Visão geral
The company is one of the five largest ethanol producers in North America, operating about a dozen ethanol plants in the Midwest. It also markets and distributes ethanol for independent third party producers. As the company grew through acquisition and joint ventures, the accounts payable process became fragmented by company. Each entity was served by the same vendors, who might have different pricing, shipment, and payment terms. The result was process opacity, duplicate invoices and payments, and an overall lack of control.
The solution
One reference for every entity
mindzie Studio consolidated accounts payable process views across more than a dozen entities, providing a single reference of payment terms, invoice approvals, and process flow. Proactive notification of approaching discount expirations and scheduled early payments provided actionable insights to improve working capital.
Benefícios
Consolidation, working capital, and control
Almost $2M recovered
The company increased working capital by almost $2M by eliminating the on average 7 day early payment of more than 4,800 invoices per year.
960 duplicates found in one year
With little cross entity visibility, vendors would inadvertently send duplicate invoices to multiple entities. The company found and remediated 960 duplicate invoices in one year.
Standardized process execution
All entities now approve and pay invoices in a consistent manner, leading to improved payment timeliness and efficiency.
Discounts and early payments flagged
Proactive notifications of approaching discount expirations and scheduled early payments keep working capital decisions in front of the team.
The outcome
By standardizing accounts payable across every entity, the company captured discounts, eliminated duplicate payments, and improved working capital by almost $2M, with monitoring and alerts that keep the process consistent as the business continues to grow.
