Finance Directors in the NHS are constantly looking for ways to improve efficiencies in the financial supply
chain process. Incumbent financial systems are often paper-based, requiring considerable manual input, that is
both time consuming and costly.
A number of NHS Trusts have implemented e-procurement solutions, which go some way to improve the
situation by saving time and reducing costs in the purchasing process. However the real benefits of automation
only become significant when an EIPP (Electronic Invoicing Presentment and Payment) system is employed,
enabling the entire purchase-to-pay and order-to-cash cycles to take place online.
EIPP solutions replace paper processes and work alongside existing systems to improve automation and lower
costs, without compromising the quality of customer service. They allow suppliers and buyers to exchange
financial documents online and manage the processing of these documents quickly and securely. The benefits
of using an EIPP system include improved cash-flow visibility, real-time document management and faster
settlement.
However, there are key questions to be considered by Finance Directors and Project Managers when
developing a business case for EIPP. This article hopes to answer three of the most common questions, with
the overall aim of discussing important issues such as EIPP implementation, benefits and roll-out across the
supply chain