Tag Archives: PayStream Advisors Innovate 2014

INNOVATE 2014- The Recap

A little over a week ago, the team here at PayStream Advisors (or the Stream Team) began our unnamedjourney to San Antonio, Texas, to celebrate the event of the year- at least in our opinion. Some members of the office left on the weekend before to get a more authentic feel of the city, while others set out in the early morning hours of Monday, September 8th. Getting up early was worth it, however, because these three days were what PayStream had been waiting for all year.

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StreamTeam’s Day Out

Our expectations weren’t disappointed. Not only were the conference events satisfying and informative, but the location was relaxing and accommodating. The hotel where the Summit was held, Hyatt Regency, was beautiful and the event staff that helped us put on the event were professional and efficient. The Riverwalk was right outside and the river itself actually ran through the complex. The city of San Antonio was every bit as exciting as we had hoped, and the Stream Team had a great time taking advantage of all it had to offer.

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Tradeshift’s Booth

The first day of INNOVATE started off wonderfully—Henry Ijams and Tradeshift’s Vishal Patel carried the afternoon with sessions about emerging market trends in P2P automation and best practices. This solid beginning to the conference was finished off with a comfortable cocktail hour hosted by Tradeshift, the INNOVATE Title Sponsor, in the Exhibit Hall. This room remained a central area for congregation throughout the event, as it held many of the INNOVATE sponsors’ company booths. These sponsors included Tradshift, Ariba, Direct Commerce, ReadSoft, American Express, US Bank, BancTec, NVoicePay, Coupa, Comdata, and Scan One.

IMG_4427Throughout the next two days, we heard from some amazing people in workshops, panel discussions, and sessions based on a variety of AP and P2P themes. These speakers included leaders from organizations who have had great success in financial automation and business transformation, like James McDonald, the Director of Procurement at ING (soon to be Voya), and Linda Dyck, the Manager of Corporate Accounting for the Canadian Blood Services. Professionals from leading solution companies also led sessions, including NVoicePay CEO, Karla Friede, and Coupa’s VP of Customer Success, Kevin Turner.

Many of our sponsors were also hosts of the Innovate Dine Arounds, held in some of San Antonio’s best restaurants. These dinners were a great chance for PayStream to get to know this year’s INNOVATE attendees, and we discovered them to be interesting and unique. These professionals came from all walks of life and all areas of business, but they each attended the conference with the same anticipation of learning from and connecting with AP and P2P market innovators.

Overall, the event was exactly what PayStream hoped it would be—a great success. We heard on multiple occasions from INNOVATE guests how much they got out of the sessions, and how much they enjoyed the opportunity to see what solution providers had to offer on a truly in-depth and personal level. Over the next several weeks, we will be posting a series of blogs that will recap various INNOVATE sessions for those who didn’t get a chance to attend this year’s conference. PayStream believes all of our readers should get a chance to hear from the event’s innovators and hopefully, you’ll be inspired to hear from them next year in person!

The INNOVATE 2014 Key Note Speaker: Julian Davis

Next week, PayStream Advisors will be travelling to San Antonio, Texas for our annual Summit, unnamedINNOVATE 2014. We usually stay excited for this conference all year round, and this year has been no exception. With so many dynamic leaders in the financial automation industry present, we are right in our element, and with several business leaders from organizations who have successfully optimized AP and P2P software also in attendance, we are proud of the work that we do providing research for these professionals. Several of those business leaders will be speaking at various breakout sessions and panel discussions throughout our three-day stay on the Riverwalk, and the lessons they have on automating businesses processes successfully will prove to be very valuable—as they have been at every Summit.

Julian Davis headshotThis year, we are especially excited to hear from a business leader who has set himself apart in the realm of P2P Innovation in a unique way. The INNOVATE 2014 Key Note Speaker is Julian Davis, the Director of Supply Chain Management at Service Corporation International (SCI). Mr. Davis has been in key leadership positions at SCI and other companies for 25 years, and his skill and experience were just what was required when SCI decided it was time to revamp their AP and procurement process. Mr. Davis will be sharing the story of that transformation at the Summit, but PayStream was lucky enough to get a small preview of his session.

