Companies need working capital for inventory, product enhancements, labor and shipping. They also need an efficient way to manage customer orders, credit approvals, invoicing, payments and collections. The order-to-cash (O2C) cycle is a critical process that impacts numerous financial and customer activities. In addition to using traditional process improvement strategies such as Six Sigma or Lean to improve their O2C practices, companies can further improve operations and financial outcomes by applying artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time advanced analytics.
AI capabilities like machine learning can identify patterns and anomalies that indicate risks and exceptions. Natural language processing can also support the process by extracting unstructured data from multiple sources, such as invoices and email, and translating it into a more structured form that systems can analyze and act on. This data provides insights that enable better decisions, drive automation, and reduce exceptions.