Smarter, data-driven supply chains benefit everyone. But how do you get there?
Although it may seem like a hefty task, getting started doesn’t have to be complicated. It can even start with just one step.
Your invoices.
Invoices, which are a big effort to manage at the best of times, are a source of both significant resource usage and significant amounts of data. To really manage your invoices and service levels and disputes at the level of detail required to get everything out of them, you’d need a whole team. Who have nothing else to do but check line items and delivery details and service level agreements. Which sounds really dull and really expensive.
On the other hand, you could automate it. You could bring all of that rich-but-tedious invoice data into an AI platformthat manages it all for you and helps you see actual savings from the process. You could have your supply chain team working on tasks that are meaningful to both them and the business. All while your invoices are being explored, disputes are being actioned and that data is turning into a detailed map of your supply chain. One that gives you more visibility than you’ve had before.
What can looking into my invoices really tell me?
Your invoices contain a lot of data about the actual running of your supply chain. Especially if you can look at all of the data together. When you upload your data to an AI-driven logistics platform, like 7bridges, it pulls that data together and establishes your baseline.
This can help you identify excess charges, inaccurate invoices, refutable invoices and information gaps that previously hid behind the walls of your providers. Once this function has been onboarded you can realise savings almost immediately, even without relying in IT resource for the implementation.
On top of all that, this can act as a starting point to integrate AI and automation into your supply chain for long-term success. Getting control of your invoice data increases the overall visibility of your logistics performance. It offers a holistic view of supplier performance and costs and creates a baseline layer of data which can be used for better-informed decision making.
Investing in a quick and resource-light win that focuses on invoices gives you the power to take the first step towards transforming your supply chain. You’ll have better data visibility, better data structure, data-based savings, and the beginnings of automation. Starting with your invoices means supply chain transformation in weeks, not months.
