Pitney Bowes Management Services has added eInvoicing to its established FinanceWorks solution-set, designed to bring efficiency, automation and choice to the invoice processing function.

Invoice processing is a frequent and demanding business requirement. But rather than operating as a drain on time and resources this critical process can be transformed into a service that adds value and delivers significant savings.

Pitney Bowes FinanceWorks provides a dedicated workflow solution built on format consistency, eliminating the system headaches surrounding the typical one-to-many relationship between businesses and suppliers.

The solution is built to accommodate every possibility, whether suppliers are delivering high invoice volumes or low, or whether these invoices are paper-based or delivered digitally.

FinanceWorks’ eInvoicing functionality introduces standardised, digital data streams delivered straight to the relevant department – no matter whether a supplier’s delivery choice is paper, eInvoice or EDI. With invoices in electronic form, workflow and archive solutions can vastly reduce internal costs.

With FinanceWorks in place, suppliers then benefit from the option of converting to electronic invoice delivery (if not already operating this way) – potentially reducing preparation time and eliminating print costs.

Hedley Walker, Director of Mailstream Solutions, Pitney Bowes Management Services, states:

“Making it easier for suppliers to invoice you might seem like a contradictory step towards better business. But improving your accounts payable and outbound invoice processes can deliver immediate operational benefits – both for businesses and their suppliers.

“FinanceWorks means less manual intervention, less chance of error and a digital solution that reduces the accounts payable approval cycle from days to minutes.” ■

www.pb.com
[Who can tell me the year(s) in which PB had the above headline as their advertising slogan? Ed.]

The normal News service will resume within the next week, and any news which was going to be placed here since the 22nd April will gradually appear here over the next two weeks.

Sincere apologies to any organisation who have submitted press releases since approximately the 20th April. This has been out of our control. (See archive item dated Monday 21st April 06:33 GMT) ■

OK now I have your attention! As we are changing the way we manage our advertising, we are looking for a salesperson (or organisation) to bring us the best mix of print and online ad sales possible.

For full details see our job ad in the jobs section. If you are interested, drop me an email. ■

johnbaker@greensheetmedia.com

Having heard not one jot of news from Reed, who were supposed to call me to (presumably) defend their actions in 'merging' Documation with Storage Expo, I took it upon myself to ask the industry what the consensus of opinion was.

Responses over the past two weeks have varied from, "Reed told us it was cancelled due to lack of interest", to "We weren't going to be there anyway."

So it seems there is mixed reaction to the demise of the UK's largest dedicated IM show, probably borne out by the increased interest in the London end of the AIIM Roadshow.

I cannot help but feel that if Reed had handled it properly they could have made something out of it. Partly on the basis there is no such thing as bad news, but also because reputations take years to build and minutes to destroy. (Just ask Gerald Ratner!!)

Green Sheet would love to sponsor and organise a big event, probably central'ish in the UK at the NECC, but it's not our core business. AIIM are much more adept at putting these things on, so maybe they will consider a UK equivalent of AIIM USA.

Come on AIIM - how about an AIIM Europe Show. Smaller than CeBIT (and easier to get to) but bigger than the Roadshow.

You would get my vote. ■

Comments welcome to:

johnbaker@greensheetmedia.com

I received a phone call from the PR company handling all things Documation a couple of weeks ago. I was advised at that time that further to my comments about Documation on this page* that Reed International would be in touch with me "next week".

* This was in relation to the fact that Documation was 'merging' with Storage Expo 2008, and the fact that everyone concerned with the show had been left with only a poorly worded single page web site with no link to Storage Expo site!

I have given Reed the benefit of time, and would also have given them space to redeem themselves, but week they were due to contact me (last week in fact) has now come and gone.

I did visit the Documation web site at the weekend, and found that they have at least had the good sense to update it with a link to the Storage Expo site.

A wait with bated breath! ■

Comments welcome to:

johnbaker@greensheetmedia.com

I have a $300,000 financial portfolio and I run a moderately successful Formula 1 Team. No it's not a 'guess who', this is run by Green Sheet. And it didn't cost us a penny.

One of the ways large sites like to keep you coming back, is by getting involved in something on-site which is virtually yours.

The F1 site is with Yahoo Sport (and currently we are 1,054th in the world, and within the top 4% of teams) and the financial portfolio is with CNN.

More subject to judgement than chance is a flutter on the US stock exchange. Having bought $300,000 worth of shares, the portfolio has a mix of major company shares from solid stocks (Microsoft, Apple, Cisco, General Electric, Exxon etc., as well as a few oddities just in case they go sputnik. So far the fund is down and sitting at $283,630, so I will not be retiring on the proceeds just yet. This comes as no surprise as the massive sub-prime property market is still wobbling along on crutches.

I feel that this folio gives me a great indicator of the overall state of health of the worldwide economy, and not just the USA. ■

Comments welcome to:

johnbaker@greensheetmedia.com

I got a cold shiver down my spine when I went on to the Documation site this morning. (www.documation.uk.com)
The SINGLE PAGE reads, "Following the increasing alignment of the data storage and information management markets – Reed Exhibitions is pleased to announce that elements of the previously co-located Documation UK event will now be incorporated into Storage Expo."

This may have been slightly palatable if:
- there was an HTML link to the Storage Expo site from what is now only a single page Documation site
- it didn't send the wrong message to the industry about the value of Documation as THE major UK show of its kind
- there was at least a mention of Documation on the Storage Expo site. (Only 1 irrelevant link came out of a search for the word 'documation' on the Storage Expo site)

My view is:
- Yes, Storage Expo was a bigger (and therefore more profitable!) show than Documation
- Yes, the number of visitors was higher for SE
- Yes it was cramped and uncomfortable in the Documation section last year

However:
- it will be more difficult for visitors to seek out the traditional Documation exhibitors from the Storage Expo ones (unless Reed use a 'zonal' approach as organisers do at other shows)
- there is a danger of Storage Expo becoming as unwieldy a show to visit as CeBIT is
- the one big show for what was the traditional EDMS market is now lost to us forever!

- the show title Storage Expo does little or nothing to promote the CRM, BPM, EDMS or whatever other acronyms we associate with the DOCUMENT aspect of IM ■

Comments welcome to:

johnbaker@greensheetmedia.com

Remember:

Tell your friends and colleagues if you like what you see on this site* .....

But please tell ME if you don't!"

Email me HERE

John Baker, Managing Editor, GSM

* my photo is excluded from criticism!!
 

Recent Business Trip ....

London. Internet World and AIIM Roadshow
 

Next ....

Fact gathering and article writing trip

to Stevenage and Hatfield

Recent Personal Trip ....

Beeston Hump, North Norfolk Coast, England
 

Next ....

Probably Ely, Cambridgshire,

or

Shotley, Suffolk

Currently Reading ....
Book: John Harvey-Jones, 'Making It Happen' 1994 by Harper|Collins Business

Magazine: All of the ones I picked up from Internet World and the AIIM London Roadshow
 

Film & TV Favourites ....

Recent Film: I Robot

Current TV Series: Boston Legal
 

Issue 50 has now gone to bed which means it will hit your desks within the next two weeks.

There are new features, and new multi-issue articles to keep you informed. ■

Issue 50 is now well under way with the final layout taking place over the next 6 days. The magazine has a new look to it to coincide with its 50th birthday.
 

ETA on your desks is the second week in May. ■

Due to 'circumstances beyond our control' the PDF version of Issue 49 has been delayed. We are in the process of sorting out the problem and hope to have it with you next week. The difficulty is in the sheer size of the finished article as we have changed the magazine layout and this affects the final PDF size.■