MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Esker, a worldwide leader in document process automation solutions, announced today that it has been selected by Wega, a trading company and subsidiary of Groupe Bergère de France that designs and sells high-end, ready-to-wear clothing under several brands, including Lilith, to automate its vendor invoice validation process. Esker’s Accounts Payable automation solution delivers numerous benefits to Wega, including the ability to optimize the validation workflow between different sites in France and the United States, and real-time tracking with suppliers.

“For financial and traceability reasons, we needed to eliminate all the back-and-forth of documents. With a decentralized structure and a large number of suppliers, invoice processing was very difficult”

Each Wega location (several in France and one in New York City) receives its own vendor invoices which must be validated at company headquarters in Bar-le-Duc, France. Previously, each invoice was sent by DHL two times per month to Bar-le-Duc to be validated and sent back to the location where payment was carried out. This process, lacking the capability to track invoices, had become very expensive and time-consuming, and forced Wega to reexamine ways of adding higher efficiency and productivity in its invoice validation process. Guided by Esker partner, Cegid, whose accounting application was already in place, Wega selected Esker because of its seamless integration with Cegid’s accounting software.

“For financial and traceability reasons, we needed to eliminate all the back-and-forth of documents. With a decentralized structure and a large number of suppliers, invoice processing was very difficult,” said Patrice Olivier, CIO at Groupe Bergère de France. “There are a lot of electronic document management solutions available, but it’s very difficult to integrate most of them with accounting software. It was essential that our vendor invoice automation solution could seamlessly interface with our Cegid application — Esker fit the bill perfectly.”

Small invoice volumes, significant benefits

Today, Wega automates the processing of vendor invoices from different workshops and showrooms in the U.S., Paris and Bar-le-Duc. Each site receives their invoices locally where they are scanned; accountants then verify and complete missing or incorrect invoice data that is extracted by the Esker solution. The accountants then send invoices to the payment approval workflow, and, once approved, invoices are automatically integrated into Cegid.

Esker has helped Wega achieve many benefits including:

• Productivity gains
• Reduced postage costs
• Increased reliability —data is now automatically integrated
• Improved traceability — suppliers have full visibility into every invoice in real-time
• Reduced payment delays — one month processing time gained; late payments to suppliers are avoided; Wega is able to recuperate VAT earlier

“From the implementation of Esker to its integration with Cegid, everything went perfectly and was achieved within our timeline,” said Olivier. “Our accountants have probably benefitted the most from using the solution. The invoice traceability capability allows every phase of processing to be documented, and we reduced our invoice processing time by one month!”

For the second phase of the project, there are plans to extend the use of Esker beyond Wega and roll it out to the entire Groupe Bergère de France.

About Wega

Wega, subsidiary of Groupe Bergère de France, is a trading company that designs and sells high-end, ready-to-wear clothing under several brands, including Lilith. The commercialization is done through Lilith-owned stores and affiliates — seven in France, two in the U.S. and one in Switzerland — as well as through a network of resellers in upscale department stores. Wega employs 40 people at its design studio and owned stores. Wega realized 8 million euros in sales revenue in 2012.

About Esker

Esker is a worldwide leader in document process automation solutions. Addressing all types of business processes, from accounts payable and accounts receivable to order processing and procurement, Esker cloud computing solutions enable companies to automate the reception, processing and sending of any business document with one platform. Esker helps over 80,000 companies across the world to reduce the use of paper and eliminate manual processes while improving their productivity, efficiency and environmental impact.

With 40.3 million euros in sales revenue in 2012, Esker operates in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific with global headquarters in Lyon, France, and U.S. headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. Esker is listed on the NYSE Alternext in Paris (Code ISIN FR0000035818). For more information, visit www.esker.com. Follow Esker on Twitter at twitter.com/eskerinc and join the conversation on the Esker blog at www.quitpaper.com.

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