Fashion retailer New Look has signed up to a shared electronic data interchange (EDI) system to allow it to process suppliers’ invoices electronically.

More than 120 suppliers now provide e-invoices, accounting for more than 40 per cent of all invoices, and the high-street chain wants remaining partners to follow suit to maximise the benefits of the system.

The firm processes more than 70,000 invoices a year, but previous systems were manual and paper-based, says New Look senior financial systems analyst Simon Boyne-Manchee.

‘Previously, paper invoices would be submitted and staff would key in the data before sending it out to be paid,’ he said. ‘Once that happened, we had no idea where the invoice was until the supplier was paid.’

New Look opted for a hosted EDI service from supplier P2D because in-house systems would require substantial installation and integration, says Boyne-Manchee.

Invoices are submitted online and data sent directly between New Look and its suppliers. Paper invoices are scanned by a Kodak i160 scanner and the data extracted using intelligent optical character recognition technology. The data is also sent to New Look’s Lawson financial systems.

‘In the long term, we want to use e-invoices because it allows us to process invoices quicker, reduce errors and archiving costs, and retain the same financial systems team even as the firm expands,’ said Boyne-Manchee.

Hosted EDI is a growing trend because it helps to share and reduce costs, says Butler Group analyst Mark Blowers.

‘This is likely to attract smaller suppliers, benefiting New Look as its goal is for suppliers to use the same system, he said.’