Embark

commandalkon.com | 38 that ticket. In the supplier's ticketing system – whether that be Apex, or a CONNEX Connected third-party system. Once the ticket is created, it is routed to COMMANDbatch. In Lauren Concrete's COMMANDbatch system, the shipment screen displays incoming shipments coming into the plant, and a digitized version from the supplier's point-of-sale system is available automatically. Once the shipment arrives, the batch operator can change the status to "Received" in COMMANDbatch, or they can accept the materials in CONNEX. Either way, the statuses will synchronize, and the ticket will be saved in inventory. Everything from the shipment notification and the ticket from CONNEX is fed into the inventory receipts screen in their COMMANDbatch system and automatically updates their inventory balance. Lauren Concrete started with a focus on Inbound Shipments from a single cement supplier, Alamo Cement. Now they are working completely paperless with a multitude of raw materials suppliers. Those suppliers are beginning to reap benefits with CONNEX as well - making Inbound Materials is a win-win situation for both parties. "Once our suppliers realized how easy it was to get on board, that removed any reluctance. It benefits them as much as it does us," said Bartholomew. "It's a much quicker and more effective way of communicating with us electronically." Lauren's Accounts Payable Processes Were Overdue for An Overhaul How a business handles its AP processes can greatly affect the bottom line. Implementing a strategic payment plan can open the door to supplier discounts and generate new revenue. However, AP processes are prone to many inefficiencies, like sorting through boxes of tickets and invoices. Automating these processes can foster cost-cutting and revenue- generating potential, positively affecting the entire organization. Companies who pay invoices early typically get to reap the benefits of a discount. Unfortunately, a lot of work has to be done in order to get those invoices paid; buyers have to receive, validate, approve, send, and ensure that payment is received by their supplier – usually in 10 days or less. This is no easy feat for most companies to do on a regular basis. The monumental task of getting all invoice data coded accurately into the accounting system is a huge undertaking. Manually typing this data in requires a lot of time that individual(s) have to devote to accomplish this task, and it also opens up the door for errors. Oftentimes, these errors go unnoticed until month- end close, creating extravagant costs that are easily avoidable. Eliminate the Headaches of Reconciling Tickets with Invoices Automation speeds up the most time-consuming processes so that discounts become an opportunity that is more obtainable, and so that the organization does not suffer from the time costs and errors associated with getting all of the invoice data coded. Lauren Concrete's employees are not saddled with the task of keying in all of the data, freeing up time for more impactful work; instead, the data is automatically captured and fed into the accounting system, drastically cutting back the number of errors that hold teams up in their month-end close. With Inbound Materials, all of Lauren Concrete's vendor tickets and invoices live in one place while AI technology automatically matches up every line item, flagging them if they are being overbilled or highlighting other exceptions requiring clarification. With all of the ticket data in the system, business insights are immediately available to provide an unmatched perspective of their inbound material and transportation costs and outstanding payables. Learn More commandalkon.com/connex

• Cover