Digital incoming goods check: For seamless depiction of the P2P process in SAP®
We help you keep everything in view.
The processing and checking of incoming goods are among the most important parts of the procurement process: Many companies still rely here on paper-based delivery notes and must contend with the typical knowledge gaps. Simple questions about the order status, such as “Where were the goods received, in what quantity, and in what quality?” cannot be answered promptly based on paper delivery notes, and distributed organizations with multiple locations will have a particularly difficult time with this. After all: Downstream processes that may be extremely critical to the company, such as invoice processing or even production, may grind to a halt as a result.
Advantages of digital incoming goods checks in SAP®
Lean back and take it easy thanks to EASY Delivery Note for SAP® Solutions. Our solution will give your company and your employees a high-level perspective to keep a close watch over every delivery note thanks to a digital incoming goods check and digital incoming goods processing.
- Transparency: Monitoring of the deliveries – what was delivered, where, in which quantity, and at what price
- Compliance: Adherence to compliance rules and permission concepts
- Faster processing times: Maximum automation of the digital incoming goods processing with integrated process control
- Reliable purchasing processes: The tracking of all deliveries and delivery notes in the digital incoming goods check ensures full transparency and a solid overview at all times
- Environmentally friendly: Elimination of paper, file folders and filing rooms
- Cost savings thanks to streamlined processes: Deadlines for early payment discounts as well as payment reminder periods are reliably tracked. Incoming goods checks in SAP® based on the digital delivery note offer tremendous efficiency gains in subsequent processes, such as the processing of incoming invoices.
Three steps for digital incoming goods checks
Receipt of the goods – scanning of delivery notes
As of this point, the entire incoming goods processing takes place digitally, and the data on the received goods is reliably transmitted to your ERP software. Simple and dependable scanning of delivery notes by the smart document reader included with EASY Delivery Note is the order of the day. That is how the digital incoming goods check works – and you can eliminate error-prone manual data entry with EASY Delivery Note. If a reference to the order exists, the data pertaining to the items on the now digital delivery note is checked automatically. Deviations from the original order are clearly indicated.
Faulty deliveries: Quickly discovered thanks to the digital incoming goods check
Speed and precision are also called for in the warehouse. Questions such as the following must be answered immediately when goods arrive: “Were the goods sent to the right delivery location?”, “Were the expected lot sizes delivered?”, and “Do the quantity and quality of delivered goods match the order?” This is where the digital incoming goods check with EASY Delivery Note supplies all the necessary answers: Deviations between the order and the delivery are immediately detected by EASY Delivery Note for SAP Solutions based on the digital delivery note. If necessary, you can contact the supplier directly from the Delivery Note software. Any detected differences are automatically sent to the supplier.
All clear for downstream processes
The automatic association of delivery notes with order processes is only the most basic element of the digital incoming goods check. Things get even more interesting when subsequent processes are also integrated, such as the processing and booking of received invoices. This is where EASY Delivery Note for SAP® Solutions really shines: The functionality can be easily expanded to include the seamless processing of order confirmations and incoming invoices as well as contract management.
Discover the potential of an electronic incoming goods check
EASY Delivery Note for SAP® Solutions forms one of the central elements of the purchase-to-pay process in SAP. Note only does the digital incoming goods check of delivery notes offer an interface for integrating upstream and downstream processes, it also serves as an anchoring point: It answers any questions about the quantity and quality of the delivered goods. The volume of deliveries alone can make it difficult for purchasing departments to reliably keep track of all paper-based delivery notes. How does EASY Delivery Note assist with the digital incoming goods check?
Minimizing manual activities
Reduce manual actions to a minimum during the incoming goods check. The smart document reader in EASY Delivery Note achieves impressively high accuracy. All the data on the delivery note is scanned in and sent to the central system in a structured format. This results in increased transparency.
Practical search function
The practical search function in EASY Delivery Note for SAP Solutions allows you to find your delivery notes in no time. You can easily filter and sort by due date, supplier, delivery date, and more.
Shorter processing times
The digital incoming goods check naturally reduces the amount of time required for processing incoming goods, thanks to the integrated control of downstream process steps. Orders split into partial deliveries as well as returns can be registered in the Delivery Note application, which can also be used on mobile devices, of course.
No duplicate entries
Avoid the widespread problem of duplicate entry of delivery notes. EASY Delivery Note automatically checks for duplicate documents. This prevents the occurrence of double payments and the resulting difficulties.
Maximum process transparency
Increase the transparency of the incoming goods process as well as the upstream and downstream processes. EASY Delivery Note for SAP provides informative dashboards for daily monitoring. You always have a good overview and can see key figures, data, and facts at a glance.
Questions about the digital incoming goods check in SAP®
How can EASY Delivery Note for SAP® Solutions help me reduce the costs associated with incoming goods processing?
EASY Delivery Note quickly and easily associates incoming goods with existing procurement processes. The incoming goods are directly compared against the information agreed upon in the order (delivery quantity, delivery conditions, etc.). There is no longer any need for time-consuming checks or manual searches to find the corresponding order.
