HMPS Optimizes Invoice Processing with Brainware

Her Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is the British executive agency tasked with managing 130 jails in England and Wales. In 2005, HMPS created a Shared Service Centre in Newport, U.K. to consolidate and simplify business processes in the areas of finance, human resources, and procurement. Purchase-to-pay optimization turned out to be especially challenging. When HMPS decided to optimize the accounts payable process, they started with an analysis of their extremely diverse supplier base. It turned out that few vendors were able to submit electronic billing documents, and thus relied on paper invoices.

After a rigorous comparison of vendors, HMPS chose Brainware Distiller for its ability to process large volumes of unstructured documents including invoices.

"The implementation of the software has delivered a quarter of a million pounds in cost reduction, "said Steve Hodgson, Head of HMPS Shared Services. "We would expect to further reduce the cost of invoice transaction processing from something on the order of two pounds per invoice to closer to a pound, and this beats world-class processing costs."

The implementation gave the agency new flexibility to manage and empower its people.

"In introducing this technology we have moved the role of some of our people from data entry to process improvement, where they can really add some value to the end to end process," says Hodgson. "The truth of the matter is that with the high employment cost in the UK, the only way that you can deliver shared services cost effectively is with great processes, good technology and fantastic creative people."

Her Majesty's Prison Service is the winner of the 2008 IQPC Shared Services Excellence Award in the category of Best New Shared Services Organization.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• HMPS
• Shared
• Service
• Brainware
• Distiller