Content Formula

A custom app to streamline invoice management processes, driving efficiency and reducing risk

Janssen

A custom app to streamline and standardise invoice management processes, driving efficiency and reducing risk

Janssen is a global pharmaceutical company owned by Johnson & Johnson, employing 40,000 staff around the world. The company continues to research and develop leading medicines, and is currently developing a COVID-19 vaccine.

A custom solution to transform the process

In order to ease the administrative burden, reduce risks and errors, drive efficiencies and provide better visibility of the invoice payment process, Janssen’s finance team engaged Content Formula to create a custom solution that would integrate seamlessly into the company’s Microsoft 365-driven digital workplace.

Drawing on our expertise in developing custom Microsoft 365 apps, we suggested a Power App; working in combination with other 365 tools, this would digitise the experience and automate approval workflows, helping to standardise and streamline the invoicing process.

Working in partnership

Following agreement with the client, we received detailed requirements and set to work on designing and building the solution.

We worked closely with the Janssen team throughout the project. We also followed an approach whereby once deployed, the tool could then be scaled and improved, based on real user feedback.

Easy to use – from invoice submission to payment

The financial tracking app uses a Power App to create highly intuitive interfaces for entering data and reporting, with a SharePoint list storing information, and Power Automate driving necessary workflows in the backend.

The app standardises the process for approving and tracking invoices from submission to payment: a supplier submits their invoice via a SharePoint-based form available externally, then notifications drive two stages of approval for the relevant business unit, with the finance function adding relevant information at each step, before the invoice is finally approved for payment.

Increasingly the visibility of the process

Clean and intuitive interfaces and a powerful search capability allow the team to enter the necessary data and easily track the progress of any invoice, ensuring smooth progress to payment.

Simple overviews provide critical visibility of the invoice against each agreed budget, flagging up potential issues, and providing insights into overall spending on different projects. Reporting provides the ability to find an invoice by department, year and PO number.

Making life easier for the team

Initially, the app has been launched to one business unit for one supplier, with various improvements and tweaks made based on detailed feedback from the team.

The finance team are delighted with the initial results from the app, commenting that it is “making life easier”.

A wider roll-out

The team are now excited about a wider roll-out of the app across multiple business units and involving multiple suppliers, saving huge amounts of time, eliminating pain points and providing greater oversight on costs.

Future evolution is also being considered, including producing more detailed reporting and even providing limited access to suppliers.

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