Service Corp. International, founded in 1962, is North America’s leading SCIprovider of death care products and services. They have over 25,000 employees and operate 1,614 funeral homes and 489 cemeteries in 44 states, 8 Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. With such a big operation, it became increasingly important to control processes and costs, so in 2009, SCI created a 5-year Roadmap to transform their supply chain. They started seeking solutions to implement in their Procure-to-Pay process that would integrate their purchasing, tax, and payment procedures into one system. The Supply Chain and Accounts Payables teams reviewed multiple vendors and solutions before choosing Coupa to provide their automation software.

Mr. Davis will tell the full story of SCI’s and transformation with Coupa at the Summit, but the thing that truly makes their tale unique is the customer mindset that has driven their every step. According to Mr. Davis, SCI chose to maintain the same customer-service focus they use in their everyday business model throughout the P2P automation conversion. Even though they were changing a back-office procedure that did not affect individual clients as obviously as SCI’s everyday services, the company still chose to focus on the end-results and benefits this process would have for their customers—rather than just company efficiency.

san 1This mindset is unique in the renovation of a P2P process, and one that makes Julian Davis the perfect man for the job of INNOVATE Key Note Speaker; PayStream is very excited to hear more from him. There will be many other inspiring stories of P2P transformation and innovation at the PayStream Summit, as well as various networking events, panel discussions, and breakout sessions that will help financial professionals transform their organizations’ AP and P2P processes. Although the INNOVATE 2014 is less than a week away, it’s not too late to join us for this valuable three-day conference in the beautiful city of San Antonio. Register today!

Medius 2014 Growth and Their Drive to Success

PayStream Advisors has recently had our eye on a certain AP automation provider standing out in positivmediuslogothe financial solutions space with impressive growth and robust AP offerings. The Swedish-born company, Medius, has been around for a little over a decade, but their youth has definitely not held them back from designing products that are unique and powerful, like their financial workflow engine, MediusFlow. With this solution and its diverse functionalities, Medius serves more than 1300 customers worldwide, with high density in Retail, Manufacturing, and Services, and they have offices in Sweden (HQ), Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Poland, USA, Malaysia, and Australia. To complement their strong global partner network, they offer dedicated direct sales and account management.

Though their global presence is broad, Medius maintains a close focus on working to provide solutions that boost efficiency and generate tangible business value for their customers. This technique is obviously working for more than just their customers’ business value—the results of Medius’ growth in the first half of 2014 is an obvious sign that they are benefitting from the quality of their own work. The company reports a growth of over 27 percent compared to the same period last year, with sales up in all segments for both existing and new customers. They have a few opinions on the reasons for their growth, owing it partly to their improved SME offerings from their recent acquisition of Ascendo, but also to their new product enhancements.

“There are several reasons for the growth and the increase in sales, but the single most important reason is without a doubt that the market has embraced the newest version of MediusFlow, MediusFlow XI,” said Mikael Lindblom, Medius CEO. MediusFlow XI was released in 2013 and was improved upon this year with modules for contract management and procurement. Medius believes this product has been so successful in large part because of its ability to work well within Shared Services Centers and the high processing demands these setups require.

The solution provider’s confidence is backed up not only by their growth results, but also by their increased customer base. Some of the new customers include the DT Group in Denmark, Quaker Chemical Corporation, MOM’s Organic Market, DTS, and Dejana and Proterra in the US. According to Medius, their success only motivates them to do better and think larger.

“In the beginning of the year, we made a few changes to focus even more on our core business and our primary markets”, said Mikael Lindblom. “We have already seen positive effects from this, and the changes will further strengthen our competitiveness and increase customer value in the second half of the year.”

PayStream is looking forwardsan to seeing Medius’ hopes manifest into success. For an opportunity to hear from more AP and P2P Innovators who are transforming the financial automation market like Medius, be sure to register for this year’s PayStream Summit, INNOVATE 2014. This three-day conference, held on San Antonio’s beautiful Riverwalk, will include various networking events, panel discussions, and breakout sessions that will help financial professionals transform their organization’s P2P process.

 

Meet the INNOVATE 2014 Leader, Tradeshift

At the PayStream Summit eveunnamedry year, one solution provider, the Summit Title Partner, holds a dynamic place in the conference proceedings. This year’s INNOVATE Leader is Tradeshift, the web-based business network and free invoicing platform, and they will be participating in many key events and sessions during the three days in beautiful San Antonio, Texas. Tradeshift has shown remarkable movement during this past year that has set them apart in innovation and quality in the financial automation industry, and PayStream has been continually impressed by their commitment and drive in meeting the high standards they set for themselves. Not only do they show concern for improving business processing problems, like frequent late payments between big buyers and little suppliers, but they build their entire business strategy around providing solutions to these problems. The various opportunities that Summit guests will have to learn from and network with Tradeshift will be invaluable for financial professionals hoping to enhance their organizations’ AP and P2P processes.

