Esker AP allowed PGG Wrightson to plant the seeds for further growth with faster payment processing and fewer errors.
Initial 50% reduction in processing times - which will grow over time
Change management implemented NZ-wide across 90 stores
PGG Wrightson, a listed goods and services provider for the agricultural sector, was on a mission to save time, reduce costs, and more efficiently process the quarter-million supplier invoices it receives every year.
The team had previously tried scanning and software solutions to digitise their processes, but wasn’t getting the improvements they needed. “We’ve used Optical Character Recognition software in our accounts payable process before, and even though it had some benefits, we found that it couldn’t cope with line-item discrepancies between purchase orders and supplier invoices,” says Angela Huntley, Business Programme Owner for PGG Wrightson.
In fact, about 65% of PGG Wrightson’s PO-based invoices needed manual intervention, where a staff member had to look at each one to decide how it should be handled. “Even spending two minutes on each invoice would have been a huge amount of staff time. There had to be a better way,” she says.
After attending a Fujifilm Lunch & Learn event and hearing how other customers addressed similar problems using the Esker AP Automation Platform, Angela and the PGG Wrightson team were confident it could work for them too
Fujifilm took time to listen and understand our challenges and came up with a solution that automated the workflow for most discrepancies, while also giving staff visibility and transparency.
Angela Huntley
Business Programme Owner
PGG Wrightson
Helping Kiwis work smarter
“We’ve helped more than 50 New Zealand companies automate their Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable processes using the Esker platform,” says Jayson McCullough, Process Automation Consultant at FUJIFILM Business Innovation New Zealand.
With native AI and machine learning technology, Esker can read, understand and match each invoice to a Purchase Order.
“When Esker finds a discrepancy, it resolves it using logic – just like a person would” Jayson says.
If a task can’t be handled by Esker, it gets sent to a staff member to validate. Exceptions are routed for review and approval, and the software learns as it goes. That enables Esker to work fast while still maintaining a full audit trail.
For PGG Wrightson, that meant they could process invoices on time and with fewer errors, all while meeting their audit and retention requirements.
Working with Fujifilm, PGG Wrightson ran a comprehensive digital transformation programme to optimise their operations and provide better service to rural communities across New Zealand.
“The Fujifilm project team has been fantastic, helping us work through our requirements, implementation and change management across 90 stores” says Donna Weir, Accounts Payable Manager at PGG Wrightson. “Since implementing Esker, we’ve cut our processing times in half and virtually eliminated the need for manual handling of invoice discrepancies” she says.
That means PGG Wrightson gets reduced operational costs and increased productivity. For the Finance team, it also means they get better visibility of the payment process while meeting compliance and with fewer errors.
“Now our team can focus on our core business: helping farmers and growers throughout rural New Zealand” Donna says. “I really appreciate the Fujifilm team helping us to work smarter. It’s been a great partnership”
ELIMINATED MANUAL HANDLING
Before Esker, 65% of PO-based invoices needed manual intervention
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Implemented change management in 90 stores through New Zealand
FASTER PROCESSING
An initial AP Improvement of 50% thanks to faster invoice processing
GROWTH WITH AI
Thanks to Esker's machine learning AI, processing and recognition will only improve with time
Donna Weir
Accounts Payable Manager
PGG Wrightson
Now our team can focus on our core business: helping farmers and growers throughout rural New Zealand. I really appreciate the Fujifilm team helping us to work smarter. It’s been a great partnership.
NZ Agriculture Accounts Payable Case Study
Find out how we helped one of New Zealand’s largest Agriculture organisations achieve an initial 50% AP Improvement. Read the full case study and get in touch to see how our local team can make your AP dream a reality too.
Why Fujifilm & Esker?
- Reduce Operational Cost
- Increase Productivity
- Local Implementation & Support
- Eliminate Errors & Non-Compliance
- Improve Supplier Relationships
- AI-Powered Processing
- Multiple ERP Integration
- eInvoicing & PEPPOL Compliant
FUJIFILM Process Automation are your local, New Zealand based experts ready to help you on your Esker journey. In fact, we’ve been implementing Esker solutions for Kiwi’s for over a decade now.
AI-Powered processing speeds everything up and it’s smart OCR recognition can even detect and convert handwriting. Fraud protection? Yep, Esker can even detect an invoice with a differing bank account your ERP is expecting, then give your team an alert before it goes any further. That’s just a few reasons why we love Esker, get in touch to hear many more.