Mitie Invoicing Action Plan 2023

Identification of the causes

We have identified the following primary causes:

• Suppliers submitting invoices to Mitie without quoting a Mitie purchase order number causing a delay in our audit requirements to match and order with an invoice prior to payment

• Suppliers send an invoice to the wrong email address, which as we process 1.3m invoices a year this causes delays in payment processing

• Suppliers quoting the wrong Mitie Business on their invoice which causes delays

• Supplier details not being correct with payment going to the wrong account, identified, then correction adds delays

• Human error at Mitie as new employees take time to be trained

• Different systems across Mitie causing delays in information getting to the payment team for processing.

Actions to address the above causes

To improve our end–to–end purchase to pay process, the Board signed off the investment to implement the industry leading Coupa purchasing system. The solution is halfway through the implementation across the Mitie group enterprise. So far, we have seen suppliers benefitting from a 95% straight through processing experience where the supplier invoice passes through the system dynamically to our ERP and automatically settled in accordance with the payment terms agreed with the supplier.

A supplier is able to ‘flip’ the purchase order they receive from Mitie to an invoice inside the Mitie systems. This means that that the auditable matching of invoice and purchase order is completed immediately. From there the invoice passes via interface to our SAP enterprise solution for accounting treatment which is completed without human intervention. Payment is likewise automated with a schedule run daily so the invoice is paid on time.

Our ‘straight through’ solution removes several failure points:

• Supplier confusion of where to send their invoice is addressed by providing an on–line supplier portal that is easy to use for which we provide guidance and training notes for suppliers

• Supplier effort to create the invoice and getting details wrong on their invoice or not quoting the purchase order reference on their invoice, are all addressed by using the purchase order flip feature as the invoice automatically includes all the relevant details Mitie needs to process and match the invoice to the order

• Supplier communication around invoice processing updates is addressed by the Coupa supplier portal where the supplier can see the progress of their invoices, at each stage so they are clearly kept informed

• Supplier details not being correct, such as bank account details or contact details is addressed by the on-line portal where via secure link the Supplier is able to update their information to avoid any delay to payment. Note that Bank account changes are monitored by Mitie and verified by calling the supplier direct to mitigate fraud

• Mitie’s ‘human error’ caused by sickness, training gaps or other factors are removed by the systems integration. Our team now monitor the flow of data ensuring our systems are working as expected.

As we roll out the solution, we clearly keep our customers informed as the solution works, we experience 95% straight through processing, Supplier take up proves that 99% of invoices are now flipped as described above and our end to end purchase to pay solution is significantly enhanced.

Details of our Coupa solution can be found here: https://www.mitiesuppliers.com

Reporting

Our programme board Chaired by our Chief Procurement Office and member of the Executive Board meets on a regular basis to monitor progress, address challenges and ensures our stakeholders are kept informed.

Simon Smith

Simon Smith
Director Finance Shared Service Centre