The Order-to-Cash process is the backbone of any business. This is the foundation on which a business is built and, often, the most time-consuming for a financial department. In Latin America, where compliance is key, the order-to-cash process is even more complicated due to ever-changing regulations and the need for a powerful Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. LatamReady SuiteApp and Oracle+NetSuite are meeting those challenges head on by developing a cloud-based Latin America specific ERP. Using software that was directly made with Latin America’s burgeoning economic marketplace in mind is an asset US and UK companies looking to invest in the region can’t afford to ignore.
What are the challenges the Order-to-Cash process is running into?
The Order-to-cash process encompasses the financial and business processes that link buyers and suppliers when they work together. It starts when buyers and suppliers connect to transact businesses and ends with the financial processes that close the deal. This often includes several departments: sales, AR, legal, and more to complete the arduous process from quote to close. In a US or UK based company this can include the risk of inaccurate data as all these departments work together, but in Latin America it’s even more important that this data is meticulous.
ERP’s are difficult to implement in Latin America as each country has specific compliance requirements regarding tax reporting and e-invoicing. They’re being modified and updated yearly as well. It is a necessity for companies to implement an ERP that can be flexible with those changes.
- Internal Processes – the O2C process is complex due to the introduction of e-invoicing which is often being used as a bill of lading and in various other shipping steps. Each country and municipality is different and requires a detail-oriented staff and software application to meet all steps involved (for ordering, shipping, cost accounting, and more).
- Electronic Invoicing and Change in Regulations – As mentioned, all of Latin America is shifting and updating their financial rules. Companies and subsidiaries invest in ERP solutions that meet those changes directly without disrupting the business’ day-to-day processes.
- Security Risks – ERPs for this region not only have to have the typical security measures to protect an organization’s financial data, but with the intricate compliance standards, each business is delivered hefty fines for noncompliant activity. If their data is transmitted inaccurately, companies will suffer.
It may seem like a broken record, but this growing and changing marketplace within Latin America cannot be underestimated with how time-consuming the financial processes can be, as well as the cost if noncompliant. It requires dedicated personnel to insure reporting and a capable software solution to monitor the data. The easiest and most cost effective way to meet these standards is to automate the O2C process. LatamReady and Oracle+NetSuite are suited to provide that solution to their Latin American clients.
Why should you automate the Order-to-Cash process?
Customer service representatives are often responsible for dedicating large portions of their workload to the order process: quoting, sales orders, purchase orders, invoicing, etc. By looking at examples like Tessenderlo Kerley Inc, they found automating such a bulky process was a way to:
- Reduce time to enter an order in their ERP system.
- Increase customer response times.
- Improve customer service reps morale and productivity.
And the benefits aren’t just workforce oriented. Companies are seeing faster and more efficient processing times across the board, healthier relationships with their clients, and improved debt-to-equity ratios. AR professionals are seeing results in other ways as well. Not only are they seeing better customer service, time savings and more accurate data collection, but they also get to see the strategic value of datafication, such as the ability to calculate the “lifetime value” of a customer. Daily business activities like reducing late payments and improving analytics are all part of automating the O2C process.
If a company can improve its cashflow by automating the O2C process, there’d be no reason not to. The added advantage of an ERP being able to provide clear and concise data reports spanning the entire process, across numerous departments now that it’s a seamless automation, is why it is so attractive for Latin America. As regional corporations continue to increase transparency and provide detailed reporting, meeting compliance standards, Oracle+NetSuite and LatamReady will be available to properly automate the O2C process.
See the benefits with LatamReady SuiteApp & Oracle+NetSuite
Oracle+NetSuite has features within their ERP that will easily assist in automating an O2C process. For sales order management, some of those features consist of gross profit analysis, workflow approvals, and an easy transition from opportunity to fulfillment. And that’s only specific to the SO module. In general, automating order management within Oracle+NetSuite provides real-time, accurate data analytics, improved cashflow, reduced shipping costs, and more. Benefits such as these are why Oracle+NetSuite is fastly becoming the #1 cloud-based ERP solution provider in the world. LatamReady brings its own substantive cards to the table for its many years’ experience working in the multi-latin field with companies based on Miami and the rest of US, UK, etc. And by partnering with LatamReady to handle all the nuances of working within Latin America, Oracle+NetSuite is ready to launch this next objective: becoming the #1 solution for implementation and localization for all of Latin America.
Latin America is prime for investment from US and UK companies. The region is becoming more and more expansive with their reach to consumers. Oracle+NetSuite and LatamReady want to guarantee their clients have the fastest and most accurate way to complete their ordering processes, including E-Invoicing in +7 LatAm Countries. By automating the O2C process they will help companies to streamline order processing by eliminating manual bottlenecks, preventing errors, and establishing a smooth flow from sales quote to order fulfillment. Taking these steps will have the added benefit of ensuring timely electronic invoicing and payment. Advantages from automating the O2C process provide US+Multi-Latin companies to quickly and efficiently achieve a number of significant business goals within and outside of the ordering process. Time is now available to focus on other, more significant, matters such as strengthening customer relationships and overall growth.
CITATIONS:
“Critical Capabilities for Cloud Core Financial Management Suites for Midsize, Large and Global Enterprises.” Gartner Reprint, www.gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1-4AGG8O0&ct=170817&st=sb.
“One Region, One Key.” LatamReady, www.latamready.com/.
NetSuite.com. “NETSUITE IS #1 IN CLOUD ERP.” Business Software, Business Management Software – NetSuite, www.netsuite.com/portal/home.shtml?noredirect=T.
SuiteApp.com, suiteapp.com/LatamReady-Latinamerica-Localizations-SuiteApp.
“How can order to cash automation boost business performance?” Order2Cash, www.order2cash.com/order-to-cash-automation/.
“NetSuite Electronic Invoicing Overview.” YouTube, 15 July 2016, youtu.be/pw3022rB8yI.
Sprague, Steve. “SAP Implementation Challenges in Latin America.” Invoiceware International – The Largest Latin America Business Network, www.invoicewareint.com/blog/sap-implementation-challenges-in-latin-america.
“Tessenderlo Kerley.” TKINet, tkinet.com/.
Leranth, Gina. “Maximize Your SAP Investment with Order-to-Cash Automation [Case Study].” The Esker Blog, 29 Apr. 2016, blog.esker.com/maximize-your-sap-investment-with-order-to-cash-automation-case-study/.
“Order-to-Cash Automation Guide.” Accounts Receivable & Order-to-Cash Network, 18 Aug. 2016, www.thearnetwork.com/resources/order-to-cash-automation-guide/.
NetSuite.com. “Sales Order Management.” Sales Order Management, Sales Order Management System, Sales Order Processing Software – NetSuite, www.netsuite.com/portal/products/erp/order-management/sales-order-management.shtml.
NetSuite.com. “Order Management.” Order Management, Order Management Software, Order Fulfillment, Order Fulfillment Software – NetSuite, www.netsuite.com/portal/products/erp/order-management.shtml.
The benefits for NetSuite integration has been clearly explained . Thanks for sharing