Tradeshift provides Accounts Payable, Procurement, Finance, and IT solutions for 111025090024441entire organizations, using innovative technological strategies to bring companies of all sizes together to transact, connect and collaborate with each other. They enable suppliers with free electronic invoicing, faster payments and predictable cash flow, and they empower enterprises to work more easily and productively with their entire supply chain, anywhere in the world. Their experience with supply-chain improvements has made them experts in improving the P2P process, and they will be able to provide vital insights into bringing those improvements to Summit attendees’ own companies. PayStream believes they are a perfect choice for the INNOVATE Leader.

Tradeshift will be involved with several key events in the Summit line up. On Monday, Rachel Kuller, Head of Product Marketing at Tradeshift, and Mark McCauley, Tradeshift’s Senior Solutions Consultant, will present the Technology Learning Lab focused on optimizing P2P to increase savings and revenue. Tradeshift believes that the key to this optimization is in understanding where the most value comes from and taking the right approach to get it, and the session, Add Tens of Millions to your Bottom Line with P2P Automation, will explore those approaches. Tradeshift will teach attendees how to build a business case that’s sure to secure funding, how to optimize their project for maximum value and impact with working capital solutions, and how to avoid the top 3 business case killers—including lack of supplier participation. Because this is an interactive educational experience, attendees will be able to share ideas with their peers, hear about real case studies and best-of-breed practices, and take home the tools they need to succeed. Tradeshift will also be sponsoring a cocktail reception following the Learning Lab from 5:00-6:30, providing a further and more relaxed setting for networking and exploring P2P possibilities.

On Tuesday, Tradeshift will be participating in the Panel Discussion, P2P in 2020: Positioning for the Future. This session will be moderated by PayStream’s Henry Ijams and will feature TradeShift’s Vishal Patel, Sr. Marketing Manager of Industry Solutions, as well as Christine Doxey, Management Consultant and P2P Academy Educator, and Nick Shields, AP Operations Supervisor at ADM Shared Services. The panel will discuss various cloud, mobile, social, and big data mega-trends that have recently emerged in everyday business activity. They will explore the ways in which these trends will soon change how companies transact, connect, and collaborate with their suppliers and their colleagues in AP, procurement, treasury, as well as the need for businesses to shift towards greater flexibility among ever-changing environments. The insights of these industry experts will be important for organizations who wish to positions themselves productively for this change.

Tradeshift will also be hosting an Innovate Dine Around evening, joined once more by Nick Shields and Chris Doxey. The Summit Dine Around opportunities allow guests to further connect with industry innovators during a small-scale and personal dinner in one of the many elegant dining options in downtown San Antonio. These dinners will give guests the chance to try some of San Antonio’s spectacular dishes—like its world-famous chili—and to build and solidify valuable business connections.

Among thsan 1ese sessions and the various networking opportunities throughout the conference, Summit attendees will have more than enough to take away from Tradeshift’s impressive expertise and inspiring improvement strategies. PayStream is sure that financial professionals looking for innovation at INNOVATE 2014 will not be disappointed by this year’s Innovate Leader. Join us, Tradeshift, and many other P2P Innovators September 8-10th on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas.

 

 

Coupa Conquers Second Quarter

unnamedIn San Antonio, Texas, this September, PayStream Advisors will be holding the annual Summit conference, INNOVATE 2014. There are several things about this event that PayStream is excited about—besides the amazing city itself and besides the inspiring stories of P2P success and innovation that will be shared, there will also be some amazing P2P Innovators in attendance. Some of the best of the best in the AP and P2P automation industry are coming out to personally share their success with Summit attendees, making this not only a vital learning experience for AP and P2P professionals, but also the networking event of the year.

One of the companies who will be attending the Summit is PayStream partner, Coupa Software. Coupa will be an elemental presence among the other Innovators, especially due to their recent movements in the P2P solutions market. While they have always shown innovation and drive in their design, offerings, and customer relationships, last week they announced a new level of success. The company’s Q2 2014 results were filled with big developments and great demonstrations of the extreme effort they have put into improving every coupaarea of their business model over the past year. Some of the greatest achievements were their 100 percent increase in revenue over Q2 2013, and their >99 % subscription renewal rate which created 22 quarters of sequential subscription revenue growth.

