Assessing the business value of electronic order-to-payment cycle

In this paper, we build an evaluation tool for assessing the business impacts of an electronic order-topayment cycle. Based on a literature review and expert interviews, we formulate a three-stage model which includes performance indicators for electronic order, electronic invoice, and electronic payment processes. In addition, we pinpoint the inter-process linkages. We test the proposed evaluation tool in a business context and find that the impacts of automating the order-to-payment cycle relate closely to cost avoidance. However, a strong emphasis on asset utilization can be observed as well – better use of IT could enhance utilization of existing human resources and capital, affecting company profitability.