Company: E-Commerce Retailer
Industry: E-Commerce & Retail
Client Background
Our client is a Los Angeles-based e-commerce retailer specializing in consumer products sold through multiple online marketplaces and direct-to-consumer channels. As the business expanded rapidly across the United States, the company experienced significant growth in its product catalog, supplier network, and transaction volumes.
With thousands of invoices, vendor payments, and supplier accounts to manage, the accounts payable function became increasingly complex. To support growth while maintaining financial accuracy and operational efficiency, the client sought dedicated accounts payable support to streamline processes and improve vendor management.
Client Challenges
- Managing High Invoice Volumes: Rapid business expansion led to a substantial increase in supplier invoices that required timely verification, approval, and processing. Internal teams struggled to keep pace with the growing workload.
- Vendor Reconciliation Issues: Maintaining accurate balances across a large supplier network became increasingly challenging, leading to discrepancies and time-consuming reconciliation efforts.
- Limited Payment Visibility: Tracking invoice due dates, payment statuses, and outstanding liabilities across hundreds of vendors created operational inefficiencies and increased the risk of delayed payments.
- Resource Constraints: Internal finance personnel were spending a significant amount of time on repetitive accounts payable tasks, limiting their ability to focus on strategic financial initiatives.
Our Solutions
- Dedicated Accounts Payable Team: We assigned a specialized team to manage invoice processing, vendor account maintenance, reconciliations, and payment tracking.
- Invoice Verification & Processing: Our team established a structured review process to verify invoice accuracy, supporting documentation, and approval workflows before processing payments.
- Vendor Reconciliation Management: Regular vendor statement reviews and account reconciliations were performed to identify discrepancies, resolve issues proactively, and maintain accurate financial records.
- Payment Tracking & Reporting: We implemented standardized reporting processes that provided real-time visibility into invoice status, upcoming payment obligations, and outstanding liabilities.
- Vendor Communication Support: Our team worked directly with suppliers to address payment inquiries, resolve account issues, and maintain positive vendor relationships.
- Process Standardization:We established consistent workflows for invoice review, reconciliation, reporting, and vendor communication, helping improve efficiency across accounts payable operations.
Results Achieved
Within 6 months, our accounts payable specialists helped the client transform a growing administrative burden into a streamlined, scalable financial process. Here’s how we delivered measurable impact:
- 5,000+ vendor invoices processed and verified with a high level of accuracy and consistency, ensuring timely approvals and payment execution.
- 50% reduction in invoice processing turnaround time, enabling faster approvals, improved cash flow planning, and more efficient payment scheduling.
- 99% vendor reconciliation accuracy achieved, significantly reducing account discrepancies and improving financial reporting reliability.
- 45% reduction in vendor payment inquiries, strengthening supplier relationships and reducing time spent addressing payment-related concerns.
- 100% visibility into outstanding liabilities and upcoming payment obligations through structured reporting and payment tracking systems.
- Standardized accounts payable workflows implemented across invoice processing, reconciliation, reporting, and vendor communications to support future growth.
As a result, the company gained:
- Greater control and visibility over accounts payable operations.
- Improved vendor relationships through timely payments and proactive communication.
- Enhanced financial reporting accuracy and liability management.
- Increased operational efficiency without expanding internal finance headcount.
- A scalable accounts payable function capable of supporting continued business growth.
By optimizing accounts payable workflows and providing dedicated support, OBS enabled the client to scale its financial operations confidently without increasing internal headcount. What was once a resource-intensive and time-consuming process is now a streamlined accounts payable function that supports business growth, improves vendor relationships, and enhances financial control across the organization.