Industry:
Food & Beverage
How Dole removed 85% of manual effort and reconciliation costs whilst reducing the reconciliation process time by 2 days.
Dole is one of the world’s largest and most accomplished fresh produce producers, with an annual turnover over €4.2 Billion. Dole Ireland is part of Dole PLC – the world’s leading premier fresh produce providers. Local at heart, global by nature, Dole Ireland operates across Europe – while their industry leading integrated supply chain extends across the globe.
Operating in 30 countries, with a global supply chain spanning over 260 facilities and catering to the retail, wholesale and foodservice sectors, Dole Ireland is a complete fresh produce solution provider.
Key takeaways
85%
reduction of manual effort
40%
increase in productivity
2 day
reduction in reconciliation time
Dole’s Challenges
Previously, Dole Ireland engaged in manual reconciliation of supplier statements to their creditor’s ledger, resulting in a time consuming and costly process that tied up key personnel. Invoice transactions recorded in both the creditor’s ledger and an incumbent invoice automation system were manually checked against all supplier statements. Once each invoice was correctly reconciled to the statement and confirmed, it underwent processing for payment approval.
Dole had several FTEs spending over 200 hours per month on manual reconciliation. Automating this function was estimated to eliminate up to 90% of manual effort, freeing up key staff for value-added tasks. A key objective was to enable a detailed review, investigation, and analysis of all AP transactions, for enhanced visibility and control.
Real-time insights now enable efficient, timely, and accurate presentation of accounts and give better cashflow projection reporting for the entire organization.
How Dole found a Solution
Throughout the discovery phase, our team collaborated with Dole Ireland to review their incumbent process, thoroughly understanding strategic objectives, expected benefits, and identifying areas of the process that could be automated. We then presented how our solution would operate, emphasizing how visual ‘right-time’ reporting would provide a detailed analysis and insight into supplier transactions for the finance team.
We are surprised at the speed at which we are reaping the benefits of the system, after only a short period from go live. Layered on top of our existing AP solution and ERP creditors ledger, we implemented an all-inclusive solution that provides the easy capture of statements, reconciliation, visibility and communication back to the vendor – ensuring accurate results for all vendors.
Denise Carpenter, Divisional Finance Director (Wholesale, Food Service and Growing), Dole Ireland
Results
Full automation
Dole Ireland now have an end-to-end platform that automates the process – from statement capture, automated reconciliation processing, and detailed transactional reporting. Feedback from Dole users is overwhelmingly positive and initial estimates suggest a reduction in time dedicated to the reconciliation process from 2.5 days per head to 0.5 days, with further reductions expected as the solution becomes embedded across the organization.
Rapid return on investment
Statement reconciliation is now executed with little or no manual intervention. The time savings identified in year one provides capacity for growth and scalability, increasing productivity up to 40% across the AP function, where current FTEs can be redeployed. Dole has transformed its approach to AP, embracing automation and transparency through the application of data and technology, resulting in a significant ROI for the organization.
Stability, control and insight
The organization now has quick access to information on statements received, processed, or paid, bringing full assurance to AP processing. Increased visibility also makes it easier for the business to assess their AP operation, develop the necessary strategies for improvement, and provide a single source of truth to support the decision making process.
Fraud prevention and compliance
Advanced matching algorithms in the solution ensure a high success rate with the option to auto block supplier payments if statements do not match. This feature helps prevent fraudulent activity and reduces the risk to the business.