Streamlined invoice processing and reduced returns with a scalable, automated and connected solution.

Challenge

A US-based space rocket manufacturer was manually processing thousands of invoices per month, ranging from five line items to upwards of 10,000 line items. Its current system required teams of supply chain experts to review various documents to maintain a high degree of accuracy. Compliance with ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) required that some ERP systems be separated and kept in secure networks. Consequently, data needed to be synced across multiple systems, and the data flow had to integrate with many different applications.

Solution

We investigated many off-the-shelf solutions, but most were not fit for purpose due to ITAR requirements. Therefore, we and the client agreed to develop a bespoke solution using the AWS GOV cloud. This solution utilized AWS Lambda together with two open-source libraries that we used for character recognition. This approach was then integrated with existing ERP systems to achieve full invoice processing automation. We designed a serverless application that is highly scalable and could be quickly deployed within minutes of feature updates being completed. By utilizing AWS serverless services, including AWS Lambda, CloudFormation, EC2, and Sagemaker, all infrastructure was represented as code, and a fully automated build and deployment process was developed. This serverless architecture meant the client only had to pay for code execution, eliminating the need for server maintenance.

Results

The proof of concept involved over 10,000 invoices and showed that the client would see a 55% decrease in invoice and worksheet returns.  It also showed that monthly processing times for work assemblies would be reduced by 10% due to increased efficiencies in JIT processing. The use of the serverless application and integration with existing ERP systems helped streamline invoice processing, and significantly improved accuracy and efficiency. The proof of concept laid the groundwork for a scalable and automated process that would enable the client to reduce manual intervention and concentrate on their core operations.