Belgian fintech company, Unifiedpost, announced in a press release that it has partnered with Google Cloud to deploy Procurement DocAI which Google claims is capable of processing nearly 350 million invoices and other procure-to-pay docs per year in 15 countries across Europe.
Hans Leybaert, CEO, Unifiedpost group said: “At Unifiedpost, we believe that administrative and financial processes should be simple and smart. Google Cloud’s Procurement DocAI solution helps us achieve that goal by providing the best in class document automation processing with high accuracy and global, multi-language support.”
Procurement DocAI, which was announced at Google Cloud Next OnAir, can automate the capture of invoices, receipts, and other procurement data at scale.
The Belgian fintech companies product takes unstructured documents across a variety of formats and turns them into cleanly structured data, increasing operational efficiency, and improving document processing accuracy.
The Belgian fintech company explains that large enterprise procurement, distribution networks, and small to medium enterprises (SMEs) generate millions of invoices, receipts, and other related documents per year. These processes can generate significant overhead for every procured item.
With competitive pressures increasing, businesses are finding new ways to automate one of their highest volume business processes – the procurement cycle.
The Belgian fintech company is not the only software provider that’s successfully automating procurement processes as more businesses look to get more time back and lower its costs.
Zycus launched its AI-driven automation bots to reduce accounts payable costs by up to 50% while AI negotiation platform Pactum secured $3m in funding earlier in 2020 giving an indication that it’s an area that is growing in popularity.
Google Cloud explains that part of its strategy is the creation of industry-specific solutions that address vertical needs. Cross-industry solutions, such as Document AI, are built with the aim to plug into your existing workflows and deliver business results from AI without having to hire an army of AI experts or manage cloud infrastructure to get there.
Procurement DocAI is one of the newest solutions by Google Cloud and it claims it is deployed by a number of its customers and partners which include the Belgian fintech company, Unifiedpost.
The Belgian fintech company explained that it currently serves 400k SMEs and 250+ corporations; its offering includes: documents (e.g., invoice PDF to XML conversion, e-invoicing), identity (e.g., KYC), and payments (e.g., IBAN accounts, online collection services, PSD2 payment services).
The Belgian fintech company wrote that it believes AI-driven processes will be instrumental in the future development of its SME ecosystems, e.g. in fraud prevention for its payment services linked to invoice document processing. And it wouldn’t be the first one to have a mission such as this. In fact, Silent Eight has raised $9m for its solution that tackles financial crime.
Edward Boute, Head of Google Cloud Belux commented on the mission Google Cloud in Belgium is on by saying: “We are very excited for the journey we have ahead with Unifiedpost. Google Cloud in Belgium is on a mission to accelerate the ability for enterprises to digitally transform and reimagine their business through data-powered innovation. Unifiedpost’s use of DocAI will help Google to further develop and innovate the product and make document AI processing better.”
With a growing multi-language footprint, Unifiedpost wrote that it looked to have the best industry solutions implemented into its business systems with the aim to meet its automation challenges and connect its customers.
The Belgian fintech company wrote that Google Cloud’s Procurement DocAI is helping it deliver document automation processing with high accuracy and multi-language support.
The two key benefits the Belgian fintech company says the solution delivers is lower TCO of procure-to-pay processing and improved procurement document processing accuracy.
The partnership between the two businesses is expected to commence from January 1st 2021 for a period of six years.
