Automating Accounts Payable
Document Separation and Classification
Solution
The project had a deadline of 2 weeks to configure and deploy a solution to achieve the following:
- process 250 thousand pages annually
- separate and classify 2500+ weekly emails with minimal human involvement and 100% accuracy
Aluma’s end user, a global steel producer, faced significant operational challenges in managing their invoice processing. Their scanning bureau, handling thousands of invoices on behalf of the company, received approximately 2,500 emails weekly, each containing multiple invoices and other documents. The client needed a cost-effective solution that could efficiently split these emails into individual invoices and filter out any non-invoice documents, such as:
- Statements
- Purchase orders
- Quotations
- Delivery notes
- Terms and conditions (Ts&Cs)
Their most critical expectation was achieving 100% accuracy in document separation and classification. Any errors would disrupt their accounts payable (A/P) process, resulting in delayed payments, manual rework, and potential supplier dissatisfaction.
Aluma developed an automated document processing system that was designed to receive and process the 2,500 emails per week, containing multiple documents in various formats. Key tasks in the project scope included:
- Document Separation: The system split batches of emails into individual invoice documents.
- Classification: Advanced document recognition technologies were used to classify the content and ensure non-invoice documents such as orders, delivery notes, and quotations were filtered out.
- Filtering Unwanted Documents: Any non-invoice documents were automatically removed, ensuring that only relevant information made it to the next stage.
- Routing: The validated invoice documents were routed to the correct accounts payable function for processing.
Impact
Time and Cost Efficiency
The solution reduced manual validation to just 2.5 hours per week, saving significant labor costs and processing time.
Increased Accuracy
An impressive near-perfect document separation and classification minimized errors and delays in invoice processing.
Improved Workflow and Scalability
The streamlining of the accounts payable process allowed for efficient handling of high volumes and future growth.
