Using SAP to Manage Fixed Assets, and How Stampli Can Help

Some businesses require a large investment in fixed assets, and managers need to closely monitor asset use. Manufacturers, for example, must plan for fixed asset repairs and replacement, in order to maintain production and fill customer orders. SAP provides a number of ERP solutions to analyze fixed asset use and to make informed decisions.

SAP software automates a number of tasks, but accounts payable automation may still require manual work. Stampli has enhanced its pre-built integration for SAP, giving users the ability to optimize their accounts payable via Stampli’s AP Automation platform.

Stampli has developed next-gen, pre-built bridge integrations between SAP ECC, R/3, S/4 HANA, & Business Suite. SAP side programs and transports are included in the integration package so no additional SAP development is required for customers. Use the enhanced Stampli platform for an industry-leading seamless integration.

In this webinar, “Transform Your AP Processes with SAP ERP & Stampli”, you’ll learn how you can leverage SAP to streamline invoice processing and payments with the most powerful AP Automation platform on the market.

Maintaining and replacing fixed assets is expensive, and well-managed businesses need systems to monitor fixed assets.

Fixed Asset Challenges: An Example

Assume that Reliable Plumbing provides residential and commercial plumbing services in the Chicago area. Reliable operates a fleet of 50 trucks, and each truck is loaded with plumbing suppliers and equipment. The business is growing rapidly, and management is considering the purchase of an ERP system.

Understanding the current process

Reliable’s truck fleet includes different truck makes and models, and each purchase date is different. In addition, the total number of miles driven each year can vary greatly, depending on how the dispatcher assigns customer calls to drivers. When a customer calls, the dispatcher assigns the job to the closest available truck. During busy days, an available truck may be 5-10 miles from the customer.

All of these factors impact how often a truck requires maintenance. 

The operations manager maintains a spreadsheet that lists each truck’s make, model, purchase date, and total miles driven. Each plumber is required to provide total odometer miles at the end of each month, so that the spreadsheet can be updated. However, odometer information is frequently not provided, and the operations manager does not follow up to get updated mileage for each truck.

Reliable plans frequent oil changes for each truck, and other basic maintenance. However, the operations manager does not closely follow the suggested maintenance schedule for each truck, and the truck fleet requires repairs that could be avoided with more frequent maintenance.

Dealing with higher costs

Reliable Plumbing’s process for truck maintenance results in higher repair costs, and more unplanned downtime. The company maximizes revenue by keeping all of its plumbers out on calls, and truck repairs decrease sales and profits. If customers cannot receive service quickly, they may call a competitor.

SAP offers an automated solution for managing fixed assets.

The SAP Solution

SAP uses Internet of things (IoT) technology to provide vehicle data tracking. As SAP explains: “Transportation company tracking vehicle GPS locations to optimize vehicle utilization is a typical business case. IoT framework can be implemented to collect and digest vital sensor data from engine, tires, transmission system and utilized to predict vehicle failure.” 

This same technology can be applied to machinery and equipment, which allows managers to properly maintain fixed assets, and to adjust production schedules, if needed.

SAP solves the fixed asset management problem by providing timely information to decision makers, and Stampli helps SAP users to maximize their ERP investment.

Maximize Your ERP Investment

Businesses that don’t fully leverage technology to automate accounts payable face a number of challenges. Using Stampli allows companies to automate the invoice coding process, speed up invoice approvals, and make communication and collaboration simple for all invoice stakeholders. In this podcast episode, Jeff Cross, CFO at BrandMaker, explains that automation is a tool that allows a business to scale.

The typical state of AP processing

Many companies operate in an AP environment that is paper-intensive, and inefficient. Here are some of the invoice processing challenges AP teams may encounter:

• Receiving invoices: There is no centralized location to receive invoices, and the data may get lost or sent to the wrong person.
• Matching and coding invoice data: It’s difficult to gather records and to match invoice, purchase order (PO), and shipping receipt data. Without automation, coding takes far more time, and there’s a higher risk of error.
• Keeping invoice stakeholders aligned: The AP team must provide data to the approvers, and the data is transferred by sending hardcopy documents or email attachments. As a result, information may be lost or filed incorrectly. The business does not have a central communication hub where all related questions and answers can be reviewed by stakeholders. Information is siloed, and communication is slow and difficult.  

Added complexity makes invoice management even more challenging. Think about businesses that operate through multiple subsidiaries, or staff dozens of locations. Invoice data may include coding for a particular company division, office location, or business unit. 

Processing more invoice data using an inefficient process leads to more errors and bottlenecks. Vendors are paid late, and managers don’t have accurate data on the number or dollar amount of unpaid invoices.

The SAP pre-built integration with Stampli was enhanced to help anyone who touches invoices at your business – from purchasers to AP staff to approvers – enjoy a streamlined AP processing experience. This allows AP teams to stay organized, in control, efficient, and synchronized. 

Benefits of Stampli + SAP integration

Businesses that have previously been crushed by never-ending AP paperwork and high communications overhead can now enjoy the paperless efficiency of Stampli AP automation for SAP ECC, R3, S4HANA, and Business Suite. This comes with many company benefits:

• Your SAP data is kept behind the firewall
• Stampli syncs with your SAP data, so that both systems are constantly updated
• Stampli’s AP Automation solution adapts to your processes, and allows the business to scale

AP automation that works directly alongside your SAP processes and transactions

Your SAP data is the single source of truth for your transactions, and we know that data is critical to understanding how the business is performing. It’s even more important that your data stays safe and secure. Data is synced via Stampli’s Bridge, with no external Business API access required. This process creates a seamless integration using a bi-directional data sync.

Stampli provides a sync of SAP data, including GL, vendors, POs, and custom fields. Replicating all of your SAP data speeds up the coding process, and invoices sync to SAP once they are approved and authorized. 

We ensure that every customer has a tight-knit integration, and our dedicated customer success team will help you every step of the way. 

Flexibility to match your unique processing needs

Whatever your organizational structure looks like, we’re ready for you. You can set up and change approval workflows to meet your needs, including workflows with multiple approvers. 

Stampli’s AP Automation software solution uses Artificial Intelligence technology — Billy the Bot — to automate AP invoice processing and learns an organization’s unique patterns to simplify GL-coding, automate approval notifications, identify duplicates and more. Finally, Stampli will process both POs and non-PO invoices. 

Streamlining communications

Reduce inefficiencies by streamlining communications between anyone involved with your invoices including managers, purchasers, the AP staff, and vendors. Our built-in communication tools make it so there are no more back-and-forths, run-arounds, rabbit-holes, or communication loop-de-loops. 

Full visibility into invoice status & activities with Stampli Insights

Gain full visibility into your accounts payable data with Stampli Insights. Built directly into the most powerful AP Automation platform, AP teams are provided with all the tools to understand their invoice processes, each invoice’s status, employee workloads, and more.

Finally, Stampli Direct Pay, and Stampli Card help businesses to closely monitor expenses and avoid shadow spend.

Don’t Just Manage Spend, Control It

Stampli’s end-to-end AP platform gives you full control and visibility over all your corporate spending from invoices to cards to payments—all in one place. Customer delight positions Stampli as the Leader in the G2 Grid® for AP Automation software and #1 in Usability, Support, Implementation, and Results for Fall of 2022.

To find out more about Stampli’s pre-built SAP pre-built integration, send a note to our team here to get the ball rolling. We’d love to tell you more about the Stampli + SAP integration. Or, if you’re still exploring you can learn how Stampli works with SAP here. Take control over invoice and bill processing with smart, intuitive, and actionable AP Automation from Stampli.