In response to stalled growth, inflation, and the economic downturn, companies in the consumer packaged goods and manufacturing sectors are exploring numerous avenues for value creation. Achieving greater results using existing resources is a key component to value creation. A focus on efficiency has caused businesses in these sectors to transform from shared services to global business services (GBS).
The Evolution of Global Business Services
Global business services is an evolution from the shared services model. With shared services, certain processes and activities are outsourced. In contrast, GBS is an internal approach to optimize efficiencies by dedicating people and resources to problem-solving initiatives.
A central premise of the GBS transformation is that people inside an organization know its processes better than people outside it. This holistic awareness allows internal participants to better identify solutions and improvements that integrate well within the organizational structure and existing systems.
GBS Interest in Automation
Automation is one of the key strategies used by GBS divisions to optimize efficiency and create greater value. When similar or better results are achieved by automation, companies can experience significant cost reductions relative to extensive manual processes.
Reducing costs is often the focus of efficiencies gained through automation. However, many CPG and manufacturing firms, and even some retailers, have discovered opportunities to generate more revenue through automation as well.
The combination of enhanced revenue generation and optimized cost reductions is where the real value creation occurs with GBS.
GBS Use Cases
The following are four key use cases that demonstrate specific ways in which organizations with a GBS division have created value:
Invoice Processing
Processing invoices is a large undertaking for manufacturers and CPG providers. Some companies handle hundreds of thousands of invoices or more every year.
Finding the right invoices to match against orders and accounts is challenging in that invoices often have highly variable formats. This variability makes it difficult to organize them by account to pull out the right invoices as needed.
GBS divisions that leverage document understanding solutions are able to automate invoice processing. For example, departments that use the Instabase Automation Platform for Unstructured Data are able to extract critical unstructured data from variable documents automatically. This capability means that invoices are more easily matched in the system with the right accounts. In addition to saving time and money, improved accuracy allows companies to protect against missed revenue opportunities resulting from invoicing errors.
Order Processing
Order processing aligns closely with invoice processing in that orders must be matched to invoices. When orders are received, the line items are viewed to ensure items are properly prepared.
Historically, processing orders has been a cumbersome manual job. However, manufacturers and CPG companies want to bring these tasks back in-house with their Global Business Services division.
The ability to easily extract the unstructured data from orders to match against invoices allows for automation of this process. As with invoice processing, companies achieve significant costs reductions and greater control over these internal activities if they leverage an accurate document understanding solution. Effective coordination of order processing, in turn, helps organizations better manage relationships with customers and partners.
Accounts Receivables
There are numerous tasks within accounts receivables that could benefit from automation. Take, for example, deductions management. Deductions management is a key accounts receivables activity that involves communicating with customers regarding any purchase discounts or cash discounts derived from early payment of invoices.
To appropriately credit buyers when they pay early, organizations need an efficient system to match the payments to the right invoice. They also need organized access to contracts with buyers to ensure credit is applied accurately based on terms of the agreement.
Intelligent document processing that relies on deep learning technology optimizes efficiency, reduces costs, and improves accuracy with many accounts receivables key tasks. For example, the Instabase Automation Platform is able to apply deep learning to cross-reference contracts so GBS teams can accurately apply cash discounts to the right accounts, thereby maintaining positive business relationships.
Auditing
Auditing accounting records is important for tax reporting and to ensure compliance with all financial reporting regulations. Manual auditing of large amounts of documents is time-consuming and error-prone. Critical mistakes in audits can lead to faulty reporting and failure to meet compliance requirements.
Accurate auditing also helps organizations keep better track of their earned revenue relative to cash, so that they can eliminate or reduce leakage.
Using deep learning technology alleviates much of the risk in regulatory compliance. Unstructured data is accurately extracted and reviewed faster and more effectively with automated processes to help organizations gain better awareness of money flow to protect against leakage.
The Instabase Automation Platform Fuels GBS Value Creation
Manufacturers and CPG companies are under a lot of pressure to optimize internal resources to control costs and maximize revenue. The GBS transformation is fueled by the desire to overcome the costs of outsourcing, while regaining more control of key internal processes.
A push for automation to create value is a key priority for GBS. Automation equals efficiency, and the Instabase Automation Platform is designed to help client organizations automate the understanding and processing of unstructured data in circumstances previously not possible. Its ability to extract critical data with high accuracy and deliver it to a GBS team in a useful way relieves the burden of impractical, inefficient, and error-prone manual processes.
The Instabase Automation Platform is infinitely customizable to fit any organization’s GBS needs and fuel tangible value creation. Help your GBS division build better processes on Instabase.
