The deployment of an automated invoice processing solution for E-Commerce (EC) businesses is an urgent necessity to maintain liquidity, control operating expenditures (OPEX), and maximize profit in this rapidly growing industry. EC businesses operate on a large scale, with hundreds of thousands of transactions daily and diverse costs related to shipping, warehousing, and advertising. The complexity and colossal volume of input invoices make manual processes the biggest barrier, directly threatening financial accuracy and speed.
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Operational Reality: Challenges from Transaction Volume and Speed
The Finance and Accounting departments of EC businesses must process a large volume of input invoices related to the entire supply chain and logistics.
Massive and Fragmented Document Volume
EC businesses face the distinct challenge of small-scale purchasing but large-scale selling, leading to an enormous volume of input invoices requiring processing.
- Shipping and Logistics Costs: This is the largest and most complex expense. Businesses work with multiple carriers (e.g., last-mile delivery, cross-border shipping), each providing different statements and invoices, requiring reconciliation against thousands of successfully delivered orders.
- Platform and Advertising Costs: Invoices and statements from multiple EC platforms (e.g., commission fees, service fees) and digital advertising platforms (Facebook, Google) must be processed, each with different reporting formats and discounts.
- Cash Flow Speed: The EC industry demands fast payment speeds to suppliers and shipping partners to ensure the uninterrupted flow of goods. Lengthy manual invoice processing is the main cause of delays.
Strict Demand for Accuracy and Risk of Loss
A high demand for accuracy is mandatory to prevent fraud risks or manual human errors that lead to financial loss.
- Errors in Order Reconciliation: When matching shipping invoices with statements covering thousands of delivered orders, manual data entry or manual verification can easily lead to errors in package count, weight, or service fees, resulting in over- or underpayment to partners.
- Risk of Duplicate Payments: With a large volume of invoices from the same shipping provider in a month, the risk of duplicate payments for the same batch/statement is very high if an automated control mechanism is lacking.
- Search and Control Costs: Accountants spend a majority of their time just compiling and searching for documents from different channels, reducing the time available for analyzing gross profit by product or campaign.
Real-World Statistics: In a large EC business, the cost of processing a single input invoice (including entry time, reconciliation, and approval) can reach $15-20 USD. According to a Gartner survey, EC businesses lose 1% to 2% of their total revenue due to reconciliation errors and duplicate payments in manual processes.
Application of Automated Invoice Processing in E-Commerce Businesses
Automated invoice processing is the key solution that helps EC businesses control supply chain and operating costs, thereby optimizing net profit.
Optimized Automated Invoice Processing Solution for the E-Commerce Supply Chain
The automation solution integrates Intelligent Document Processing and Robotic Process Automation technology to handle complex, high-speed operational steps.
| Step in the EC Invoice Process | Specific Challenge (Manual) | Automation Application |
| Collection & Classification | Invoices from dozens of suppliers/EC platforms, diverse formats (Excel files, PDFs, Emails). | Automated Collection Bot: Automatically logs into partner/EC platform portals, downloads statements and invoices. AI Classification: Automatically identifies cost type (Shipping, Warehousing, Advertising). |
| Data Extraction | Manual entry of hundreds of data fields from detailed statements provided by shipping providers/EC platforms. | Intelligent Extraction: Artificial Intelligence technology extracts line-item details from complex expense statements. |
| Operational Matching (2-Way/3-Way Match) | Accountants match shipping invoices with delivered order data in the Order Management System. | Automated Matching: The Bot automatically compares the cost on the invoice/statement with actual Order/Receipt data. Automatically finds discrepancies in weight, quantity, or service fees. |
| Accounting & Approval | Manual cost posting to the correct cost center (e.g., Delivery for HCMC, Hanoi Warehouse). | Automated Accounting and Allocation: The system automatically assigns accounting codes and allocates costs based on matching results and predefined rules. |
| Duplicate Control | Manual checking for duplicates across thousands of invoices. | Automated Control: The Bot automatically scans and flags warnings for invoices or statements showing signs of duplicate payment based on Invoice Number, Partner Name, and Total Amount. |
Quantifiable Value of the Statistical Solution
Automation delivers superior efficiency, helping EC businesses optimize profit:
- Reduced Processing Costs: Reduces the cost of processing each invoice to under $5 USD (over 65% reduction).
- Increased Payment Speed: Shipping invoice processing time is shortened from 5-7 days to just 1-2 days, helping maintain good relationships with partners.
- Absolute Accuracy: Data entry accuracy reaches 99%.
- Loss Prevention: Reduces the risk of losses due to duplicate payments and reconciliation discrepancies to nearly 0%.
Real-World EC Success Story
Case Study: Multinational EC Retail Group
A large EC retail group, operating across multiple Asian markets, processes millions of orders and tens of thousands of shipping invoices monthly.
- Problem: The Group faced significant difficulty in reconciling shipping costs with the actual number of orders due to variations in pricing, discounts, and surcharges from shipping partners. This required a team of dozens of accountants just for reconciliation.
- Solution: Deployment of an automated invoice processing system capable of integrating data from the Order Management System. The system automatically performs 2-Way Matching (Shipping Invoice – Delivered Order) in real-time.
- Result: The Group reduced the time spent on manual reconciliation by 80%. Ensured correct payment amounts to shipping partners, significantly saving on losses due to discrepancies. Most importantly, cost data is analyzed quickly, helping the Board of Directors make decisions to optimize logistics costs by region.
Lessons Learned for Successful Implementation of Automated Invoice Processing in e-Commerce Businesses
To effectively implement automated invoice processing in an EC business, the following strategies should be focused on:
1. Focus on Detailed Order Matching
- Item-Level Match: The automation solution must be capable of extracting data down to the line-item level (e.g., individual order IDs, specific package counts) on the supplier’s statement to cross-reference with the business’s sales data.
- Order Platform Integration: Prioritize choosing a solution capable of deep integration and continuous data synchronization with the Order Management System and Warehouse Management System to provide the reconciliation foundation.
2. Establish Smart Duplicate Control Rules
- Duplicate Statement Detection: Set up automated control rules to detect statements/invoices with the same total value, order count, or tax code, immediately flagging a warning before proceeding to approval and payment.
- Digital Contract Management: Store contract terms and shipping rates/discounts in the automation system. The Bot can automatically compare incurred expenses with contracted costs to detect discrepancies.
Akabot Automated Invoice Processing Solution (FPT Corporation)
Given the need to process colossal transaction volumes and complex reconciliation in the EC industry, Akabot (a product of FPT Corporation) is an ideal automation solution.
Akabot: Comprehensive Cost Control Tool for EC
Akabot is a Robotic Process Automation solution, integrated with Artificial Intelligence, designed to effectively solve the challenges of the EC supply chain.
- Complex Statement Processing: Akabot excels at extracting detailed line-item data from Excel or PDF statements provided by shipping partners and EC platforms, ensuring all costs are accurately recorded.
- EC Ecosystem Integration: Akabot can flexibly integrate with order management systems, warehouses, and major accounting platforms, creating a seamless flow of financial data, from order to invoice.
- Accelerated Decision-Making: Akabot provides nearly instantaneous cost data for logistics that has been reconciled and accounted for, supporting EC leadership in making strategic decisions on pricing, shipping, and gross profit optimization.
The application of Akabot helps EC businesses transform their finance department into a high-performance cost control center, ensuring sustainable growth and maintaining a competitive edge in the digital business environment.
