Using a combination of ABBYY FlexiCapture technology and robotic process automation, Costain is establishing a finance transformation model for the industry
ABBYY, a global leader in Digital IQ for the enterprise, has been selected by Costain, the smart infrastructure solutions company, as the chosen technology partner for its finance digitisation strategy.
As part of Costain’s focus on digital technology solutions, the company has transformed its procure to pay operation, contributing to cost savings at a major infrastructure project in London. Upskilling its finance team, the group successfully implemented an end-to-end solution that can fetch an invoice, capture, identify and extract the essential data within it. It then hands over to the robotic process automation (RPA) bot to post the invoice into the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
Using a combination of ABBYY FlexiCapture technology and RPA developed with UiPath partner Agile, the faster process is driving efficiency – with 80% of purchase invoices no longer needing human intervention. This, combined with the addition of scanning delivery notes, has revolutionised the day-to-day work of the dedicated finance team, enabling them focus on value-add activities.
This comes as recent ABBYY research found that RPA and content-centric process automation technologies are maximising productivity and efficiency for UK businesses. Almost two-thirds (62%) of those investing in content-centric process automation have seen improved efficiency, while of businesses using RPA, over half have seen improved efficiency (55%), greater market share and increased revenue (52%). 82% have also seen a return on their investment within a year, demonstrating the ability to quickly realise business benefits. But with less than half of businesses surveyed currently investing in these technologies, many are still lagging behind, while those making the most of automation are already reaping the rewards – for employees and the wider business.
“Collaborative work with ABBYY is part of our continued commitment to invest in technology to transform our finance function. We will continue to seek to use the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, to make our business as efficient and competitive as possible,” said Tony Bickerstaff, CFO at Costain.
“Costain’s finance transformation is a model for the industry and we’re proud to be playing a key role in this as its chosen technology partner,” said Paul Goodenough, Head of Enterprise, ABBYY UK. “Costain’s mission to challenge the norms and spearhead innovation chimes perfectly with our own business goals, and we look forward to supporting this drive for savings and efficiencies in 2019 and beyond. The greatest success will be enabling Costain to achieve its ambitious digital transformation goals.”