Coupa associates the quarter’s success to their collaborative relationships with their clients and their dedication to improving their offerings based on clients’ needs. This attention to customer collaboration is one of the best practices that PayStream has recently seen being used by today’s most successful financial solution providers, and it is no wonder that Coupa is reaping the rewards of this strategy. More than 20 Coupa customers went live during the second quarter in North America, Asia and EMEA, reflecting the rapid deployment and ease-of-use benefits of Coupa’s cloud-based platform, as well as the company’s ability to maintain top-of-class customer success standards along with its scaling global growth.

“Coupa has enjoyed such consistent growth because of the unique partnership we forge with our customers in driving measurable business results,” said Rob Bernshteyn, CEO of Coupa. “We’re deeply proud of our position as the industry’s leader in cloud-based financial applications and extremely thankful to our growing worldwide customer base. Together, we are reimaging our industry and delivering real, measurable business value.”

Their business value can also be seen in their wide array of recent awards and recognitions from several leading analysts firms and publications. Based on the attributes of their Current Offerings and Strategy, Coupa was named a leader in the “The Forrester Wave™: eProcurement Q2 2014” report. They have also been recognized with a number of industry awards including AlwaysOn Global 250, AlwaysOn OnDemand Top 100, and CFO Forum Best Suppliers of 2014. Over the past year, Coupa has made a dynamic partnership with EXL, has gained ‘Built for NetSuite’ verification for their Cloud Procurement and Expense Management solutions, and has released a new application and enhancements to their products. Overall, Coupa has been pushing towards success with determination and drive, and PayStream does not see them slowing down anytime soon.

It is companies like CouRiverwalk01pa that will make INNOVATE 2014 such an important and lasting experience for attendees. Other providers that will be attendance include Ariba, Direct Commerce, ReadSoft, and Tradeshift, and all will have vital things to share, either during the various networking events, workshops, panel discussions, or breakout sessions. We hope that our readers will register for this year’s Summit, held on San Antonio’s beautiful Riverwalk, and take advantage of this opportunity to meet AP and P2P Innovators who are transforming the financial automation market.

Innovate 2014 in San Antonio, TX: Visit the River City

PayStream is very excited about the upcoming Summit—in part because of the amazing san 1P2P Innovators that will be sharing their stories and advice on P2P success, but also because of the amazing location of the conference: San Antonio, Texas. Rich in history, culture, and beauty, this city is a hub of excitement, visual appeal, and electrifying activity. There is hardly any limit to the things visitors can explore here, and while we are excited to have our guests at our conference for the full 2.5 days, we encourage them to extend their stay into the weekend so that they can fully experience the brilliance of this amazing landmark city.

san 4Part of the allure of San Antonio is its rich historical landscape. The area is home to several beautiful Spanish missions (such as the Mission Concepción and the Mission San José), theaters (such as Aztec on the River and the Majestic), gardens, and museums. Visitors can visit old homesteads of prominent historical figures, like the Steves Homestead and the Guenther House. San Antonio is also part of the Old Spanish Trail, which links cities of Spanish conquest and settlement from St. san 7Augustine, Florida to San Diego, California, and it holds close proximity to the Casa Navarro State Historic Site and Fort Sam Houston. All these places and more can be viewed from the 750-foot-tall observation deck, the Tower of the Americas, and if guests want to step away from the city, they can visit nearby historical towns such as Gruene or Fredericksburg.

There’s more to Fredericksburg than its history- it is also part of San Antonio’s rich wine country, which is the second most visited wine region in the US after Napa Valley. Visitors can take a Texas Wine Tour through more than fifty vineyards in the areas surrounding San Antonio, or take san 8a fully planned day trip to Fredericksburg with the local wine tour guide, Girl Friday Company. In fact, Summit attendees will be given a chance to plan a personalized experience of Fredericksburg with Girl Friday Company, which will feature lunch, transportation, and several activities to choose from, including cooking class, horseback riding, rock climbing, painting, a tour of several local wineries, and more.

