Technology investments are steepāin more ways than one. The licensing fee or software subscription may be the most visible part of the bill, but it’s far from the whole story.
Letās explore this through the lens of AP automation, a space thatās transformed dramatically in recent years.
š§¾ The Trigger Event: When a Mistake Forces the Conversation
At both Company A and Company B, the AP Manager is struggling. Her team is overwhelmed. Payments are delayed. Vendor complaints are mounting.
Then it happens:
A large payment goes to the wrong vendor.
They paid ABC Trucking Inc. instead of ABC Transport. Same initials, different companies. The vendor code was picked incorrectly in a rush.
The AP Manager gathers her notes and heads to the CFO.
āWe need help. Weāre drowning in invoices. The team canāt keep up. And now weāve made a big mistake thatāll take hoursāif not daysāto unwind. Iāve been researching AP automation solutions that can help us scale, reduce errors, and bring some sanity back to this process.ā
š¢ Company A: The Tech-Eager CFO
The CFO in Company A lights up.
āYes! Letās explore tools. I love techāitās time we modernized.ā
They quickly greenlight the evaluation of vendors. The team is excited. A few demos happen. Everyone is moving fast.
But hereās the risk: this CFO is at risk of shiny object syndrome.
Tech for the sake of tech.
Buying a tool without evaluating the root cause, process gaps, or change management readiness.
š¢ Company B: The Cautious CFO
In contrast, Company Bās CFO furrows his brow.
āAutomation sounds expensive. Do we really need to spend on another system right now?ā
Heās not wrong.
These tools arenāt cheapāand many donāt come with built-in expertise.
But this CFO is only seeing the line-item cost. Heās not calculating the full picture of what not making a move is already costing the company.
š” So, whoās right?
Neither CFO is wrong.
But both are incomplete in their analysis.
ā The Right Framework: Cost and Consequence
A good technology investment analysis must go deeper than just, āwhat does the tool cost?ā You need to assess:
- Cost of the Tool ā Obvious, but not standalone.
- Cost of Implementation ā Internal resourcing, external consulting, time to train and go live.
- Cost of Not Implementing ā
- Current error rates
- Late payments
- Overworked staff
- Cost of hiring additional headcount
- Risk exposure (e.g. duplicate or fraudulent payments)
- Process Readiness ā Will automation simply digitize a messy process, or is there a plan to clean it up first?
- Change Management Capacity ā
- Do you have a plan for rollout and training?
- Are managers prepared to lead adoption?
- Will the team actually use the new system?
š§ The Cherry on Top: Adoption is Everything
Hereās the part no one talks about:
Companies will spend big on consultants to tell them what needs to change…
ā¦and then completely drop the ball on managing the change.
New tools get rolled out, but no one owns adoption.
The result?
Flatlined ROI.
Process doesn’t improve. Errors persist. Users default back to the old way.
š Back to Our Two Companies
- Company A needs to slow down and invest in process clarity and adoption planning.
- Company B needs to look beyond sticker shock and consider the hidden cost of staying stuck.
Both need to understand that tech doesnāt fix broken processesāit just scales them.
š¬ Final Thought
Tech investment ROI is not measured by implementation date. Itās measured by what changes, how fast it sticks, and what it saves or unlocks long term.
At ALL2S Consulting, we work with logistics and finance teams to go beyond the purchaseāto design better processes, manage change, and make sure the technology you invest in actually pays off.
š Letās talk about how to make smarter tech decisions, grounded in business goals.
Visit http://www.all2sconsultingllc.com or message me to start the conversation.
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ALL2S CONSULTING LLC 