Syngenta – Invoice Processing

Background 

Syngenta is a leading global provider of agricultural science and technology, primarily relating to seeds and crop protection. The company has over 28,000 staff and focuses on innovation and sustainability, within agriculture, aiming to improve crop productivity while making farming more efficient.  Syngenta receives around 4,500 paper invoices on a monthly basis.  The business was looking to efficiently digitise them, ready for upload into their SAP financial system within a 24 hour period. The company wanted to outsource invoice scanning via a secure digital mailroom supplier, enabling documentation to be processed remotely to agreed SLA’s.  The project aimed to ensure invoices were paid quickly, within agreed supplier terms and ensure remote processing for business continuity purposes. Post processing, invoices required archiving for a set period of time before being confidentially destroyed. 

Key Invoice Processing Drivers

  • Save time
  • Ensure SLA’s are met for supplier payments
  • Reduction in on-site paperwork
  • Digital business process improvements
  • Remote working & business continuity

The Solution

Volumes – 4,500 invoices processed per month in Cleardata’s secure bureau, certified for information security, quality management systems and legal admissibility of digital images. 

  • Incoming invoices are redirected using a PO Box to Cleardata’s secure mailroom
  • Post is opened and classified
  • Invoice scanning takes place using Kodak technology, with images scanned to high resolution and subject to 2 x 100% quality checks
  • Digitised invoices are uploaded into Syngenta’s SAP financial system via SFTP
  • Hardcopies are archived for 2 months in Cleardata’s secure facility, before being approved for destruction
  • Paper copies are securely shredded to BS EN 15713 standards and recycled in line with ISO 14001 regulations.

Customer Feedback

“From the start, Cleardata looked to become a valued business partner to Syngenta and have provided excellent service levels and agility in the way they work. These levels have been consistently achieved from day 1 during the past 2 years. We have operated together in an open and transparent way which has worked really well. Syngenta is grateful for all of their support, especially during 2020 where no drop in service levels was experienced during the COVID pandemic – truly amazing!’

Chris Wye – Compliance and Accounting Services Lead