding | USPS Validation

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Posted in 1099 Reporting, AP Industry, Supplier Information Management, Tax ID Numbers, Technology, Vendor File Cleansing, Vendor File Management, W9, Webinar | No Comments »

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Automatically Requesting and Collecting Certificates of Insurance from your Suppliers

Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

Requesting, collecting and managing the expiration of insurance certificates is an important process for any organization.

Most corporate risk departments today require a current insurance certificate be on file before any work is performed by a supplier whether that supplier is a contractors, subcontractors, tenant, or material vendor.

Automate Requesting and Collecting Certificates of Insurance

It goes without saying that Certificates of Insurance are critical to ensure an organization does not face an unexpected liability due to the negligence of an uninsured or under-insured third party however many of us do not have adequate controls to our certificate collection processes.

Lavante SIM has the ability to request up to date Insurance certificates from all of your suppliers. The application will automatically store the documentation that are collected and provide for automated work flow to follow up with suppliers when the Insurance certificate has expired.

Click HERE to download a white paper written by the Institute of Financial Management on Best Practices for Supplier Management.

If you would like to test drive the Lavante Supplier Information Management application access is simple, just click HERE

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Posted in Lavante, Supplier Information Management, Technology, Vendor File Management | No Comments »

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AP Now and Tomorrow’s Mary Schaeffer Joins Lavante for Emerging Master Vendor File Practices and Issues Webinar

Thursday, March 7th, 2013

The topic of Automation of Vendor File Management is back in the spotlight in the Lavante Webinar Series.

The next webinar event is scheduled for Tuesday, March 12th.

We will be presenting the curriculum twice to accommodate busy schedules.

If you would like to attend there is still space available

8am PT   https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/579562550

11am PT https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/746389958

The webinar will be a conversation between Lavante CEO, Joe Flynn and AP Now & Tomorrow’s CEO, Mary Schaeffer.

Mary Schaeffer is a recognized thought leader in AP. She is the creator of IFO’s Innovation Certificate Program, a member of the IFO’s Education Committee and gives several sessions every year at the IFO annual Fusion trade show.

Mary publishes a weekly Ezine that we recommend to all of our readers. For more information you can sign up HERE

Here is an exerpt from Mary’s bio located on her site HERE

Mary S. Schaeffer

Editorial Director & Publisher

CRYSTALLUS, Inc. publisher of several accounts payable periodicals

  • Nationally recognized accounts payable expert and consultant
  • Frequent speaker at seminars, conferences and online events
  • Editor-at-Large CFO Publishing’s Learning Pro: AP Edition
  • Regular contributor to the AICPA’s Corporate Finance Insider
  • Publisher and editorial director of the Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow monthly newsletter
  • Creator of Institute of Financial Operations Accounts Payable Innovation Certificate program
  • Writes a free weekly e-zine, e-AP News
  • Author more than 15 business books including the Controller & CFO’s Guide to Accounts Payable and Fraud in Accounts Payable: How to Prevent It (See full list below)
  • M.B.A. Finance, NYU; B.S. Math, York College

Books by Mary S. Schaeffer

  • Do-It-Yourself Accounts Payable Consultant Handbook first, second and third editions (CRYSTALLUS, Inc. 2011, 2012, 2013)
  • Fraud in Accounts Payable: How to Prevent It (John Wiley & Sons September 2008)
  • New Payment World: A Manager’s Guide to Creating an Efficient Payment Process (John Wiley & Sons 2007)
  • Travel and Entertainment Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons 2007)
  • Controller and CFO’s Guide to Accounts Payable (John Wiley & Sons 2006)
  • Accounts Payable and Sarbanes-Oxley: Strengthening Your Internal Controls (John Wiley & Sons 2006)
  • The Future of Accounts Payable (CRYSTALLUS, Inc. 2006)
  • Accounts Payable: A Guide to Running an Efficient Department First edition, Second edition and Supplements (John Wiley & Sons, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 , 2003, 2004)
  • Accounts Payable Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons 2004)
  • Essentials of Accounts Payable (John Wiley & Sons 2002)
  • Essentials of Credit, Collections and Accounts Receivable (John Wiley & Sons 2003)
  • International Credit and Collections (John Wiley & Sons 1999)
  • Understanding Interest Rate Swaps (McGraw Hill 1994)
  • Your Dream Vacation Home (McGraw Hill 1992)
  • Triumph Over Tragedy (with John Duffy, John Wiley & Sons 2002)

