New Aberdeen Group Report Identifies Key AP Process Strategies to Enhance Supplier Relationships and Improve Cash Flow

Business Wire, Oct 21, 2008

Research Confirms Best-in-Class Companies Achieve Dramatically Lower Invoice Processing Costs, Greater Discount Capture and Cash Availability

BEDFORD, Mass. -- 170 Systems, a worldwide leader in automating Finance processes, today announced that complimentary copies of the Aberdeen Group benchmark report entitled "The E-Payables Benchmark Series: A/P Strategies for Success" are available for downloading from the 170 Systems website.

For this report, Aberdeen evaluated over 450 enterprises to determine the key strategies and practices that characterize best-in-class Accounts Payable operations. The research confirmed that how a company manages its Accounts Payable processing has a significant effect on two of the most critical business concerns: cash flow and supplier relationships. The report highlights the importance of AP process automation, using e-payables solutions such as 170 MarkView and 170 MarkView Advisor, for reducing costs, improving cash flow, and optimizing relationships with suppliers -- all of which can materially affect the ability of a company to survive in today's challenging and volatile markets.

The report tracked two key performance criteria to distinguish Best-in-Class enterprises: overall cost to process a single invoice (from receipt through settlement) and overall time to process a single invoice (from receipt until payment is scheduled). Research found that automating Accounts Payable processes has allowed Best-in-Class enterprises to realize invoice processing costs that are 94% lower than all other enterprises, as well as achieve invoice processing cycle times that are 88% faster.

Best-in-Class companies also have significantly lower rates of late payments, achieve greater capture of discounts and rebates, and enjoy greater cash availability.

Allen Carney, Vice President of Marketing at 170 Systems, commented, "170 Systems has helped more than 200 of the world's largest companies manage hundreds of billions of dollars in critical financial transactions each year and achieve the best-in-class results detailed in the Aberdeen study. For years, our single focus has been to provide end-to-end solutions for AP process performance optimization, streamlining processes, integrating ERP and real-time data, and enhancing the ability of our customers to make critical financial decisions. Aberdeen's benchmark study provides actionable recommendations for Finance executives to achieve sustainable best-in-class AP process performance and dramatic benefits to their overall business."

"Accounts payable operations continue to present one of the most compelling opportunities for improvement through process automation within the typical enterprise," said Andrew Bartolini, vice president of global supply management research, Aberdeen Group. "And, as more A/P departments continue to drive significant performance improvement while gaining a greater ability to evaluate their operations and the overall impact they can have on the larger enterprise, momentum for A/P transformation will continue."

About 170 Systems

170 Systems develops best-of-breed financial process applications that are the foundation for world-class Finance operations in onshore, offshore, centralized, and shared services organizations. Designed to complement the ERP's transactional core, 170 MarkView automates end-to-end financial processes with consistent best practices that leverage the latest technologies., 170 MarkView users enjoy reduced operational costs, improved productivity, visibility, quality and enforcement of internal controls, while providing the best user experience for all participants in Finance processes. Applications in the 170 MarkView Financial Suite include Accounts Payable, Expense Management, Procurement, Accounts Receivable, Asset Management, General Ledger, and Project Re-Billing. Complementing these is 170 MarkView Advisor, an innovative new financial process performance application specifically designed to give Finance executives a comprehensive view of AP process performance and enable immediate intervention to resolve potential issues such as "bottlenecks," resource distribution, and controls violations.

For more information about 170 Systems, please call 781.743.1900 (North America), +44 0208 610 6009 (other regions) or visit www.170systems.com.

Trademarks

170 Systems and 170 MarkView are trademarks of 170 Systems.