Philips Powers Productivity in Latin America
Since the introduction of its first light bulb in 1891, Philips has grown into a global, diversified technology company focused on improving lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of healthcare, consumer lifestyle and lighting. In order for Philips to enhance its presence in Latin America, efficient logistics, distribution and supply chain operations were critical to success. However, the strict regulatory environment in this area of the world requires all businesses to comply with strict e-invoicing processes or risk facing operational shut downs, supply chain delays and severe fines and penalties. Any oversight in accounts payable or accounts receivable processes can greatly impact overall business operations.
Compounding the compliance challenge, regulations in this region change frequently, requiring recurrent updates to invoicing, AP, shipping and receiving processes that strained Philips’ global architecture and IT. It required stability to manage day-to-day business needs, along with agility when time-sensitive changes are necessary.
Although Philips already had an integrated e-invoicing solution within its ERP system, in its quest for innovation, Alexandre Quinze, CIO and Head of Operational Excellence for Philips Latin America, decided to analyze alternative solutions when Brazil required a new upgrade to streamline these critical change-management processes.
Because any errors in Latin American compliance can bring operations to a halt, literally preventing trucks from leaving the warehouse or being turned around upon delivery, automated compliance and strong contingencies are critical in keeping Philips’ business moving in Latin America.
Ultimately, Quinze selected Invoiceware International for e-invoicing and compliance management.
“The solution provides automatic contingency, and this gives our business peace of mind. Also, the solution does not require internal maintenance, removing the need for our internal resources to manage related support and maintenance tasks,” he explains.
The benefits of the transition quickly became apparent. “We had an 80 percent reduction in our costs from deploying the Invoiceware solution,” says Quinze.
Philips is now able to manage compliance while increasing productivity within its supply chain, resulting in internal efficiencies, including the ability to redeploy resources across core business functions. The productivity of Philips Brazilian business users is directly linked to the availability and reliability of its compliance solution. By transitioning to Invoiceware, Philips achieved a 25 percent increase in productivity among employees across all business units of the Brazilian multinational.
Ultimately, leveraging business-to-government compliance as a service not only reduced costs for Philips, but also significantly improved productivity. Now, Philips Latin American finance and IT teams can allocate their time to critical issues and focus on the innovation for which Philips is known.
Compounding the compliance challenge, regulations in this region change frequently, requiring recurrent updates to invoicing, AP, shipping and receiving processes that strained Philips’ global architecture and IT. It required stability to manage day-to-day business needs, along with agility when time-sensitive changes are necessary.
Although Philips already had an integrated e-invoicing solution within its ERP system, in its quest for innovation, Alexandre Quinze, CIO and Head of Operational Excellence for Philips Latin America, decided to analyze alternative solutions when Brazil required a new upgrade to streamline these critical change-management processes.
Because any errors in Latin American compliance can bring operations to a halt, literally preventing trucks from leaving the warehouse or being turned around upon delivery, automated compliance and strong contingencies are critical in keeping Philips’ business moving in Latin America.
Ultimately, Quinze selected Invoiceware International for e-invoicing and compliance management.
“The solution provides automatic contingency, and this gives our business peace of mind. Also, the solution does not require internal maintenance, removing the need for our internal resources to manage related support and maintenance tasks,” he explains.
The benefits of the transition quickly became apparent. “We had an 80 percent reduction in our costs from deploying the Invoiceware solution,” says Quinze.
Philips is now able to manage compliance while increasing productivity within its supply chain, resulting in internal efficiencies, including the ability to redeploy resources across core business functions. The productivity of Philips Brazilian business users is directly linked to the availability and reliability of its compliance solution. By transitioning to Invoiceware, Philips achieved a 25 percent increase in productivity among employees across all business units of the Brazilian multinational.
Ultimately, leveraging business-to-government compliance as a service not only reduced costs for Philips, but also significantly improved productivity. Now, Philips Latin American finance and IT teams can allocate their time to critical issues and focus on the innovation for which Philips is known.