Mega Group Combines docAlpha with Dynamics AX to Transform its AP Operations

Mega Group eliminates manual invoice handling and data entry with docAlpha, slashing AP cycle times, reducing error rates & gaining timely access to detailed line item data

The Challenge

Mega Group, Inc’s mission is to provide its membership of over 800 home goods retailers with services that stimulate growth and promote success. One valuable service that Mega Group offers to its members is support for supplier invoice processing — which amounts to 600,000 transactions annually across 450 suppliers. Of those transactions, most are handled via EDI, but a significant number (150,000) are processed manually.

Manually processing invoices not only increased the time, effort and cost for each transaction — it also increased errors related to data entry, and limited access to only header-level invoice data.

“Our merchandisers rely on purchase data regularly and monitor the volumes and the products to make sure that we can obtain rebates from suppliers that are passed on to our vendors,” said David Slaney, Director of Operations at Mega Group.

As a result, Mega Group wanted a way to efficiently streamline the handling of invoices and capture more detailed line item data, while reducing the overall error rate.

The Solution

Mega Group decided to implement the docAlpha digital transformation platform to intelligently capture data from scanned paper and native digital invoices. Integration with their Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP system would allow them to eliminate manual transaction entry.

Instead, docAlpha would intelligently “read” documents to look for relevant header — and line-level details, validate that information against existing records in the ERP system, then automatically create new payables transactions.

This solution approach would allow Mega Group to help shift many suppliers to submitting PDF-based invoices via email that could be processed automatically, while also eliminating painful steps from those vendors who insisted on mailing paper invoices.

The Results

By relying on docAlpha to intelligently extract header and line-item details from supplier invoices, Mega Group successfully reduced invoice processing time by 25% while increasing the data and insight gained from those documents.

“Beyond rebates, our merchandisers look at what we’re purchasing, and what we’re selling,” Slaney added. “They looking at the product movement, so that they can see if new product lines are increasing in volume, and others like consumer electronic products are declining.”

With docAlpha, Mega Group has access to that data in a way that is timely and actionable.

In addition to reducing invoice processing cycles times and delivering better information to their merchandizing department, Mega Group reduced their error rates by more than half — from .25% to .1%.

“[With docAlpha] we get three to four times the data, much faster,” Slaney said.


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Client

Mega Group, Inc

With over 700 members, Mega Group is Canada’s largest group of independent home furnishings retailers. Entirely member-owned, Mega Group is dedicated to providing its members services that stimulate growth and promote success. This includes buying group benefits of volume rebates, credit card savings, extended warranty, gas purchase discounts, group insurance and more.

Industry

Retail services for home goods retailers

Needs

• Achieve better visibility and control over AP processes

• Automate and streamline AP invoice capture, AP data entry, routing, approval and ERP transaction creation

• Integration with Microsoft Dynamics AX

Solution

docAlpha Smart Process Platform

• Integration with Microsoft Dynamics AX

Results

• Accurate automatic sorting, filing and indexing of invoices in support of 600 retailers, with 450 suppliers and 150,000 invoices annually

• Elimination of paper and digitization of invoices and automation of document filing and data entry

• Reduction in data entry errors from .25% to .1%, with three to four times MORE data captured per transaction

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