The Scene

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When you walkthrough the finance floor at this mid-sized manufacturer with $75 million in revenue and over two decades of operation, you’ll notice a familiar scene: piles of invoices, staff juggling spreadsheets, and managers waiting for approvals that always seem to be “in someone’s inbox.”

For a company with over 350 employees supplying parts to the automotive and aerospace industries, this was more than just administrative frustration—it was a growth blocker. The Accounts Payable (AP) team was handling more than 4,000 invoices every month, and each one had to be touched, typed, matched, and routed by hand. Delays, errors, and the constant risk of late supplier payments were part of daily life.

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The Challenge

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The CFO described it bluntly:

“Our AP process couldn’t keep up with the rest of the business. Scaling meant more clerks, more costs, and more headaches.”

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The team was spending an average of 10 minutes per invoice just to key in data, verify details, and chase approvals. Supplier calls about missing or late payments were eating into credibility. And perhaps most frustrating, the leadership team had no real-time visibility into cash flow—everything lagged until month-end reconciliations.

The choice was clear: keep hiring people to patch the process, or transform the process itself.

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The dAIta Solution Approach

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When The Daita Solution (TDS) stepped in, we didn’t begin with software. We began with conversations and reviewing documentation. Sitting down with AP clerks, finance managers, and even procurement staff, we mapped out how invoices moved through the business - where the bottlenecks were, and why they kept happening. Armed with this information, we used the process data stored in their systems and our innovative process mining techniques to validate these theories and identify additional insights about the AP process not as the operators believe it occurs, but as it actually happens.

From there, we designed a solution that combined intelligent document processing with workflow automation. Instead of clerks typing invoice details line by line, AI-powered OCR extracted the data instantly and machine learning algorithms automatically categorized the invoices, created journal entries and flagged risky items. Instead of endless email chains, invoices were automatically routed to the right approver based on rules the finance team set. And instead of waiting until the end of the month, the CFO could see liabilities and cash flow at a glance, thanks to real-time dashboards.

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Making It Happen

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Transformation doesn’t happen overnight, and we knew adoption would be just as important as the technology. That’s why the project rolled out in three phases over 16 weeks.

We started small, piloting the system with a subset of invoices. This allowed the AP team to test, break, and adapt without pressure. Once confidence grew, we expanded the automation across the full department and integrated it directly with the ERP system, NetSuite. Training sessions, hands-on workshops, and ongoing support helped the team embrace - not resist - the change.

By the time the full rollout was complete, AP clerks who once dreaded data entry were spending their time resolving exceptions and supporting strategic supplier initiatives instead.

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The Results

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The difference was dramatic. Processing time per invoice fell from 10 minutes to under 2 minutes. The company no longer needed to hire additional AP clerks, avoiding about $150,000 in annual staffing costs. Errors - once a constant frustration - dropped by over 90%.

Perhaps the most valuable shift was in visibility. Real-time dashboards meant the CFO no longer had to wait for the month-end scramble to understand liabilities. And suppliers, once anxious about payment delays, noticed a tangible improvement - on-time payments rose by 25%.

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A Broader Lesson

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This wasn’t just about fixing AP. It was about proving that data-driven automation can free businesses from repetitive tasks and unlock time for more valuable work. For the client, that meant their finance team could focus on forecasting and strategy rather than chasing paper.

At The dAIta Solution, we often say that data holds the key to unlocking the value of AI. This project was a perfect example: when you combine data, process understanding, and the right technology, you get transformation that sticks.

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