Manufacturing: Touchless AP with IDP (80% STP)
A global discrete manufacturer transformed Accounts Payable by combining Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) with RPA to achieve 80% straight‑through processing on PO and non‑PO invoices. The initiative cut cycle time by 52%, improved discount capture, and delivered audit‑ready logs for every posting, spanning multiple plants and a diverse supplier base.
Pain Points
- Highly variable invoice formats with frequent supplier layout changes.
- Manual 3‑way match against PO and GRN with inconsistent exception handling.
- Fragmented approval flows and poor visibility into aging invoices.
- Missed early‑payment discounts and duplicate detection gaps.
End‑to‑End Solution
The solution unifies capture, validation, match, and post. IDP models extract header and line items with confidence scores; bots validate vendor master, PO/GRN status, and tax rules; exceptions land in a single queue with ownership and turnaround metrics. Posting occurs via ERP adapters with rollback safety and complete traceability.
| Stage | Automation | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| Capture | Email inbox → IDP classify & extract | >95% field coverage at ≥0.9 confidence |
| Validate | Vendor, PO, GRN, tax rules | Early error detection; duplicates flagged |
| Match | 3‑way match with tolerances & line‑level variance | 80% STP; exceptions routed with context |
| Post | ERP adapter with rollback and logs | Audit‑ready; GL integrity preserved |
Business Impact
80%
STP rate
52%
faster cycle
100%
posting traceability
Controls & Governance
- Tolerance rules and segregation of duties (SoD) enforced by role.
- Exception SLAs with escalation paths and dashboarded visibility.
- Immutable logs with invoice images, approver, and posting reference.