Raney’s Truck Parts is an aftermarket parts and accessories provider for the heavy-duty trucking industry, headquartered in Ocala, Florida. Established in 2010, Raney’s boasts the industry’s most extensive collection of heavy-truck parts and accessories.
Recently, the trucking industry has encountered a series of hurdles, including escalating fuel expenses, a surge in insurance claims, shortages of drivers, and disruptions in the supply chain. In spite of this, the industry has grown steadily since 2019, moving over 11 billion tons of cargo and generating $940 billion in revenue. As Raney’s expanded to meet demand, the Finance team’s responsibilities grew.
As Raney’s growth accelerated, the team was compelled to take action. With thousands of invoices to process each month, many originating from small providers with no standardization, co-founder Eric Anderson recognized the need for innovation.
“As our company looks ahead, we know we have to transform our labor-intensive accounts-payable process. AI will empower us to ensure compliance, scale our operations efficiently, and redeploy our resources strategically” says Eric.
To upgrade their payables process, the Finance team developed several objectives:
- Automate the intake and coding of all invoices, PO and non-PO
- Streamline reconciliation of invoices to contract, PO, and transaction records
- Optimize cash flow to realize early-pay discounts or extend payments and DPO
- Assess providers’ billing performance and eliminate losses due to overbilling
- Establish a single repository for invoices, bids, price lists, and contracts
- Digitize clerical work to free up people to support other Finance needs
Liberating the Finance Team
Raney’s previous approach to invoice management and reconciliation constrained the Finance team’s ability to engage in more impactful work. Eric recognized that by harnessing the power of new technology, the team could alleviate the burden of excess clerical work in AP, liberating his team to redirect their time.
The Solution:
In the trucking industry, invoice structure varies substantially from one vendor to another. The task of matching invoices with contracts, price sheets, and transaction records is challenging and time-intensive. In a competitive market, remaining lean in Finance while avoiding excess costs from supplier overbilling is critical. As the number of invoices ballooned, Eric and his team looked for an AP automation solution to digitize reconciliations without losing fidelity.
OpenEnvoy was the only vendor able to use artificial intelligence to align with Raney’s invoice audit needs.
Eric remarked, “In choosing OpenEnvoy, we’ve invested in a scalable solution that not only streamlines our current operations but also future-proofs our company. As we consider acquisitions in diverse markets, OpenEnvoy’s ability to scale to any invoice type and audit logic have become invaluable. This strategic choice safeguards Raney’s success in an evolving landscape.”
Raney’s was able to digitize AP across 100% of our suppliers in just two months. With OpenEnvoy we’ve been able to scale touchless processing without the burden of ‘no PO no Pay’. We’ve been able to shift team members from manual clerical work to proactively disputing overbillings and pursuing other ways to hit the goals of our growing business.”
Eric Anderson, Co-Founder, Raney’s Truck Parts
Empowered by Automation
Raney’s has eliminated endless hours of data entry and manual reconciliation. Invoices are digitized and charges are meticulously and instantly cross-referenced against both the purchase order and provider rate sheets, using AI.
When discrepancies arise, investigations are immediate. The team relies on documentation furnished by OpenEnvoy to substantiate any disputes with their vendors.
In addition to achieving cost savings, the Raney’s team leverages the time freed up by OpenEnvoy to focus on high-impact activities, including reconciling all accounts, maintaining up-to-date AP and AR aging records, and following up with vendors to recover owed credits.
The Results:
Raney’s Truck Parts is determined to further enhance their accounts-payable processes to heighten efficiency, reduce costs, and strengthen vendor relationships.
In three months, the Raney’s team captured wins with
- Automated workflows and 100% digitization – With no need for suppliers to substantially change their processes, digital invoice capture soared to 100% in just three months. By embracing digitization, Raney’s streamlined their financial operations, minimized errors, and gained real-time insights into their financial health.
- Comprehensive forensic-level invoice auditing that found issues in 54% of invoices – A mere 46% of invoices received were free from duplication and overbilling issues. Freed up from manual processing and empowered with audit results, the Raney’s team channeled their efforts toward their highest-volume providers and most valuable disputes.
- Peace of mind before payment with 99% accuracy – Raney’s can receive up to 5,000 invoices per month with diverse formats and many lines. OpenEnvoy accurately processes these invoices at a line item level, giving Raney’s confidence and the time needed to optimize payment timing and cash flow.
- Repurposing members of the AP Team – As manual clerical work began to diminish with OpenEnvoy, the Raney’s team successfully redeployed people into roles needed for strategic initiatives. This transition delivered an immediate return on investment.
About OpenEnvoy
OpenEnvoy is the Applied AI platform that unifies payables, contracts, receivables, and transactions to free up Finance teams from excess clerical work. OpenEnvoy lets companies use AI to reconcile in real time, eliminating errors and fraud to improve operating efficiency and cash flow with minimal change for IT and trading partners.
With OpenEnvoy, customers have identified more than $367M in potential losses to date.
To learn more about OpenEnvoy, visit www.openenvoy.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
