Esker, a worldwide leader in AI-driven document process automation solutions and pioneer in cloud computing, today announced that it has been selected by Groupe Lapeyre™, a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of home improvement building materials and subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, to automate its purchase-to-pay (P2P) cycle. This project supports Saint-Gobain’s overall strategy to automate its financial processes.
Groupe Lapeyre was looking to completely rethink the organisation of its accounts payable (AP) process, which was not only long and complex but also directly impacted the overall management of the company. Groupe Lapeyre receives 300,000 invoices annually in five different locations (company headquarters, shared services centre, Lapeyre stores and factory, KparK™ depot) from 8,000 suppliers. Prior to Esker, its average invoice processing and validation time varied between 30 and 45 days. The risk of late payment was significant and resulted in strained supplier relationships due to delivery delays, production blockages, etc. Additionally, the inability to track credit note requests put the company at risk for significant financial losses.
“We consulted six companies to automate our P2P cycle,” said Louis Parizot, Assistant Purchasing Director at Groupe Lapeyre. “We were won over by Esker’s ability to integrate with our SAP® system and their easy-to-use supplier portal. Our teams can now work from a single tool to exchange purchase orders (POs) and invoices with our suppliers — it’s 100-per cent automated. Also key was Esker’s mobile application, which allows our 500 approvers to instantly approve payments, wherever they are.”
