The launch of Bank of America’s CashPro Supply Chain Solutions represents the first step in a multi-year effort from Bank of America to transform supply chain finance for their clients.

Specifically, the Bank of America platform will offer participants in a supply chain the benefits of digitisation. The bank promises improved process efficiency and working capital optimisation. CashPro is the banking platform used by more than 40,000 business clients to manage their treasury and trade operations.

Open Account Automation, the first module of CashPro Supply Chain Solutions, addresses invoice approval and payment. This is one of the most common processes in global trade. This module speeds up the time to approve an invoice from what was often days or weeks to a matter of minutes.

“Trade finance is still a paper heavy industry despite advances in technology. This is due in large part to the dependency on traditional manual processes,” said Geoff Brady, head of Global Trade and Supply Chain Finance in Global Transaction Services (GTS) at Bank of America.

“Eliminating that dependency was central to the design of CashPro Supply Chain Solutions. Through this, we’re introducing digitisation on behalf of network participants.”

Open Account Automation absorbs and collates data that exists within the supply chain ecosystem. Its goal is to improve the overall participant experience by delivering greater visibility, speed, and automation and allow quicker decision making.

Bank of America Open Account Automation features include

• Digitally on-board suppliers who then gain access to real-time data. This provides near-instant visibility into whether their invoices have been approved for payment, or if there were discrepancies that need to be resolved.
• Extract data from document copies and include that data in the automated approval process.
• Match purchase orders with invoices and other logistics information.
• Let buyers control the approval of invoices based on information presented by their suppliers, their logistics providers and their own warehouse receipting process. Buyers can set automated rules for approval, including allowing them to automate discrepancy resolution.
• Automatically disburse payment to a supplier once an invoice is approved and matures.
• And coming soon, suppliers will be able to select invoices for early payment.

Transparency and the ability to self-serve

“With global commerce operating 24/7, companies need the ability to view and act on information in as close to real-time as possible. Open Account Automation offers that transparency and the ability to self-serve,” said Jay Davenport, global co-head of Corporate Sales in GTS at Bank of America.

“Buyers will now have a more complete view of when and where their goods are in the supply chain. Sellers will have visibility into when and what they’ll be paid.”