 

Mary Schaeffer has the inimitable ability to find accounts-payable-related solutions that really work—without making a major dent in the bottom line. Armed with a degree in math and a graduate degree in finance, she takes a “roll up your sleeves and dig into the details” approach to finding solutions to those problems that cause migraines for CFOs, controllers, and managers.

Fifteen years spent researching and writing about payment issues gives Mary Schaeffer a unique vantage point. Combine that with an almost equal amount of time spent in the corporate trenches of several large finance and treasury departments and you’ll see why she’s become known as America’s leading accounts payable expert.

A wide variety of institutions have taken advantage of her unique expertise: John Wiley & Sons has published over a dozen of her books; CRYSTALLUS, Inc. (www.ap-now.com) relies on her know-how to direct its professional publication, training, and consulting business; and the AICPA features her articles in its Corporate Finance Insider. Let’s not overlook the long list of organizations that have turned to her for best practice guidance of their accounts payable function and training of their accounts payable staff.

Ms. Schaeffer has a BS in Mathematics from York College (CUNY) and a MBA in Finance from New York University. She can be reached at marys@ap-now.com

 

 

 

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Posted in AP Industry, IFO, Industry Associations, Lavante, Shared Services, Supplier Information Management, Tax ID Numbers, Vendor File Cleansing, Vendor File Management, Webinar | No Comments »

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The Institute of Financial Management IOFM Webinar Vendor Management Automation Survey Results

Wednesday, February 6th, 2013

IOFM Webinar Vendor Management Automation Survey Results

   IOFM Webinar:  Vendor Management Automation Survey Results

Date: February 7, 2013
Time: 10:00 AM PT   1 :00 PM ET
Duration: 1 Hour

 

Register NOW

Join us for this one hour interactive webinar to help make your AP department more successful in 2013.  The Institute of Finance & Management (IOFM) recently surveyed finance professionals, including accounts payable department managers, supervisors and controllers, to learn about the level of automation in their organization’s accounts payable department, specifically focusing on the tasks related to vendor/supplier management.

This webinar analyzes the state of vendor management in accounts payable departments today, the perceived benefits of utilizing an automation solution, and the difficulties and obstacles for an AP department that wants automation solutions implemented.

Attend this webinar to learn:

  • The state of vendor management in accounts payable departments today
  • The perceived benefits of utilizing an automation solution
  • The difficulties and obstacles for an AP department that wants automation solutions implemented

You will also get a sneak peak into the Lavante Supplier Information Management application where you will see an automated solution for managing suppliers that is within reach.

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Posted in Industry Associations, IOFM, Lavante, Procurement, Supplier Information Management, Tax ID Numbers, Vendor File Cleansing, Vendor File Management, Webinar | No Comments »

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Thoughts About the Escalating Complexities in Managing Supplier Relationships and Information

Friday, November 2nd, 2012

Managing many connections with suppliersManaging supplier information is becoming an ever-more complex and involved process for organizations of every size and across all industries.   Through our work at Lavante in automating recovery audit  and supplier management processes, we are constantly learning from our customers, prospects, and industry analysts how organizations are dealing with this critical issue.   We recently partnered with IOFM (Institute of Finance and Management) on a comprehensive market research survey where respondents answered a series of questions related to the key tasks and/or projects involved in managing supplier relationships.   After spending time at several industry conferences talking extensively with a host of AP and Shared Services practitioners, and reviewing the results of this survey, several themes or issues have emerged which I wanted to share here.

