Case Studies > AssistEdge RPA Streamlines Invoice Collections for Global Logistics Provider Amid COVID-19

AssistEdge RPA Streamlines Invoice Collections for Global Logistics Provider Amid COVID-19

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Applicable Industries

Transportation

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation
Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Chatbots
Personnel Tracking & Monitoring

About The Customer

The customer is a US-based transportation and logistics company that operates in 30 countries across the globe. They provide a range of services, including freight forwarding, supply chain solutions, and customs brokerage. The company faced a significant challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic when most of their staff had to work remotely. This situation impacted their day-to-day operations, particularly the invoice collections process, which was manual, time-consuming, and led to a large amount of Daily Sales Outstanding (DSO). The company was motivated to automate this process to expedite collections, ensure business continuity, and compensate for the staff shortage during the pandemic.

The Challenge

The client, a US-based transportation and logistics company operating in 30 countries, faced a significant challenge due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of their staff were working remotely, which was impacting the day-to-day operations of key processes such as invoice collections. The process involved the client's customers posting invoices on their internal or third-party vendor portals. The status of invoices, whether collectable or in dispute, was manually verified by the client's staff by visiting each website or portal. This process was extremely time-consuming and led to a large amount of Daily Sales Outstanding (DSO), negatively impacting the client's cash flow. The client was motivated to automate the invoice collections process to expedite invoice collections, ensure business continuity, and compensate for the shortage of staff during the pandemic.

The Solution

The client chose to implement AssistEdge RPA bots to automate the invoice collections process. The bots were configured to pick up the invoice status from all the portals, adhering to specific business rules implemented by the customer in each of the invoice payment portals. The bots identified invoices with disputes and those without disputes that could be collected. This information was then automatically updated onto a report sheet. The client's staff used the updated sheet to contact customers directly to collect the payments or deal with disputes. This solution not only automated a previously manual and time-consuming process but also ensured the continuity of operations during a challenging period.

Operational Impact

The implementation of AssistEdge RPA bots brought about significant operational improvements for the client. Despite reduced staff accessibility to internal system infrastructure due to remote working, the client was able to proceed with invoice processing without any disruptions. The automation of the process eliminated the need for staff to log onto customer websites, saving valuable time. The bots enabled teams to resolve customer invoice disputes quickly and provided information on collectable invoices sooner. This efficiency reduced the cycle time, which in turn improved the client's cash flow. The solution also improved the visibility of invoice disputes, allowing the client to manage them more effectively.

Quantitative Benefit

Improved visibility of invoice disputes of up to $10M
Eliminated the time spent logging onto customer websites
Reduced cycle time, which helped save on Daily Sales Outstanding, improving client’s cash flow