Flexible PNet Procure-to-Pay Solution Deployed at TransAm Trucking

December 16, 2009 – TransAm Trucking, a $217 million leading refrigerated long-haul trucking company serving the Midwest, East Coast, and Southern California, recently automated their Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process using PurchasingNet, Inc.’s (www.PurchasingNet.com) PNet Software & Services. The company’s new P2P process has reduced the risk for fraud, eliminated data entry errors, dramatically improved spend visibility, and saved the organization valuable time and money.

When the team at TransAm began researching Procure-to-Pay automation solutions they had several “pain points” including a labor intensive, manual invoice validation process and the need for better internal controls. By selecting PNet Software, TransAm was able to implement a best-practice P2P automation process – with approval workflow, streamlined business processes, cost savings, and complete audit trails – and integrate with their existing Accounts Payable databases.

The Accounts Payable Department’s primary issues were around invoice validation for Repair Orders and Insurance Claims. With a fleet of over 3,600 vehicles, the AP group needed a way to track reported “on-the-road” and “in-shop” repairs and validate that the work completed matched the approved estimates before issuing payment. In order to do so, PNet Software had to seamlessly integrate with their AS/400 and DB2 databases and match each Repair Order line item against an approved estimate for the parts and labor.

TransAm also needed a way to track their Insurance Claims against known reserve budget amounts for each type of claim. Prior to implementing PNet Software, this tabulation process was manual, very time- consuming for AP, and did not give them the spend visibility required to report on their Insurance Claim trends. Now, these invoice types are integrated with TransAm’s DB2 database to fully automate the Insurance Claim validation process.

In addition to addressing their unique invoice validation needs, TransAm was able to speed the return-on-investment of their project by plugging into the PNet Discount Network for their office supply purchases. The PNet Discount Network leverages pre-negotiated contracts that are based on the combined volume of multiple companies. By using the PNet Discount Network, TransAm was able to implement a Direct Catalog Connection (DCC or “punch-out”) to the PNet Discount Network that offers preferred pricing. The company is now on track to save about 15% annually in this category of spend alone.

“One of the major reasons we decided to do business with PurchasingNet was because of the field experience their staff has; the fact that they have professionals that have been on the customer side working in the trenches and really understand what it means to run a company – cost effectively and efficiently,” stated Murray Droescher, CFO, TransAm Trucking.

PurchasingNet, Inc. (www.PurchasingNet.com) is a leading provider of Web-based eProcurement and ePayables software to mid- and large-sized companies. The company has over 1,400 customers in Financial Services, Retail/Consumer Products, Professional Services, Media/Publishing, and a variety of other industries.

Founded in 1983, PurchasingNet has focused exclusively on the development and implementation of Procurement and Payables applications since inception. In addition to building an extensive, blue-chip client base, PurchasingNet possesses deep domain expertise in Purchasing and Payables business processes. The average length of service at PurchasingNet is 8 years per employee.

PurchasingNet’s customers include Church & Dwight, U.S. Bank, Navy Federal Credit Union, American Financial Group, Liz Claiborne, EarthLink, Black & Decker, and Kroger.