Tag Archives: Bob Cohen

ePayment Connections: Achieving Better Cash Management Part 2

This piece is the continuation of a series of blogs written by guest expert Bob Cohen, the Vice basware_logoPresident of Basware. This series focuses on the strategies and best practices of achieving better cash management, important for AP and P2P professionals looking to streamline costs and increase revenues in their organizations.

Achieving Better Cash Management Part 2: – ePayments Bring Suppliers and Buyers Together
Bob Cohen- VP, Basware

Effective cash management starts with visibility into invoices and faster processing—things that automation and eInvoicing deliver—but another key component to achieving cash management excellence is the ability to optimize the payment process.

Savvy organizations are looking to reduce barriers to trade in a more connected, streamlined, and effective way. A key barrier is the payment process, which can be drawn out due to inefficient invoicing processes and the practices of buying organizations. By holding back payment to suppliers, companies are able to increase their cash flow flexibility and access to working capital, but unfortunately, this has the opposite effect on their suppliers. Some large companies are extending payment terms to suppliers up to 60-100 days, straining supplier relations and creating cash flow pressures while also potentially threatening the supply chain.

But companies don’t have to create an “I win, you lose” scenario with their suppliers. Let’s face it: when the suppliers lose, so do buying organizations, and in the quality of relationships and the stability of the supply chain. Savvy companies are seeking out alternative payment options that benefit buyers and suppliers alike, and they want to tackle both sides of the payment issue by speeding up slow invoice processes and payment tasks to ensure faster payment. For example, solutions that enable suppliers to get paid immediately upon invoice approval, while allowing buyers to extend their payments, like the partnership Basware is developing with MasterCard, gives both sides access to better cash flow and working capital.

Leveraging innovative approaches to payment promotes connected commerce and keeps money flowing across the supply chain. Everyone walks away a winner.

bob-cohenBob Cohen is Vice President, North America for Basware, a leading provider of cloud-based purchase-to-pay and e-invoicing solutions that enable better buying, selling and connected commerce for organizations around the world. For more information, contact [email protected], or call 203-487-7900.

It All Starts with Visibility: Achieving Better Cash Management Part 1

PayStream Advisors is excited to announce the beginning of a series of blogs written by guest basware_logoexpert Bob Cohen, the Vice President of Basware. This series will focus on the strategies and best practices of achieving better cash management, important for AP and P2P professionals looking to streamline costs and increase revenues in their organizations.

Achieving Better Cash Management Part I: It All Starts with Visibility
 Bob Cohen- VP, Basware

The key to effective cash management is visibility, which unfortunately has eluded many companies still relying on paper-based invoice processing methods. E-invoicing – the electronic transmission and receipt of invoices – is also lagging, with estimates of only 20-25 percent penetration in North America.

Invoices contain a wealth of information on spend, including an organization’s outstanding liabilities, the vendors that are owed money, and due dates. Without capturing this information electronically, it cannot be analyzed or shared with other departments to optimize spend, cash, and working capital management.

The need for visibility is further intensified in today’s complex global business environment. Many companies are dealing with a complicated network of systems handling purchasing transactions across both their organizations and their trading partners. Internal silos between departments such as procurement, AP, and Treasury are creating barriers to sharing critical information on spend—information that would lead to better decision-making and financial management, and that would help companies strategically select the best vendors based on spend history and contract terms.

The good news is that adoption of e-invoicing and invoice automation continues to increase as companies recognize the need to gain financial visibility and effectively manage working capital, as well as streamline their processes and save money. With this visibility, companies are able to analyze their spend and make dynamic discounting decisions, such as how to take advantage of volume and early payment discounts, and when to pay suppliers to maximize cash flow.

With the ability to more effectively transact with their buyers and suppliers and manage cash and working capital, companies will be well on their way to achieving connected commerce. The next step in the process is to improve the payments between trading partners. Stay tuned for Part 2 in Achieving Better Cash management – “ePayments Bring Suppliers and Buyers Together.”

bob-cohen
Bob Cohen is Vice President, North America for Basware, a leading provider of cloud-based purchase-to-pay and e-invoicing solutions that enable better buying, selling and connected commerce for organizations around the world. For more information, contact [email protected], or call 203-487-7900.