After a major Williston Basin petroleum firm upgraded to a comprehensive deployment of Tero Azzier, firm management wasn’t certain it was using all the Azzier modules to their fullest potential. Stakeholders felt the Azzier Purchasing Module in particular was being underutilized. Workflow inefficiencies were also a challenge and issues arose during the invoicing and payment processes.
Before beginning issue resolution, Tero representatives evaluated the current workflow and determined that inefficient vendor interfaces and activities could be hampering achievement of the client’s goals. In the current scenario, information flowed from the Azzier Accounts database, which is maintained within the Administration module, to the existing procurement solution that automated the purchase-to-pay process. From there, the procurement software provided input to the accounts payable (A/P) solution.
Azzier experts found that having the procurement solution as an intermediary between Azzier and the A/P platform was negatively impacting processing workflow. Further complicating the issue, external vendor responses regarding compatibility issues had not always been immediate, resulting in resolution delays and client frustration.
Azzier Purchasing: A Practical Solution
Tero experts reintroduced the Azzier Purchasing module to the client with a discussion of its full capabilities and a recommendation that the Tero team deploy it to integrate the company’s entire procurement workflow. The Tero training staff also coached the client’s purchasing department to facilitate their use of the new interface between the purchasing department, Azzier and the A/P solution. These preparatory efforts enabled Tero experts to proceed with custom interface development.
The Tero team subsequently developed a custom material transfer (MT) capability within the client’s Azzier deployment. The MT function feeds reports to the client’s purchasing group, facilitating PO generation. Once created, POs automatically flow to the Azzier Purchasing module which transmits the information to the A/P platform. From there the A/P function automates compliance and reconciliation of invoices with purchase orders (POs) and pricing contracts.
Success Metrics Measured in Savings
The streamlined interface created an end-to-end workflow and optimized PO and invoice reconciliation processes for the client. With maintenance, inventory/storerooms, and purchasing departments all under a unified system with Azzier, the firm also eliminated complexity, boosted efficiency and gained much greater operational effectiveness throughout the enterprise. Furthermore, leveraging the Azzier Purchasing module empowered the firm to discontinue use of the prior procurement solution and its extraneous database, resulting in savings for the client.
Although the initial implementation was delayed by a few weeks, the Tero team sprang into action as soon as they were able to do so. They implemented and ran both the MT and interface deployments, including changes, in just over five business days. The client was highly appreciative of the extra effort and expedited timeline, telling Tero project managers that other software companies had taken nearly a month in the past to perform the same operations.