Which SAP® ERP systems are supported for integration?
- SAP Fiori Launchpad (on-premises or SAP Cloud Platform) with SAP Fiori Libraries
- SAP NetWeaver > 7.40 (patch level no older than one year)
- SAP Fiori Version > 1.71
How does EASY Delivery Note for SAP Solutions help me maintain a good overview?
EASY Delivery Note quickly and easily associates incoming goods with existing procurement processes. The incoming goods are directly compared against the information agreed upon in the order (delivery quantity, delivery conditions, etc.). This ensures that the persons responsible always have a good overview of completed and expected deliveries.
Can Delivery Note handle split orders with partial deliveries?
Yes. EASY Delivery Note for SAP Solutions is capable of handling split orders during the incoming goods processing.
Can I use the Delivery Note system on mobile devices as well (smartphones/tablets)?
Yes. We support the current versions of iOS and Android.
Why should I retain delivery notes?
Delivery notes document the receipt of goods and therefore (in the ideal case) the proper fulfillment of the contract by the supplier. At the same time, the delivery note also documents any deviations with regard to the delivery quantity, scope, and quality (e.g. damage) – a very important aspect of the incoming goods check. Delivery notes are therefore important elements of the overall process, which is why they are subject to statutory retention requirements.
What information must be contained on a delivery note?
- The information contained on delivery notes is not subject to any statutory requirements.
- The delivery note establishes the connection between the goods, the shipment, and the invoice.
The delivery note allows the customer to determine which order the delivery is associated with. Especially in companies with high delivery volumes, the delivery note helps with maintaining a good overview during the incoming goods check. Such a delivery note may also simultaneously serve as a packing list. Employees in the Shipping department and in the warehouse check the information on the delivery note by checking off everything that is contained in the package. - There is no statutory obligation to enclose a delivery note with the delivery. As a result, there are also no mandatory information items on the delivery note.
- Recommendation: The information on the delivery note should be based on the functions it serves. This information helps the customer associate the order with the respective invoice. Useful information on the delivery note:
- Sender and recipient of the delivery
- Shipping and delivery date
- A delivery note number and/or the associated invoice number
- A list of the delivered goods with a typical designation and important details. For a delivery of tiles, for example, this could include: the quantity, the name of the manufacture, the color, and the format. This information makes it possible to check whether the delivery matches the order.
- Information on the type of shipping and the transport company
- Information on ownership of the goods
Which fields can be read by EASY Delivery Note for SAP Solutions?
- Header data on the delivery note:
- Supplier
- Recipient of the delivery
- Shipping date and delivery date
- Delivery note number
- Reference to the order
- Item data on the delivery note:
- Item number
- Article number
- Article designation
- Unit of quantity
- Quantity
- It is also easy to define additional fields.
Does EASY Delivery Note for SAP Solutions support other purchase-to-pay applications?
EASY Delivery Note for SAP Solutions can be seamlessly integrated into your purchase-to-pay process. This ensures a smooth process and controlled workflows from the initial requisition to the requesting of offers, placing of the order, the order confirmation, the delivery itself, and receipt of the invoice.
EASY Delivery Note for SAP Solutions works great with our other SAP-integrated solutions: EASY Order Confirmation for SAP Solutions, EASY Invoice Management for SAP Solutions, and EASY Contract Management for SAP Solutions.
How long do delivery notes have to be kept?
- If the delivery note is also a posting document, a statutory retention requirement applies
- According to the GoB (principles of orderly accounting), the retention requirement for documents from current business operations, such as offers or delivery notes is 6 years
- Delivery notes that have no further significance after the receipt or dispatch of the invoice may be disposed of, provided they were compiled after January 1, 2017. This was the deadline for the German Bureaucracy Reduction Act. The former rules continue to apply to older delivery notes.
To comply with these statutory requirements, EASY Archive is available as archiving software.
Resources
Discover useful white papers, webinar recordings, guides and checklists on Purchase-to-pay.
Whitepaper: Smart incoming invoice processing in SAP®
Learn in our whitepaper how to avoid stumbling blocks and optimize the incoming invoice process in a short time with digital incoming invoice processing in SAP® .
Webinar: The Paradox of Choice
Finding Meaningful Differentiation in a World of Technological Parity. As is the case with many digitization and process optimization initiatives, implementing an A/P automation solution is very rarely a ‘one-and-done’ event… far from it!
Whitepaper: The Purchase-to-Pay Process in SAP
Learn about the benefits of digital purchase-to-pay processes in SAP compared to traditional procurement in the whitepaper.
Digital document workflows as a cure for slow and error-prone paper processes at WEPA.
Amey first implemented SAP as its finance and resource management system, it invested in EASY Software’s SAP Packaged Services to capture and manage incoming Accounts Payable documents electronically.
To maximise the benefits of SAP, the Council simultaneously introduced EASY for SAP, on the recommendation of one of the IT contractors.
