PALO ALTO, Calif., March 1, 2016 – Consumer payments are easy. You swipe your card or phone and you’re done. Seeking to drive this same speed and simplicity in the business world, 487 Consulting Services signed on to AribaPay. An innovative service offered by SAP Ariba as part of its comprehensive financial supply chain management solutions, AribaPay automates payments between companies. And using it, 487 Consulting Services is able to receive and reconcile payments more quickly and efficiently than ever before. The company will share the story of its success during an interactive breakout session at SAP Ariba Live, the premier business commerce conference to be held March 14-16 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Breaking Bad
Despite significant advances in technology, the vast majority of payments between businesses still occur offline using largely manual processes. And this poses a host of problems.
Payments are often delayed. Lack of visibility into scheduled payments makes it difficult to forecast cash flow. And even when payments are received promptly, they can’t easily be reconciled because the payment file may come with incomplete remittance detail, or may not contain any remittance information at all.
Ken Crouse, Principal Consultant and Owner, 487 Consulting Services, experienced many of these issues first hand. “I didn’t have any reliable visibility into when invoices would be paid,” he says. “And when payments were received, they could be hard to reconcile, especially if I was getting paid for multiple invoices in a single payment. Some invoices were getting paid while others would lag for several months.”
Seeing Light
Things changed when Crouse was invited by a customer to sign up for AribaPay™. Delivered via the Ariba® Network, AribaPay provides a secure and accurate way for businesses to exchange payments electronically. Using the solution, buyers and sellers can:
- Exchange purchase orders, invoices and payments — all in a fast, secure, electronic environment
- Receive rich remittance advice
- Improve visibility into status, timing and nature of payments
- Lower processing costs
- Reduce fraud risk
- Speed reconciliation and dispute resolution
“With AribaPay, I not only know when I am scheduled to get paid, but can see the payments being executed before they even hit my account,” Crouse says. “And I can easily see exactly what I am being paid for, including any adjustments that may have been made.”
And this has changed the game for 487 Consulting Services. “Before using AribaPay, I would spend three to four days a month reconciling invoices and payments,” Crouse says. “Now, I’ve got that down to under a couple hours, which keeps me focused on the business and what my customers pay me to do for them.”
More than $40 billion in payments have been made using AribaPay to date. To hear more from innovative companies like 487 Consulting Services who are using the solution to fuel a simpler, more efficient and effective reconciliation process and see it in action, register today for SAP Ariba Live at www.aribalive.com
About SAP Ariba
SAP Ariba is the world’s business commerce network. SAP Ariba combines industry-leading cloud-based applications with the world’s largest Internet-based trading community to help companies discover and collaborate with a global network of partners. Using the SAP Ariba® Network, businesses of all sizes can connect to their trading partners anywhere, at any time from any application or device to buy, sell and manage their cash more efficiently and effectively than ever before. Companies around the world use the SAP Ariba Network to simplify inter-enterprise commerce and enhance the results that they deliver. Join them at: www.ariba.com
About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 300,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.
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