CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
19 May 2005
Product News
Open Text Introduces New ECM Offerings for SAP® Solutions
Open TextT Corporation announced it is introducing a new accounts payable application that helps customers optimize vendor invoice processing, and integration of its collaboration software with its portfolio of data and document management software for SAP® solutions. Open Text announced the news at the AIIM ON DEMAND 2005 Conference underway this week in Philadelphia. Open Text is exhibiting in booth #512.
The Accounts Payable application, called Vendor Invoice Management (VIM), offers a complete, end-to-end solution for optimizing vendor invoice processes in SAP solutions, with built-in reporting and analytics that can be used to continuously improve processes. VIM brings capabilities that help customers reduce costs, while improving cash management and compliance with corporate governance regulations.
At the front-end, VIM automates the handling of incoming invoices. Once invoices are routed into SAP solutions, VIM can improve the handling of invoice exceptions by applying more than 20 best-practice workflows for invoice exceptions such as missing goods receipts, incorrect pricing and incorrect tax. The invoice approval function in VIM provides Web-based coding and approval by users working either inside or outside an SAP solution, and provides complete tracking and visibility as well as escalations, for timely invoice approvals. A vendor self-service component of VIM allows vendors to submit invoices, or check the status of invoices or purchase orders, online.
Open Text's integration of its collaboration software with its Livelink ECM for SAP solutions brings team workspaces and other collaboration tools together with more structured, process-oriented solutions that store, manage, retrieve and archive documents from solutions such as mySAPT ERP Financials and mySAP ERP Human Capital Management.
For customers, these combined capabilities extend SAP solutions with collaboration functions, adding value to structured processes and improving productivity. Users of SAP solutions gain new ways to collaborate with each other and access information, allowing them, for example, to establish enterprise-wide project workspaces for users that support processes in SAP solutions. The workspaces are accessible from either the SAP user interface or a Web browser.
Those working in Livelink ECM can also easily access SAP solution-based documents and include this content in project workspaces and other online collaboration. For example, a collaborative workspace to manage projects now shows all documents related to a project, including incoming invoice documents from the SAP solution and corresponding invoice approval process steps. This enables the project leader to then compare spending with budget requirements, and to collaborate with colleagues in the SAP accounts payable application.
"Simply put, we're taking another important step to break down the walls between people and the information they need to be productive," said Michael Heckner, Senior Director for Enterprise Application Extension Solutions at Open Text. "With our newest offerings for SAP solutions, invoices, orders or other documents are combined with documents in Livelink ECM Solutions, and are instantly accessible as users collaborate online. This allows customers to group logically related information from different applications in one place, and have a cross-system, process-centered view of content. Everything runs on a single document platform for optimal flexibility and reduced Total Cost of Ownership."
Open Text is an SAP Software Partner. For more information on Open Text's solutions that support SAP software solutions, go to: http://www.opentext.com/products/sap/
Become a member of the CIMdata PLM Community to receive your daily PLM news and much more.
Tell us what you think of the CIMdata Newsletter. Send your feedback.
CIMdata is committed to your privacy. Your personal information will never be sold or shared outside of CIMdata without your express permission.