Supply Chain Finance and Payables Discount Management (SCF/DM) initiatives need a framework to ensure that programs are approached on a strategic basis that bridges both the Supply Chain and Finance organizations. PayStream’s analysts are working on such a framework to help enterprises implement an “integrated” Supply Chain Program, and have created the Eight Building Blocks of SCF/DM framework to get our clients started. Just as a map helps you understand the context of your journey (the roads you need to navigate and alternative routes), so the SCF/DM framework helps enterprises make decisions about the best route and objectives for their situation.

To build on this theme, PayStream will host an educational conference “Supply Chain Finance - Discount Management Summit” in June 2008 to bring together supply chain and finance executives to explore the future opportunities in working capital. The theme of this year’s SCF conference is Uncovering Working Capital…

I am pleased to announce that the White Paper for PayStream’s upcoming Imaging and Workflow Report is now available in our Research Library. This whitepaper presents an overview of IWA technologies, makes a case for adopting IWA solutions, and also presents a preview of what will be available in the full report. The full IWA Technology Insight Report will detail accounts payable automation, with particular attention to the exciting new IWA technologies available to AP, such as “straight-through processing,” enterprise content management, advanced analytics, on-line Vendor Portals, and Invoice Receipt and Capture.

Read the Press Release here.

The upcoming report will be the third go-around PayStream has had in providing our research on the IWA market to those looking to automate their workplaces and transform them into paperless environments. As such, PayStream has a lot of experience with this technology, and I am privileged to be drawing on that…

Here are some highlights from a press release we at Metafile recently put together to show that, although the advantages of document management, workflow and einvoicing are evident every day, if you are now dealing with paper-based year-end duties, your holidays are not near as jolly as they should be.

Metafile, a content management firm dedicated to providing streamlined financial innovations, is helping firms avoid the mad scramble of a year end spent locating and gathering all documents necessary to adequately close out their books.

The lack of workflow automation solutions, in most instances, will equate into a significant loss of Days Working Capital (DWC) for all too many firms (and a significant loss of holiday cheer for many AP Managers!).

“The mad dash stemming from closing out the books at year end is a symptom of something much greater,” states Jim Mandt, Metafile’s VP of Technical Support….

Every Supply Chain executive can tell you that sourcing strategy, category depth of expertise, negotiation prowess, and procurement execution are the critical components of a highly effective supply management initiative. If everyone knows the basics, why do we still see such an amazing opportunity in eProcurement? It’s all about visibility (or lack thereof) of procurment processes.

Lack of access to spend metrics and controlled processes has been a big block for many Source to Settlle process improvement efforts. The opportunity for the supply chain organization is enormous — combined with payables automation, it’s very enticing. Moreover, spend data is also vital for other business strategies, such as budgeting and planning, inventory control, and product development.

Data visibility is critical for identifying hard-dollar savings opportunities and developing sourcing, budgeting, planning, and product strategies. Most importantly, it is critical because with it, overall Spend Visibility will provide an important foundation for advanced strategic working…

“Ubiquitous Hospital Management System” - That sort of sums it all up doesn’t it? Healthcare is probably the most paper-filled industry that shouldn’t be.

NetSol and its partner are working towards the research and development of a ubiquitous Hospital Management System that will serve as an automated, secure and integrated solution for any hospital’s clinical, financial and management needs. This collaboration enables each party to complement the unique capabilities of the other and will provide pros…

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Check out PayStream’s new Technology Insight Report on Healthcare Document Imaging.

Travel Expense Management is definitely seeing a renewed interest due to government SoX standards, along with rising costs across the board and renewed urgency for business travel as electronic communication further underscores the importance of the face-to-face.

Concur says it’s bringing travel and expense management into the Web 2.0 era by connecting up online booking and expense claim settlement as an end-to-end process. But there’s more than one way to connect across those two components.

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Check out PayStream’s Travel Expense Management Technology Insight Series Report.

Really interesting article about SaaS’s influence on the financial automation software industry:

While speakers often referred to Salesforce.com as the ultimate example of a successful SaaS company, even they appeared surprised at the diversity of markets in which SaaS is gaining traction: procurement (Ariba), timesheets (Journyx), project management (BaseCamp) and now web design with SiteJourney.

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PayStream’s new Receivables and Collections Management and Interactive Collections Communications Technology Insight Reports discuss the rise of Software as a Service (SaaS) as platforms, beyond the current well known be beheamouth, Salesforce.com.