Case Study

Fits like a glove: Invoice CENTER at Zumtobel Group

When automating invoice processing, it's not always necessary to adapt the system to a company's internal business processes in minute detail. A simpler solution is sometimes in order. In many cases, a standard product is all that is required for qualified, convenient and efficient invoice processing. The Austrian Zumtobel Group is an example for this. Zumtobel deployed Invoice CENTER for SAP ^® without extensive customization.

The Company

The Zumtobel Group employs world-wide approximately 7,000 employees. The company develops and sells under the international brand Thorn and Zumtobel Staff luminaries, lighting controls and complex light solutions for the professional lighting as well as under the brand TridonicAtco lighting components, connection technology and LED light sources and modules. For the processing of invoices from external partners, Zumtobel has been using Invoice CENTER for SAP for a short time. In the first stage, the solution was implemented for Zumtobel in Austria; various international sales organizations and production sites are due to follow.

The Solution

At present, Invoice CENTER for SAP processes around 50,000 commercial invoices a year. Ultimately, around 70,000 will be handled at two locations. Zumtobel chose the Invoice CENTER for SAP standard and found that it fit like a glove. The existing SAP Business WorkflowT controls Invoice CENTER and monitors the entire digital invoice analysis process in the accountspayable department. First, invoices are scanned and immediately placed in the attached IXOS archive (early archiving). Next, the SAP Business Workflow sends the digital documents to the DOKuStar document analysis application which recognizes and extracts the invoice data.

The data is automatically compared to the supplier database for order-related invoices. The workflow sends incomplete or otherwise invalid invoices to a validation workstation where an employee completes the data manually. The SAP workflow automatically sends invoices subject to approval to the Invoice Cycle which monitors the approval process. The cycle returns to the initiating clerk after each processing step. Zumtobel thus chose the singlestage ad hoc workflow, one of the options for Invoice CENTER for SAP.

The Benefits

Thanks to the architecture of Invoice CENTER for SAP and the Invoice Cycle ad hoc workflow, the company soon realized what little effort the processing, approval and posting of invoices entailed. As a consequence, Zumtobel restructured its internal approval process, adapting it step-by-step to the software's approval workflow - an approach contrary to the general trend. Nevertheless, it illustrates how a carefully designed product based on a wealth of experience and proven components can help streamline an enterprise's internal processes. Zumtobel is saving time and money as a result!

All company and product names are registered trademarks.

Related Documents

Case Study "Zumtobel" (English - PDF)
Case Study "Zumtobel" (Deutsch - PDF)