Case Study
OU Health Processes More than 90% of their invoices without Human Touch
Introduction
The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, OU Health, is Oklahoma's major institution for training physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, public health specialists, and a wide range of allied health personnel. The organization has more than 1,200 full-time faculty, 4,000 staff, and 3,500 students at any given time. On top of that, OU Health offers exceptional care to more than one million patients a year. With so many moving parts, OU Health's goal has always been to improve efficiency.
The company had been using an AP Automation platform for several years to manage its accounts payable processes. However, they faced several challenges with their existing platform, including:
- Slow integration with their ERP system
- Payment errors
- Low recognition rates
- Minimal straight-through processing rates
OU Health decided to switch to Ascend AP Automation to address these challenges.
Challenges
Prior to switching to Ascend, OU Health's AP Automation platform had several limitations. The platform had a slow integration that sent over periodic batch updates with its ERP system, which led to delays in invoice processing, reporting, and payment. The platform's low recognition rates resulted in manual intervention and errors. Additionally, the platform produced a low straight-through processing rate, which meant that a significant portion of invoices required manual processing.
Solution
OU Health decided to switch to Ascend AP Automation to address the challenges they faced with their existing platform. Ascend offered several features that OU Health required, including real-time integration with their Workday financial management system and advanced OCR technology with high recognition rates with auto-coding of non-PO invoices. The Ascend platform also offered a higher straight-through processing rate in their SLA than their previous platform was currently producing, reducing the need for manual intervention.
Implementation
The implementation of Ascend was smooth, immediately at the launch OU Health witnessed higher performance than their previous provider was ever able to accomplish. The Ascend team worked closely with OU Health to ensure a seamless integration with their ERP system and to train their AP staff on using the new platform. As a result of the implementation, OU Health was able to automate 60% of their invoices at launch (3x that of their previous platform), significantly reducing the need for manual intervention.
Outcomes
The switch to Ascend AP Automation significantly impacted OU Health's accounts payable processes. The automation of invoice processing and payment led to a reduction in errors and improved efficiency. The higher accuracy rates and straight-through processing rate from Ascend reduced the need for 3 full-time AP staff to validate invoices to just a single employee for 20 hours a week.
Ascend has saved my team time and they are able to be more productive in other areas. Ascend also schedules a monthly meeting after go-live to review monthly metrics to ensure we are meeting our target goal and make recommendations accordingly.
- Elika H., Administration Manager Accounts Payable, OU Health
The real-time integration with Workday financial management provided OU Health with better visibility and control over its accounts payable processes.
Conclusion
The switch to Ascend AP Automation proved to be a game-changer for OU Health. The platform's advanced OCR technology, real-time integration with its ERP system, and higher straight-through processing rate led to significant cost savings and improved efficiency. The smooth implementation of Ascend, coupled with the platform's performance, led to a successful adoption by OU Health.