First is that the complexities and scale of tracking and managing suppliers is overwhelming for most companies.  This is in part due to the many different tasks that have to be performed – on-boarding, validating tax ID’s, gathering insurance documents, W9s, W8s, maintaining regional differences, etc. – which are often treated as disparate tasks or projects.  And although there are usually processes built around performing these functions, they are seldom combined into one seamless process that can be automated, and thus streamlined.  This means that every change requires  a lot of extra work to accomplish.  Take for example the potential change to the W9 collection process in 2010, where organizations would have been required to collect W9s for new categories of suppliers.  We talked to hundreds of companies that were under considerable stress with the prospect of:

a) gathering together W9s from their current suppliers;
 
b) identifying which vendors were missing W9s, and and then determining if they needed one to comply with the new legislation;
 
c) contacting the supplier to request the document;
 
d) finding the correct information if existing data was incorrect, and reaching out to them again.
 

If you only have a handful of suppliers, this wouldn’t be such a daunting task.  But even mid-size organizations we talked to had thousands of suppliers, with larger global enterprises looking at verifying tens of thousands of contacts.  Given these numbers, this task becomes a monumental project with the risk of heavy penalties if not conducted in a timely, accurate manner.  While this legislation was eventually overturned, it left many finance professionals with the firm belief that it can and will happen again, and that being reactive wasn’t a good way to approach the issue.

It struck me that this one project of collecting W9s was intricately related to so many other tasks involved with supplier management.  And linking these seemingly disparate tasks together into one seamless process,  powered by technology, results in a continuous, on-going process which can scale to handle an unlimited number of suppliers.  With an ability to collect, track and manage any type of required document, and allow total control over this process, it would dramatically simplify the complexities involved in the supplier management process.  An automated process would also allow finance professionals to instantly comply with new regulations and internal processes.

Next week, I’ll share some other thoughts related to this continuous process, and how simple it really can be.  As usual, please let me know your thoughts about this important topic.

 

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Posted in 1099 Reporting, AP Industry, IOFM, Lavante, Supplier Information Management, Tax ID Numbers | No Comments »

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Accounts Payable Acquisition Integration Part 2 – Managing & Integrating Multiple Vendor Master Files

Friday, September 28th, 2012

bringing different systemes togetherLast week I wrote about my past experiences with integrating the accounts payable functions of acquired companies into a service center environment, detailing the inherent difficulties and the ongoing search for solutions to help manage this complex process. In this blog, I’d like to focus on one of the major problem areas that is frequently encountered – that of managing multiple supplier lists from acquired companies.

In my current role at Lavante as a Sr. Solutions Advisor, I have been reminded of the trials of the integration process I experienced while leading the AP function at several fortune 500 companies when talking with prospective and current clients who are dealing with these same issues. One of the first inevitable difficulties they face is in combining vendor master files.  The  procurement function always began the process with the intent to “rationalize” the acquired file(s) with our own data, which meant eliminating duplicate vendors, selecting strategic suppliers to leverage spend, updating information, etc.  In reality, the pressures of just reaching a functional level meant that little of this occurred and the files were forced together in the rush to issue purchase orders and maintain production.  Many of the problems created were never addressed as we moved on to the next acquisition or other project.

Lavante’s solutions have always placed a high priority on vendor master integrity.  The Lavante Recovery application was built to maximize the use of available supplier data as part of the process and allow clients use it to identify duplicate and related vendors and maintain current data.  The Lavante SIM (Supplier Information Management) application takes that functionality to a whole new level.  By establishing a comprehensive solution, that begins with a self-service supplier portal that enables a simplified, real time approach and eliminates the need to periodically do vendor master clean-up projects, which must be repeated after the same problems build up over time.