For those who want to spend more time in the city itself, San Antonio’s attractions are exciting and san 9diverse. Guests can visit Sea World or the Schlitterbahn Water Park Resort, and Summit attendees will receive discounted tickets for Six Flags Fiesta. There are also several parks and natural areas for biking, hiking, horseback riding, or cavern exploring, and visitors can go tubing, rafting, canoeing or kayaking on the Guadalupe River near New Braunfels or in Guadalupe River State Park.

When visitors are ready to slow down and look around, San Antonio boasts an impressive selection of breweries, dining destisan 10nations, and shops. Foodies can take tours through acclaimed restaurants, local diners, and specialty shops, and craft beer enthusiasts can experience the Ranger Creek Brewery and Distillery or the Freetail Brewing Co., among others. The popular Pearl san 12Brewery neighbors with the unique restaurant, Cured, and also hosts the expansive and diverse Pearl Farmer’s Market every Saturday. San Antonio’s shopping scene has few competitors—ranked in the top ten of America’s 25 Best Shopping Cities by Forbes magazine, it has many affordable, trendy, and accessible places to browse for memorable gifts and purchases, including the beautiful River Center Mall.

Not to be forgotten, San Antonio’s legendary Riverwalk, where the Summit will be held, is one of the most visited sites in Texas. Its scenic pathways and waterways provide beautiful sights, sounds, and atmospheres for locals and tourists alike. Strewn along the walk are elegant restaurants, hotels and shops, and for those who want to experience the area from the water, Rio San Antonio Cruises home_night_bannergive passengers an alternative view of the walk activity, night and day. Live music and cultural events are held on the Riverwalk regularly, and for a list of events going on during the week of the Summit Conference, visit www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com.

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Overall, PayStream Advisor’s believes this unique and enthralling city has more than enough to offer—and it’s the perfect spot to host Innovate 2014. We hope that our readers will take advantage of this opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful cities in the country and register for this year’s Summit today.

PayStream P2P Summit: Meet the Innovators, Be the Innovator

This fall, PayStream Advisors will be heading out to the beautiful Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas to 089fb9chost our annual Summit P2P conference! It’s going to be a great time for financial professionals to increase their knowledge of business automation best practices and to broaden their networks. For those who haven’t already registered, we will highlight the exciting things the conference will include—and what valuable tools attendees will walk away with!

sanThis year’s Summit, INNOVATE 2014, will be held September 8-10 and will reflect the amazing innovations PayStream’s research has found within the P2P market in the past year. To fit this theme, PayStream has gathered a group of the brightest P2P innovators to pass on best practices that will help professionals boost their careers and their organizations’ value. These leaders are from top companies like The Home Depot and Jet Blue Airways, and they will share their own remarkable stories of innovation, determination, and success in P2P automation.

This tightly focused event will offer case study and breakout sessions, provocative panel discussions, and inspiring keynote speakers. The various conference segments will feature AP, Finance, Procurement, and Supply Chain methods for leveraging automation tools and collaborative strategies to improve processes across purchases and payables. The unnamedconference will also feature the only P2P certification program offered today—a small review class that will provide attendees with a foundational base of knowledge to achieve a fully integrated P2P business process at their organization. This certification is designed to help professionals excel and master P2P leadership, strategy, and process analysis, and it is a valuable asset for every P2P professional.

Not only is this conference vital for learning P2P best practices, it will also be a great way for professionals to become acquainted with the market’s leading providers of P2P solutions. Many of the sessions will be led by officials from top software companies, including Tradeshift and Direct commerce, and PayStream’s Innovate Awards will highlight the year’s stand-out innovators in the field. Guests will not only learn from these leaders how they can leverage top solutions in their own companies, they will also be able to meet them, making the Summit the networking opportunity of the year.

Guests can further connect with these industry innovators through the unique Innovate Dine Around evenings. Summit attendees can choose from several, small-scale dinners hosted by Summit sponsors, creating personal interaction in one of the many elegant dining options in downtown San Antonio. These dinners will give guests the chance to try some of San Antonio’s spectacular dishes—like its world-famous chili—and they will also build and solidify valuable business connections.

Riverwalk01The 2014 PayStream Summit shouldn’t be missed. Located in the Hyatt Regency Hotel at the heart of the Riverwalk’s lovely winding pathways, this conference will connect guests to the Alamo, history and art museums, San Antonio theaters, restaurants, and bars—and to all the tools they need to become a stand-out P2P Innovator. Register for the Summit today and take advantage of early bird special here!

