Case Study: Avnet achieves 90% AP automation, replacing over 1 million paper invoices with Bottomline Transform

Replacing Over 1 Million Paper Invoices With E-Invoicing Technology

Avnet EM EMEA, a Fortune 500 distributor serving over 100,000 customers and 300 suppliers, faced a high-volume invoicing challenge: roughly 750,000 inbound and 1.3 million outbound invoices annually, with about 10,000 paper invoices requiring manual processing each month. The company needed a flexible, low-impact e-invoicing approach that would reduce costs and errors without heavy IT customization or forcing a single portal on diverse customers.

Working with Bottomline Technologies, Avnet implemented the Transform scanning and e-invoicing platform to automate inbound processing and roll out multiple outbound delivery options (direct links, app, or third-party portals) integrated into SAP without costly customization. The change cut inbound processing costs by about 90% (from €6.50 to €0.76), increased electronic inbound volumes toward 60–120k invoices, achieved roughly 90% AP automation, sped up payments, improved error detection, and laid the groundwork for future supply chain finance initiatives.

Avnet

Andy Thorne

Vice President of Technical Content