Digital transformation and market trends continue to disrupt businesses and the finance department, order to cash (O2C) processes in particular. Today, repetitive, rule-based O2C tasks such as cash application can be fully automated using the latest technologies like robotic process automation (RPA). Other O2C processes will be able to use machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to revolutionize risk assessment, visibility, reporting, and customer engagement in the near future. In fact, intelligent automation already offers many cost saving possibilities and benefits. For instance, in accounts receivable (AR) management, some solutions in the market are able to reach automation rates of up to 99% in matching incoming payments and open items. In credit management, other solutions are able to reduce customer onboarding process time by up to 90% and reduce DSO by 50 to 60%. However, even if automation rates in O2C reach unprecedented highs, many credit and AR teams are still struggling with inefficiencies caused by decentralized information, insufficiently staffed teams and highly manual processes.
