CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sep 20, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Processing paper invoices and determining whether and
how to pay them costs companies both time and money. The chance to cut
these costs through automation is creating growing business demand for
electronic invoice presentation and payment (EIPP) software. EIPP
falls into two categories: accounts receivable (AR) solutions for
sellers who want to get electronic invoices into the hands of buyers
and accounts payable (AP) solutions for buyers who want to receive all
invoices electronically. In a new report, Forrester Research (Nasdaq:
FORR) uses its Wave(TM) methodology to evaluate the leading AP EIPP
vendors. The results: the leading American vendors scored higher than
most of their European counterparts.
"Demand for EIPP is growing because it delivers real cost savings
and process efficiencies," says Forrester Research Vice President
Andrew Bartels. "Vendors are offering strategic functions such as cash
management and payment management, which optimize cash flow for a user
company and contribute immediate results to the bottom line."
Forrester evaluated nine vendors against 74 criteria that were
grouped into three high-level buckets: current offering, strategy, and
market presence. A combination of vendor surveys and customer
reference calls were used to assess strengths and weaknesses. Vendors
were chosen because of their early momentum in the market, their
innovation, and their ability to offer fluency in multiple languages
and currencies.
LEADERS
-- TradeCard (US) was the leader in strategy and one of the top
vendors in current offering. However, its market presence lags
behind older vendors.
-- Xign (US) had the highest scores for current offering, with
top marks for customer support, security, and accounts payable
functions.
-- Ariba's (US) current offering is strong, particularly in
architecture.
-- BasWare (Finland) is No. 1 in market share, and scored well in
architecture and technology. Lower scores in security and
advanced accounts payable functions -- where its European
clients are not as demanding as US clients -- kept it from
getting top marks.
-- U.S. Bank PowerTrack (US), which is No. 2 in market share,
received strong scores across the board. However, the
company's relatively old platform hurt its technology score.
STRONG PERFORMERS
-- Burns (UK) received scores were close to average in most
categories. It scored well on strategy thanks to product
vision, go-to-market strategy, and R&D.
-- Deskom (France) had an almost identical score to Burns on
current offering, but showed weakness in product vision and
go-to-market strategy.
-- b-process (France) seeks to be a low-cost, basic services
provider, which shows in its scores. It performed well in both
usability and pricing.
-- Open Business Exchange (UK) has a fundamental philosophy
difference from most of its competitors: It offers a no-frills
solution focusing more on invoice delivery.
This is the fifth document in Forrester's Electronic Invoice
Presentation And Payment series, which includes an earlier Wave
evaluation of the AR EIPP market.
"The Forrester Wave(TM): Accounts Payable EIPP Q3 2005," is
available to Forrester WholeView2(TM) clients at www.forrester.com.
The Forrester Wave Methodology
The Forrester Wave methodology is open, rigorous, and unbiased.
Forrester starts with an open criteria review process, verifies
findings against customer interviews, and checks facts with vendors.
This research is performed without sponsorship to help user companies
make better vendor selections. Forrester does not charge vendors in
any way to participate in a Forrester Wave. All Forrester Waves
include an interactive vendor comparison tool that provides detailed
product evaluations and customizable rankings.
About Forrester
Forrester Research (Nasdaq: FORR) is an independent technology and
market research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking
advice about technology's impact on business and consumers. For 22
years, Forrester has been a thought leader and trusted advisor,
helping global clients lead in their markets through its research,
consulting, and peer-to-peer executive programs. For more information,
visit www.forrester.com.
(C) 2005, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
SOURCE: Forrester Research, Inc.
Forrester Research, Inc.
Jon Symons, + 1 617/613-6104
Director, Media Relations
jsymons@forrester.com
