Svevia Norway: How AI improved procurement and invoice workflow

With AI, Svevia Norway automates the invoice workflow for 450 subcontractors, capturing detailed line-item data from every invoice. This data is used in regular analyses to strengthen their procurement efforts.

In early May 2024, Svevia Norway celebrated as they were awarded the contract to maintain roads for Nordland County. This 91 million NOK annual contract spans 765 km of roads and 29 km of pedestrian and bicycle lanes, giving Svevia Norway AS the responsibility for all county and state roads in Helgeland – along with several other projects across Norway

– As a company handling road maintenance from Ofoten in the north to Elverum in the south, our growth has also extended to managing an increasing volume of supplier invoices, says Lasse Nilsen, Financial manager at Svevia.

With rapid growth came the need to update their manual invoice processes and automate the accounts payable process.

- Previously, 5-6 people were involved in processing each invoice, from project controllers to staff members. In 2023 alone, we handled about 25,000 accounts payable invoices, growing by 3-4,000 annually. To manage this efficiently, we turned to automation, Lasse explains.

This led Svevia to adopt the AI-solution SEMINE, and the results were quickly evident. One significant benefit was a reduction in outstanding invoices from 1,000-1,500 to just 5-600, improving their cash flow visibility and reducing manual workload.

This is why Svevia adopted the AI-solution SEMINE, and the results came quickly. Part of the success was due to their swift communication with suppliers, encouraging them to adjust their invoices to make them easier for the system to handle automatically. This was an investment that paid off

– Another effect is that we now have fewer invoices in circulation at any given time. We used to have 1,000-1,500 invoices in the system, but now we’re down to 5-600. This means we are much more up-to-date, have better visibility over our future cash flow, and can focus on the supplier invoices that actually need attention through our automated invoice processing system, says Lasse.

– We are now looking at how we can streamline all our recurring purchases. Recurring invoices that come every month don't actually require any special approval. We want to focus on the invoices that truly impact our profitability – the ones that need to be reviewed by the right people, he says.

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Important data analysis with SEMINE

A major benefit Svevia gained from SEMINE was the detailed data capture at the line-item level. This enhanced their procurement insights and allowed them to analyze their data in tools like Power BI.

- We can now better understand our purchasing behavior and whether we are adhering to framework agreements, says Lasse.

Data from SEMINE can be analyzed across projects and suppliers, offering a detailed view of product prices and procurement efficiency.

– For example, we discovered that we are charged different prices by the same supplier depending on where in the country the purchase is made – even though they should be the same! We can drill down to a very detailed level and see something as small as a plastic bag costing 3 NOK more in one place than another,  he says.

However, Lasse emphasizes that our focus is on the bigger picture, and this is a support tool for our procurement team. When negotiating framework agreements with various suppliers, they know exactly what we purchase and can negotiate prices and terms for the right, important products, says Nilsen.

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ESG reporting with SEMINE

In addition to financial analyses, Svevia is also exploring how SEMINE can simplify ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting. Lasse points out that the increased level of detail in procurement data can improve the quality of reporting.

- SEMINE could potentially enable reporting without external input, as detailed procurement data can identify which purchases generate emissions, Lasse explains.

By integrating this data, Svevia can achieve a more accurate and efficient reporting process that considers sustainability indicators and helps reduce environmental impact through smarter procurement decisions.

SEMINE delivered quick results

Svevia went live with SEMINE on February 1st this year, and the following week, Nilsen was scheduled to conduct user training.

- It turned out that the workflow had already started, as people were using the system and approving invoices beforehand. This shows how intuitive the tool is, and that extensive training wasn't really necessary to get started, he explains.

Furthermore, since our team is spread across various parts of the country, this system transition could have posed challenges. However, I received far fewer inquiries than expected, he continues, satisfied.

Looking ahead, our main focus in the finance department will be further optimizing the workflow and leveraging the extra information we receive from SEMINE and line-item data to make informed decisions. This is where we will direct our attention going forward, Nilsen concludes.