Accounts payable · Production

Medius: Moving Beyond PDF Invoices Towards Autonomous AP with AI, ML, and OCR

The problem

Despite adopting PDFs and partial automation, 61% of companies with fully or partially automated AP do not see the expected return on investment, and organizations still cite invoice exceptions and limited visibility as persistent top challenges.

First attempt

PDF digitization and partial automation have not delivered the expected efficiency gains; the perception that reducing paper and using PDFs equates to efficient processes and better visibility is described as incorrect.

Workflow diagram · grounded in source
1
Invoice received
trigger
“from invoice receipt to posting to the ERP”
2
AI, ML, and OCR processing
ai_action
“It leverages artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and optical character recognition (OCR)”
3
Autonomous post to ERP
integration
“no intervention occurs from invoice receipt to posting to the ERP”
Reported outcome

Kennards Storage reduced AP headcount despite a 50% increase in invoices, with the team able to take on additional tasks and the CFO describing it as a huge efficiency saving across the finance department and wider business.

Reported metrics
AP companies with automation not seeing expected ROI61%
AP organizations citing invoice exceptions as top challenge45%
AP organizations citing reporting and analytics as top priority48%
Organizations that decreased paper invoicesalmost 50%
Show all 9 reported metrics
AP companies with automation not seeing expected ROI61%
AP organizations citing invoice exceptions as top challenge45%
AP organizations citing reporting and analytics as top priority48%
organizations that decreased paper invoicesalmost 50%
organizations still seeing invoice exceptions as top challengenearly half
shared services organizations with end-to-end automation as top objective81%
invoice volume increase at Kennards Storage50 per cent
AP headcount reduction at Kennards Storagereduced the head count in AP
efficiency outcome at Kennards Storagehuge efficiency saving
Reported stack
AIMLOCR
Source
https://www.medius.com/solutions/for-your-role/finance-professionals/move-beyond-the-pdf-invoice
Read source ↗

Frequently asked questions

What did this team achieve with this AI workflow?

Kennards Storage reduced AP headcount despite a 50% increase in invoices, with the team able to take on additional tasks and the CFO describing it as a huge efficiency saving across the finance department and wider bu…

What tools did this team use?

AI, ML, OCR.

What results were reported?

AP companies with automation not seeing expected ROI: 61%; AP organizations citing invoice exceptions as top challenge: 45%; AP organizations citing reporting and analytics as top priority: 48%; Organizations that decreased paper invoices: almost 50% (source-reported, not independently verified).

What failed first in this deployment?

PDF digitization and partial automation have not delivered the expected efficiency gains; the perception that reducing paper and using PDFs equates to efficient processes and better visibility is described as incorrect.

How is this accounts payable AI workflow structured?

Invoice received → AI, ML, and OCR processing → Autonomous post to ERP.

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