Having a clean vendor master file with current and accurate contact information that had been refreshed by direct communication connections with suppliers, as Lavante’s solution facilitate, would have given me a tremendous advantage in my past AP roles. If both vendor masters — acquired and acquiring — had been in that “cleansed” state, it would have eliminated numerous issues that necessitated considerable resources to rationalize and then combine the files. The ability to communicate effectively with the supply base alone would have saved time and staff resources, all the while eliminating problems downstream that are the result of bad vendor data.

Next week, I’ll go into more details about how bad data impacts an organization, and then discuss how Lavante SIM helps clients and suppliers simplify the many complexities of the supplier management process.

If you have any thoughts or issues related to your experiences consolidating acquired vendor files, or supplier management in general, please comment here.

Finally, we have partnered with IOFM to conduct a comprehensive market research project on supplier information management and we invite you to provide your input by taking the survey.  Click here to add your perspectives.  All contributors will receive the market research findings report produced by the IOFM (and be entered into a contest to win an iPad).

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Posted in AP Industry, AP Technology Innovation, IOFM, Lavante, Supplier Information Management, Vendor File Cleansing | No Comments »

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“Vendor Profiling” – Not a Best Practice for Statement Audit Providers

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

Recently, we have heard the term “profiling” used most often in association with controversy.  It has become a new word to describe the age-old desire to put people or objects in nice, neat buckets or categories while ignoring the reality that life just isn’t that simple.  The attempt to extrapolate perceived qualities across an entire group has never worked out very well in practice.

In the finance and AP area the term is now being used by some Statement Audit/Credit Recovery service providers claiming to have determined how to “profile” a client’s suppliers in order to determine which of them are likely to have the most credit transaction activity.  They insist that this supplier profiling process produces a group that can be targeted for a “pat-down” in their search for these credits.  The service providers would like you to think that this technique allows them to successfully obtain the vast majority of credits available.  Furthermore, that their very labor-intensive methods of contacting the remaining suppliers and then getting and reviewing the statements are completely unrelated to this highly selective profiling approach.  That is a convenient, but unsubstantiated, argument.

Our experience at Lavante has shown a much different story — that  while the top 20% of suppliers by spend do generate a disproportionately large 40% of the credits, a full 60% of available credits are never addressed by a traditional, periodic statement audit approach because it never reaches the remainder.

In this one example from a large health care provider, a full 68% of the credits came from the lower 80% of vendor spend.

The truth is that there is no single formula to determine which of the myriad reasons for credit creation align with a certain supplier profile.  Furthermore, credits are issued by any and all of a client’s suppliers.

The Lavante approach is unique in attempting to reach all vendors — unless they are intentionally excluded — using an automated, patented process while setting a benchmark of achieving compliance by those that represent 95% of total spend.   We have found numerous credits yet on the books of many suppliers that have $0 in spend during our clients’ most recent reporting period.  Few profiling techniques would include these in their search.

Leveraging proprietary technology gives us the ability to automate a continuous connection process with suppliers to update vendor information and identify supplier hierarchies leading to the collection of current statements.  Because the Lavante Recovery+ solution tracks vendor compliance, it is easy to perform more effective follow-up with non-compliant suppliers that assure the highest compliance rates possible.  We are confident that Lavante finds many credits that have long since been offset and are no longer visible to old-school audit methods which leave substantial time-gaps between efforts.

There is no question that the statement audit process has evolved beyond its outdated origins as a one-time process conducted along with the traditional A/P recovery audit and needs to have separate best-practice attention as an automated, ongoing background solution.   We would be happy to show you how it all works. Contact me directly to schedule some time for a demo.

If you are interested in more information on how technology enables the statement audit process, be sure to attend the upcoming webinar, Automating the Recovery Process:  How Technology is a Best Practice in Recovery Audit on July 24 with Henry Ijams of Paystream Advisors.

 

 

Please Note:  Jeff Wiest recently joined Lavante as a Sr. Solutions Advisor.  Please click here to find out more about his extensive AP experience.

 

 

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Posted in AP Industry, Lavante, Supplier Information Management, Supplier Profiling, Vendor Statement Audit | 1 Comment »

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