The research found Australian SMBs process an average of 168 invoices each month. With a Deloitte study estimating that e-invoicing could deliver savings of up to $20 per invoice*, Australia’s SMBs could save up to $40,320**��a��year.��

The��benefits��are��clear, with��75��per cent��of��those��who��have transitioned��saying��the biggest impact has been time and money saved.��More than half said it improved the��accuracy of��recordkeeping��(56��per cent)��and��was more��secure��(53��per cent).��

“Running an SMB comes with its challenges but switching to digital processes has been key to the survival of many businesses during the pandemic. It frees up time and money to focus on other priorities like developing new products and finding new customers,” said Sofiane Ainine, SMB Segment Lead, �鶹ԭ�� Australia and New Zealand. “Now is the time for SMBs to review their adoption of technology. This will help them through the current crisis and set them up for future growth.”��

“The pandemic has highlighted the importance of technology adoption in helping small businesses innovate – increasing efficiency and productivity, attracting new customers in different markets, improving customer and employee experiences. This helps them create more jobs,” Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Bruce Billson, said.����

“It’s encouraging that the research in this �鶹ԭ�� report shows SMBs accelerating digital technology adoption. Technologies like e-invoicing improve process efficiency and, importantly, will see small businesses paid more quickly for the products and services they provide.”��

Switching��is easier than many SMBs think����

The��research suggests��that��the fear of switching to e-invoicing is bigger than the challenge of implementing it, with 88 per cent of SMBs that had made the jump saying it was easy, and almost one in five (18 per cent)��making the transition without external support.��

Some��will still��need help to get there, with integrating the process into computer systems��(36 per cent) and understanding what software to use (31 per cent)��perceived as the biggest challenges.��

Nearly half (46 per cent)��of SMBs��are mostly digital in their invoicing and recordkeeping.��Of��this group, 26��per cent��sought advice from their internal IT department, followed by an��external IT company (24 per cent), their accountant (26 per cent), a consultant (22 per cent)��or��The��Government (18 per cent).��

“SMB owners shouldn’t feel like they are alone on this journey. There are many sources of support ready to help them overcome hurdles and make the most of opportunities by sharing experiences and advising on the best approaches for their business,”��Ainine��said. “It’s about taking it one step at a time, learning what works and implementing digital initiatives that align to their goals.”��

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The outlook: A digital future��

The past 18 months has fast-tracked the transition to digital processes for many SMBs and increased their appetite for transformation. The research found most SMBs who use e-invoicing��(75 per cent)��are looking to digitise other business processes. Payroll is the top focus (72��per cent), followed by forecasting (42��per cent), debt collection (38��per cent), customer experience (33��per cent), and talent management (28��per cent).����

Over half (54 per cent) of SMBs say they will have digitised all account and account management processes within the next two years, with 44 per cent planning to do so within the next 12��months.����

To help them get there, more than half (57 per cent) of business owners/managers agree that increased government support in the form of information, services, subsidies and grants would help their business continue to drive forward digital initiatives and change.��

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Innovation in action������

Mining equipment manufacturer��Geographe��needed to update its business technology in support of its strategic vision to expand into new markets and refine its product sets around continued innovation.��

Implementing an intelligent ERP system built on �鶹ԭ�� S/4HANA Cloud® has helped the business reduce lead times by as much as 50 per cent. Automated core processes and greater operational efficiencies have reduced some workloads by more than 15 per cent.��

Geographe��CEO, Sam��Hyder, said: “Due to COVID-19, we have moved to hybrid working. Having a scalable IT landscape with greater transparency and real-time data helped us become more responsive to customer needs. We can now confidently predict customer demand and optimise production, inventory, and our supply chain accordingly.”��

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The full��report��and��key tips on how to transform your business, please visit:������

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Note to editors:��

About��the���鶹ԭ����report:��The connected SMB: Embracing digital strategies to fuel growth��

The research was commissioned by �鶹ԭ�� Australia and undertaken by YouGov to��understand where Australian SMBs stand with their current e-invoicing and broader digitisation efforts.��The sample comprised of 802 Australian business owners/managers with less than 200 employees:��

• 1-19 employees n= 252����

• 20-99 employees n= 518����
• 100-199 employees n= 32��

Fieldwork took place between 29 June��and 13��September 2021.��

*��2021��

**��168 invoices per month x 12 months x $20 saving per invoice = $40,320 per year��

The post �鶹ԭ�� study finds e-invoicing could save Aussie SMBs over $40,000 a year appeared first on �鶹ԭ�� Australia & New Zealand News Center.

These enterprise customers are adopters of that are enablers for new ways to manage spend and drive cost reductions. For the mid-market organisation, this transformation has been not been as consistent.

For many , the procurement function tends to be a lot less strategic and we often see organisations who are running processes that have had very little change in over a decade or more.

This stagnation comes at a cost through reduced margins, higher inefficiencies, and potentially excessive administrative overhead.

This decade we are also seeing increasing regulatory oversight on areas such as modern slavery, supplier payment times and health and safety – in some regions even exposing management to prison sentences for non-compliance. Couple all this with an increase in challenging trading conditions – the path to improvement is becoming more urgent.

With 2021 firmly underway the aim of this article is to provide a simple measuring stick for mid-market organisations to determine their relative procurement maturity in a number of selected areas. Whilst procurement has different aspects across different industries, many of the themes discussed below are cross-industry and apply in some way to most types of organisations. Forward looking mid-market organisations would be encouraged to assess some of these criteria against their current priorities for 2021 and beyond.

A key theme will be the across core processes which is an enabler to best in class outcomes.

How do your casual users buy?

Casual users are the staff in your organisation that need to buy “stuff” but are not part of a purchasing or supply chain team. Examples of this can be Marketing, Legal, HR, Facilities, IT and other similar areas. Each of these buyers need to procure goods and services for their area of operation in an easy way.

Most organisations will have some element of purchase initiation from staff that are not directly in procurement. The differences between approaches can be stark.

In the above scenario the path from laggard to best in class is underpinned by technology as the key enabler.

What is your catalogue strategy like?

Most of us use popular online web stores at home where there are vast catalogues of items to select from, but for a lot of mid-market organisations when you buy at work, it can still look like the 90s.

Catalogues provide the key connection for contracted items from suppliers with your buyers.

How does your organisation transact with suppliers?

Digital collaboration has been around for over a decade but in the mid-market the process can still be very email driven. If you are sending a Purchase order manually or even just as an attachment or inline text in an email and then receiving a paper or PDF invoice at the end – then the process is not digital. Digital is about engaging the supplier to directly provide transaction data in areas such as confirmations, shipment notices, returns, credits and invoices. All without data entry by your staff.

The path to digital delivers reductions in FTE overhead with better visibility on orders, faster invoicing turnaround and better compliance from suppliers to your purchase orders and contracts.

Government is also coming on board with many jurisdictions looking to encourage digital collaboration in the marketplace.

The way you transact with suppliers will have a direct impact on Accounts Payable efficiency discussed next.

How efficient is your Accounts Payable team?

Poor purchasing practices often place a bigger burden on Accounts Payable teams to wade through non-compliant, incomplete and missing information in the quest to process invoices and approve them for payment. Phones and emails can be bombarded with queries around late payment that follows.

We also seeing more governments introducing tougher rules around paying smaller suppliers which requires Accounts Payable teams to be able to get through invoicing efficiently.

The above scenarios are just some examples of the challenges we see at mid-market organisations.

There are opportunities for hard savings and benefits to those organisations that move towards best in class and it can often be done in a cost-effective way. For many mid-market organisations there is still a large administrative overhead that is behind the efficiency of bigger organisations who achieve more with less.

Interested in learning more? At �鶹ԭ�� we work with many and can provide advice and guidance around your digital procurement strategy for 2021 and beyond.

This article originally published on .

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