Charles Seafoods Spawns Better Commerce Through Ariba

Company automates orders and invoicing through Ariba Network, fueling frictionless transactions, faster payments and growth

July 29, 2014, -- SUNNYVALE, Calif.--As a supplier to an industry driven by strict safety standards and quality controls, Charles Seafoods Supply knows there is little room for errors. Gaining advantage requires flawless execution. And to fuel it, the company, has turned to SAP’s Ariba®Network.

Like many small, family-owned enterprises, Charles Seafoods Supply took a largely manual approach to interacting with customers. Until recently, orders were faxed or called in by phone. Invoices were sent by mail. And while the company had successfully established itself as one of the best suppliers to the seafood industry in the Philippines, owner Mayette Yulo decided it was time for a change.

Manual processes were making orders difficult to track and manage and often causing errors that led to delivery delays. Paper invoices were tough to trace and provided little visibility into the status and timing of payments. So Yulo set out to digitize things.

The effort began with creating an online catalog on through which customers could view and order the company’s products with just a few clicks. Then the company started collaborating around invoices. And it quickly saw results, including:

  •          A 75 percent boost in order accuracy
  •          An 80 percent reduction in late or overdue payments
  •          A 30 reduction in days sales outstanding

“With the Ariba Network, we now have smooth and transparent transactions with our customers and fewer errors in ordering and delivery,” Yulo said. “More importantly, we are getting paid faster and now have a positive cash flow to support and expand the growth of our business.”

And this, says Dr. Chakib Bouhdary, President, Business Networks, SAP, is the real value that business networks provide. “Business networks are driving a new, more collaborative way of operating that is changing the game for companies around the world,” he said. “Leveraging the connectivity that networks like Ariba provide, buyers and sellers are not only simplifying complex and inefficient processes, but enabling new ones that enhance their relationships and create value on both sides of the equation.”

With more than 1.5 million companies connected and transacting over half a trillion in commerce on an annual basis, the Ariba Network is the world’s largest, most global business-to-business trading platform.

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