The Challenge

One North American manufacturing division—part of a global automotive parts supplier—was processing approximately 13,000 invoices per month with a small, overburdened accounts payable (AP) team. The AP team operated with only two full-time employees, even though the workload required at least three. They faced mounting challenges, including:

• Manual data entry: Thousands of invoices were processed manually, increasing the risk of errors and delays.

• Blanket purchase orders (POs): Managing large-scale orders (e.g., 365,000 windshields linked to 365 invoices).

• Unit conversion issues: Frequent unit discrepancies, such as converting kilograms to pounds or pallets to individual parts, caused reconciliation delays.

• Complex approval workflows: Invoices required up to four levels of approval, further slowing down the process.

With key personnel nearing retirement, the department faced an imminent resource gap. Hiring new staff would have only provided temporary relief and increased operational costs.

That's when they partnered with Process Fusion to implement a comprehensive AP automation solution—turning a strained cost center into a strategic, valuegenerating function.