Copying and printing firm Xerox is planning to move most of
its business accounting online, following the successful
implementation of an e-metering system which has cut processing
costs by 60% and slashed billing time by five days.
The company, which has 50,000 customers in the UK, has "three or
four" online projects in the pipeline that are designed to offer
increased visibility of customer information via the web, said Mick
Game, business analyst at Xerox.
"We are trying to move more and more of our business accounting
online," he said. "We have developed an application that will allow
online invoicing and there will be three or four projects in total
this year."
Analysts said large companies moving accounting functions online
achieve both financial and customer service benefits.
"Internet billing and payment reduces costs and drives economies
and savings to a company's bottom line," said Avivah Litam, an
analyst at Gartner. "By looking at only cost savings, however, a
biller can forget that e-billing generates significant business
value for a company by enabling it to deliver superior and
efficient customer service."
Xerox's e-metering system, which was launched eight months ago,
replaced a card system. Both systems get users to record their own
print meter readings. These readings are then used to assess
invoice amounts by comparing customer estimates to average usage
figures.
The card system, which customers completed and mailed to a data
processing agency for collation and re-keying, was seen as
antiquated technology and provided return rates of only 25%, Game
said.
The new system, built in conjunction with software firm Wax
Digital, sends e-mails to Xerox customers to inform them when
readings are due. They can then submit their figures by e-mail, the
internet or telephone.
As a result, meter reading return rates now exceed 70%, the average
billing time has improved by five days and processing costs have
been reduced by at least 60%, Game said.
"The key drivers behind the system were responsiveness and
timeliness - 10% of customers respond on the day of the e-mail,
which is a phenomenal improvement," he said. "Accuracy was also
key, as the e-metering system allows real-time validation [of
figures], which the cards could not provide."