Imerys improves its spend management thanks to Basware’s Procurement module
IMERYS SA is a French multinational company specializing in the production and processing of industrial minerals.
Imerys is located in 50 countries with nearly 250 industrial sites, including 47 in France, and employs more than 16,000 people.
Context and challenges
In Early 2021, Imerys management decided to acquire a procurement solution to manage the purchase requests of the group’s two divisions: Imerys SA and Imerys Services. Until then, most invoices were received without any order except for IT expenses managed directly in the SAP ERP.
The solution had to meet three major challenges for Imerys: improve visibility on committed spend, respect the group’s internal control rules (get managerial approval before placing an order), and speed up the supplier invoice processing time. The expenses of these two divisions were mainly related to the purchase of services (legal advice, recruitment) and IT. They were managed by closed or open orders based on master contracts.
By extending Basware functionalities, we have improved visibility and spend control. We have gained better control of the entire Purchase to Pay chain.
Tristan Bossard
Finance Project Manager
Fast deployment
The European and North American divisions served by the Shared Service Centers were already using Basware to automate their supplier invoices. When Imerys SA chose to add Basware’s e-Procurement module, they continued their trust in with Fluxym who had previously implemented AP automation.
The project was launched in July 2021 with a strong constraint on implementation time. The solution needed to be operational in less than six months.
The design workshops started in the summer of 2021, before a month-long integration phase in September. The go-live took place in mid-November.
Imerys was greatly pleased with the e-Procurement module ergonomics and the fast implementation done by Fluxym. Moreover, the existence of interfaces pre-configured with SAP was a key argument in choosing to extend the functionalities of the Basware platform.
The deployment took place in two steps. First a two-month start-up phase, followed by the adoption of a “No order, No payment” policy. From then on, the invoices would be blocked if the orders are not regularized beforehand.
Sector
- Mining industry
Key Figures
- 2 Divisions
- 6,000 Anual Invoices
- 300 Users
Basware Modules
- e-Procurement
- Analytics
Interface
- ERP: SAP
Seamless collaboration with the Fluxym teams
Fluxym consultants took care of the design workshops, the integration, the update of the interfaces with SAP, as well as the training of key users.
“We really appreciated the availability of Fluxym consultants. We always got a fast response, whether for displaying the solution or during our discussions throughout the project“, says Tristan Bossard, Finance Project Manager.
The Imerys project team also emphasized the quality of Fluxym’s methodology: a follow-up file was always up-to-date, regular meetings planned in advance, and visibility of the various milestones.
Our collaboration was really fluid despite the very short deployment time. The responsiveness of the Fluxym team and the continuous monitoring thanks to the CMS were much appreciated.
Our interlocutors knew our context very well, thus facilitating collaboration.
Mayra Guisti, Purchasing
Applications Owner and Project Manager
Putting committed spend under control
The various Imerys users have already noticed the many benefits of managing purchase requests and controlling spend in Basware:
- The Purchasing department now has a forecast view on spend and better control on sourcing requests that have been made mandatory from certain spending thresholds. In addition, since the creation of the supplier in the repository has also been made mandatory to create the purchase request, buyers now have better control on the supplier panel
- SCS accountants no longer need to manage all the time-consuming encoding tasks. The allocations are done directly by the users. Likewise, they no longer need to search for validators thanks to the matrix approval circuit defined according to the cost center and the amount
- User feedback is very positive. The solution is ergonomic and easy to use, especially thanks to the mobile application
- Service managers also have greater visibility on budget monitoring. Internal control is satisfied with the compliance of the “purchase request, order, receipt and payment“ process.
- In the coming months, Imerys will be able to precisely measure the benefits generated by the extension of the Basware platform using the Analytics module. Several dashboards have been created to monitor key indicators: the percentage of invoices without orders, the number of invoices by department or the shortening of payment deadlines.
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