Register for INNOVATE ’14 by August 1st and get a second pass to bring your bosINNOVATE-BYOBs to the PayStream Purchase to Pay Summit at no additional cost. OR bring a co-worker. We highly recommend bringing at least two people so you can cover more workshops and get the most out of your conference experience. All you have to do is enter the coupon code BYOB to take advantage of this promotion. 

PayStream Webinar: Home Depot’s Value Creation Story

In the PayStream Advisor webinar last week, we heard an amazing story on AP and P2P transformation from Debbie Rich-Walker, the Senior Finance Manager at the world’s largest home booru-author-e1388777078218improvement retailer, Home Depot. Ms. Rich-Walker, who will also be a speaker at our Innovate 2014 P2P Summit this September, is a natural and dynamic leader, and with her guidance, Home Depot became a transformative player in the P2P world. In the webinar, Ms. Rich-Walker was joined by PayStream’s Henry Ijams and Direct Commerce Founder and President, Bruce Hanavan, and together they showed us the power of innovative and driven collaboration. We are happy to share the Home Depot Value Creation Story again with you today.

home depotAlthough the results have been tremendous, Ms. Rich-Walker admits the change to complete automated processing was a difficult and sometimes exhausting journey. Home Depot is an enormous company with 40 million AP transactions and $50 million in direct spend a year. For such a big operation, it was difficult to drive change, but the intense pains of the company’s manual methods far outweighed the effort of transition. In Home Depot’s old paper-process, discrepancies included problems with cycles, suppliers sending duplicate flyers and consequential duplicate payments. They processed over 5 million pieces of paper a year, and while invoices made up a big part of that paper volume, a large amount was also being used in conflict resolution. With an enormous number of supplier calls to the department’s help desk, Ms. Rich-Walker’s staff was spending most of their time smoothing over problems in their supplier relationships.

Home Depot took charge of their messy situation by partnering with the solution provider, Direct directCommerce. They began their automation journey with a self-service portal where Home Depot vendors could file issues and complaints. This portal turned out to be the game changer, and the foundation of Home Depot’s Value Creation Story. Ms. Rich-Walker said that the portal’s initial purpose was to be a dispute management center to relieve the pressure from her staff, but once they recognized its value, they rebranded it as a supplier self-service center, turning it into a one-stop shop for their vendors. It phased out Home Depot’s help-desk, eliminating the constant calls and time needed to handle problems. Additionally, the portal enables Home Depot to track the process of invoices and other documents, record suppliers’ concerns, and manage cash effectively. Today, the company spends 40% less on their processing costs, and they can now gain capital through early payments discount. With such a huge organization, a 40% cost reduction means millions of dollars in savings.

bruceConcerning his work with Ms. Rich-Walker, Bruce Hanavon said she was a real front-runner in the transformation process. Direct Commerce collaborated with Home Depot to create the right program criteria that would build success early on, and Ms. Rich-Walker took advantage of all Direct Commerce had to offer by leveraging the self-service portal as an enabler for additional process improvements—which really gave them their business leap. When customizing the solution, the AP and procurement departments partnered with treasury staff to support an optimized financial strategy that increased savings, making their process a treasury creation instead of simply an AP creation, and when making the transition, Ms. Rich-Walker’s department surveyed their suppliers to get their feedback. Ms. Rich-Walker believes the company was successful in implementation because they involved the supplier in this way, making the self-service portal collaborative and personal from the ground up.

The complete transition took Home Depot five years to complete, but they made it through the rougher patches by maintaining goals and objectives—a critical practice for driving success—and by remaining flexible. Each step they took brought astronomical ROIs, as well as fantastic supplier relationships, and today they have reached what seems like an impossible goal: a 100% paper-less process. Ms. Rich-Walker wants AP and financial professionals to know that this goal—the holy grail of automation—is possible and maintainable with the right sustainability practices. These practices include finding the right people, the right process, and the right technology.

Ms. Rich-Walker will be joining PayStream for our annual conference, Innovate 2014 Purchase to Pay Summit, held in San Antonia, Texas, this September at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk. This exciting conference will feature 18 case study workshops facilitated home_night_bannerby leaders—like Debbie Rich-Walker—at the most innovative organizations. This is a great opportunity for finance professionals to learn more about process improvements, and to network with their peers in AP, Procurement, Finance, and the Supply Chain. Join us in September—we would love to see you!