Serving up big savings
How we helped Aramark to control a flood of paperwork
Aramark is a market leader in food services and facility management, with a global turnover of $15B. In Ireland, Aramark operates hundreds of food service outlets including major attractions such as the Guinness Storehouse.
Each Aramark location orders its own ingredients and supplies, which are paid for centrally. This process used to require thousands of paper invoices to move around the country for approval and payment. All this manual handling led to lost and forgotten invoices, delayed payments, and poor visibility of the financial position.
The Solution
We delivered a custom solution that receives invoices electronically from Aramark’s suppliers. Managers all over the country approve within a web based application. The invoices are then fed into Aramark’s accounting system via our custom integration with Oracle Financials.
The system automates much of the work, such as assigning GL codes and allocating invoices. When manual intervention is required, such as when new units and codes are added, the system learns so that it can automate more work in the future.
Apart from saving time and effort, the system also enforces Aramark’s business rules. This ensures that the correct workflow is followed and the process is fully auditable.
The Result
The system processes millions of euro of invoices for Aramark every month. It has proven to be an excellent investment, with benefits including:
- Accounts Payable saves an enormous amount of money and staff time.
- Errors are eliminated as paper is no longer lost or overlooked, and processes are automated.
- Managers save time and avoid errors because piles of paperwork have been eliminated.
- Suppliers are paid promptly and accurately.
- Management has real time visibility of the nationwide financial position, no longer waiting weeks for invoices to appear in the accounts.
Philip Fischer, Chief Information Officer at Aramark, says “The team pays attention to detail, and follows a process. Dovetail consistently delivers successful outcomes – on time and within budget.”
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