Reducing Order To Cash Cycle Times: A Step-By-Step Guide
IMPROVE AR AUTOMATION SOFTWARE
With the onset of digital and e-commerce, businesses have to manage increasingly complex finances and accounts. Long order to cash cycles have been commonplace even though they costs companies time, money and resources. Automating order to cash processes can significantly improve efficiency and reduce cycle times. This guide will provide simple steps to streamline the order to cash cycle times using dedicated automated solution.
Aiming to reduce order to cash cycles, managers and executives must first understand their current processes and ask the appropriate questions. What are the touch points in the current cycle? Where do operations slow down and bottleneck? How could internal processes be optimized, digitized and automated? Determining the shortcomings and inefficiencies of the current order to cash cycle will provide good starting point for further automation and optimization.
After having established which processes require optimization and automation, it is critical to decide which solutions best fit the business’ needs. By keeping the business’ objectives and requirements in focus, executives can systematically evaluate potential solutions and identify the features which are the most advantageous for their operations. Developing non-negotiable feature list should be an important part of the decision-making process.
Once suitable Order to Cash solution is identified, executives should consider the implementation timeline, training and support. Does the vendor offer documentation, online demos, tutorials and/or white papers? How long does the installation process take? Do the processes need to be entirely redesigned or can their existing ERP and/or accounting system be integrated? step-by-step evaluation and simultaneous deployment of solution can provide the best value and ultimately lead to the quickest turnaround.
Post-implementation, the company must monitor and optimize the Order to Cash solution and its performance. This involves tracking the metrics and KPIs, looking out for potential errors, keeping stakeholders informed and continuously trying to improve the process. To maintain optimum performance and have lasting, positive impact on the business, executives must also assess their solution?s scalability and flexibility. Are the needs of the business met in the current version? Are the companies requirements likely to change and if so, can the solution handle them?
In conclusion, reducing order to cash cycle times requires an array of steps. With an automated solution that is tailored to companies needs and requirements, executives can drive efficiency and reduce costs within the order to cash process.
