KCS & Open ECX partner to boost automation & sustainability

Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) has announced a new partnership with Open ECX to enhance its K8 digital ecosystem. This collaboration aims to integrate Open ECX's advanced Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) capabilities into K8, boosting automation, efficiency, and sustainability for users.

KCS, which provides business management solutions to the distribution, automotive, and rental sectors, will offer its customers access to Open ECX's Next Generation EDI platform. This platform is designed to optimise the automation of customer order importing and accounts payable (AP) invoice management. The integration is expected to streamline processes in the 'Order to Cash' and 'Purchase to Payment' cycles.

James Mitchell, Managing Director for KCS UK & Ireland, highlighted the benefits of this integration. "Open ECX's cloud-hosted solutions ensure an accurate, secure, and completely digital order transaction for distributors and merchants, adding another strong pillar to the K8 digital ecosystem," he said.

"Through the sophisticated integration of K8 and Open ECX, we will deliver greater automation to key trading activities for our customers, significantly improving their processing speed and accuracy. This innovation reduces costs and enables our customers to redeploy resources within their business, bringing them another step closer to a paperless office."

Open ECX CEO Nathan Ollier echoed Mitchell's sentiments, pointing out the advantages for existing users of both systems. "Entering into an official partnership with KCS allows us to build on the growing number of Open ECX and K8 users who already enjoy the power and flexibility of the two systems working together through seamless integration," Ollier explained.

"Being able to offer our Next Generation invoicing and ordering solutions through the partnership will allow all K8 users to realise significant efficiency in the processing of documents in the P2P and O2C processes. With a proven history of processing documents with 100% accuracy in close to real time, Open ECX allows the customer to redistribute the focus of valuable resources away from manual tasks, enabling them to drive sustainable growth and efficiency while improving supplier relationships and customer experience."

The partnership is also expected to support environmental sustainability by facilitating the elimination of paper-based processes. "By reducing the need for paper-based processes, we're helping our customers become more efficient and save money," Mitchell noted.

"Importantly, this also helps them reduce their carbon footprint, as CO2 is imperative for all businesses, just as it is for KCS globally. We like to make a difference by giving our customers the tools to reduce their CO2 emissions, and we firmly believe that sustainability and profitability do go hand-in-hand."

The partnership between Kerridge Commercial Systems and Open ECX aims to enhance the K8 digital ecosystem by integrating advanced EDI capabilities. This collaboration will streamline critical financial processes, such as order importing and invoice management, while promoting sustainability through reduced paper usage. The integration is designed to improve operational efficiency and support environmental goals, reflecting a commitment to both technological advancement and sustainable practices.