This company, a global leader in pharmaceutical glass packaging, has chosen the BuyCo platform to manage its container shipments. With this tool, the freight forwarding teams can prepare and track shipments while facilitating collaboration with freight forwarders.
The existing integration between the SAP ERP system and BuyCo automates the receipt of shipping requests. With the addition of a return interface, information flows from BuyCo back to the ERP, which fosters collaboration between the chartering, accounting, and finance teams, thereby improving revenue recognition and invoicing processes. The benefits are significant: reduced workload, better management, greater visibility for finance teams, and optimized customer relationships.
Automation helps speed up the pace of revenue recognition
This project was launched under the leadership of the Chief Financial Officer to accelerate the pace of revenue recognition. The goal is twofold: to reduce the time spent by the accounting and chartering teams verifying each file by automating tasks, and to expedite the monthly revenue reporting process to enhance the group’s financial analysis capabilities.
Thanks to the integration of BuyCo with SAP, this company has shifted from quarterly to monthly revenue recognition. Previously, the chartering teams had to manually verify all shipments at the end of each month. With this integration, the information essential for allocating revenue to a calendar period—typically the shipment date or delivery date, depending on the Incoterms—is automatically transmitted to the accounting teams, significantly reducing the need to verify several hundred line items.
This integration of information systems makes it possible to extend the use of an operational tool to areas that are not directly connected, particularly finance.
The impact on the company is significant: the pace of financial analysis has accelerated, the pressure on the accounting and chartering teams to review records has been reduced, and revenue reporting—which used to take place on Day 3 after the end of the month—is now completed on Day 2.
Expanded Collaboration to Improve the Billing Process
For billing purposes, it is mandatory to invoice any product shipped as soon as it leaves the factory. However, fluctuations in shipping times have sometimes caused certain invoices to become due before the goods were even delivered. This has led to some issues with certain customers. This situation also requires the finance team to manually reprocess many files.
Thanks to BuyCo’s integration with the ERP system, invoice due dates are automatically recalculated based on the actual delivery date provided by BuyCo. Traceability is maintained by retaining the original due date for reference. The accuracy of the recalculation (actual delivery date + contractual payment terms) enables effective cash flow management and ensures that collection actions are initiated only when warranted.
Benefits for the company:
- Improved customer relations through more precise management of payment terms.
- Greater visibility for finance teams, who can now anticipate payments and manage any payment delays caused by late deliveries.
- A reduction in manual work for finance teams, who no longer need to verify payment discrepancies in order to justify them.
This comprehensive project, supported by the CEO and led by the Chief Financial Officer of this market-leading company, reinforces BuyCo’s position as a strategic tool that goes beyond the operational management of container freight to provide real added value to the finance and sales teams.
