Cash is King: accelerate the Order-to-Cash Cycle with SAP BUSINESS ONE

There is an old cliché in business that says, “Cash is King”.  You can have amazing revenue figures on the books, but if they aren’t translating efficiently into cash in the bank, then business grinds to a halt.  It is the lifeblood of any business, and it makes the difference between sustainable long-term businesses that can handle fluctuations, and fly-by-night businesses. You simply have to be in control of the order-to-cash cycle.

What is the order-to-cash cycle (OTC)?

In its simplest form, the order-to-cash cycle describes the process from the time an order is received through to the time when the cash hits the bank account.  Typically, the process might look something like this:

Every step of this process involves different business functions including sales, operations, logistics, accounting, customer service, and more.  If it isn’t managed efficiently, then there are bound to be errors and bottlenecks that have a direct impact on your company’s cash flow and short-term continuity.

This is where integrated business management software shines.

How does SAP Business One streamline the OTC?

When a sophisticated ERP such as SAP Business One is implemented, you can leverage the power of the software to optimize and streamline your OTC to a significant degree.  Here are some key benefits to be aware of:

• Integrated Order Management. When you receive orders from multiple channels (e-commerce website, market places, EDI, account managers, customer service, etc.), you need a trusted system to effectively manage those orders and notify the relevant stakeholders as required.  A well-integrated ERP software helps to automate many of these processes so that employees across each section of the value chain can focus on the higher-value tasks, knowing that the system is managing the orders efficiently. This reduces bottlenecks and speeds up the whole process without sacrificing anything in terms of data quality.  In fact, data quality is improved because you aren’t relying on manual data entry anymore.
• Improved Inventory Visibility. When you’ve got a high-paced business with orders coming in left, right, and center, it is crucial that you have a good sense of your inventory levels at all times. You don’t want to accept orders for products that are out of stock and cause further delays. You want to be agile enough to adapt in real time to your inventory levels on the ground.  A sophisticated ERP like SAP Business One does this effortlessly, giving you inventory breakdowns in various forms so you can make the right decisions for your company and your customers instantaneously.
• Watertight Invoicing and Collection. Once you’ve done all the hard work of getting the order, make sure that the invoicing and collection doesn’t falter by automating these pieces of the process.  Research from the Aberdeen Group suggests that organizations that excel in their OTC only process 16.2% of their invoices manually.  A good ERP software streamlines both invoicing and collection, removing the need to chase down every customer.  You can just step in when needed to receive payment or address the anomalies.
• Automated Reporting. When it comes to monitoring cash flow position, your reporting tools need to provide timely and accurate information so you can make the right business decisions. As an integrated business software, SAP Business One will become the single source of truth for your small or medium business information, easily analyzed through the reporting module to give you actionable insights in the moment when you can do something about them (and for even more business intelligence (BI) capabilities, take a good look at N’Sight powered by Tableau).

It’s clear that the only way to optimize an OTC is to implement a unified data platform that can collate all the relevant information and automate processes to leverage your time and attention.  Once you adopt an ERP, such as SAP Business One – everything changes.

All of a sudden, you are controlling your cash cycle and taking your business to the next level, sustainably and with confidence.  It’s a game changer.

If you’re looking for some assistance in getting your business up to speed with this powerful technology, get in touch today.  We’d love to hear from you and see how we can help!