Our experience indicates that a large percentage (more than 20%) of vendors on the vendor master file are inactive. The periodic elimination of inactive vendors  increases processor keying speed, reduces errors, and enhance system response time. For invoice processors, removing inactive vendors speeds keying by offering less vendor choices, and reduces the potential for selecting an outdated or incorrect vendor number. From a system response time, reducing the vendor base can significantly reduce the run-time for any report that extracts data from the vendor master file.

Duplicate vendors are an exposure for any AP organization, but represent an increased risk for an organization that has absorbed multiple locations and/or systems into a centralized operation. Duplicate vendors increase the likelihood of duplicate payments, and intensifies the difficulty of compiling a comprehensive spend profile for vendor negotiations (i.e. “IBM”, “I.B.M.”, “International Business Machines”, etc.). We offer specific reports to assist in removing duplicate vendors.

Many larger suppliers have multiple "remit to" locations. These addresses are often geographically placed to accelerate the flow of funds into the vendor’s operation, or can be a function of the vendor’s ownership structure. The savings can be fairly significant for both parties, as the supplier realizes administrative savings by having fewer people handling incoming remittances. An additional benefit is the ability to more easily capture all payment activity through one vendor number for use in negotiating company-wide purchasing agreements. This is an initiative best pursued with procurement, as they can potentially make the one “remit to” a condition of doing business with your company.