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Your finance team is in a toxic relationship.
With bad data. Billing and AP aren’t inefficient. They’re stuck mediating problems they didn’t create. The invoice doesn’t match the PO. The receipt is missing. The amount is wrong. So your team steps in. Again. And again. This isn’t automation. It’s dependency. Most billing and AP systems process invoices. They don’t prevent bad data from entering. So exceptions become the operating model. Real efficiency starts upstream. Because you can’t automate toxic data. You eliminate
Henry Ijams
23 hours ago1 min read


Supplier-First AP Automation: Why Traditional AP Automation Falls Short
According to recent Shared Services & Outsourcing Network (SSON) research, most AP functions remain less than 50% automated , even after decades of technology investment. The problem isn’t automation itself. It’s how it’s been designed. Traditional AP automation focuses almost entirely on buyer efficiency, often overlooking suppliers in the process. The result is familiar: fragmented supplier portals, limited invoice visibility, extended payment terms, and rising inquiry volu
Philip Rowley
Feb 21 min read


The Red Zone Problem: Where AP Automation Stops—and Your Real Work Begins
When Taylor Swift shows up at a Chiefs game, cameras don’t scan the whole field. They cut straight to Travis Kelce. Because that’s where the action is. AP automation has the same blind spot. AP Automation solutions have always spotlighted the clean, fast plays—invoice capture, routing, straight-through processing. That’s the highlight reel. But the part that decides whether it delivers happens somewhere else. It happens in the red zone. Most finance teams have automated the e
Henry Ijams
Jan 212 min read


Why Traditional AP Automation Failed Suppliers | The Supplier-First Accounts Payable Model
When suppliers are the focus of AP automation solutions – everyone wins. When suppliers have no visibility, no incentives to participate in early payment programs, and no ability to self-service their needs, it creates a race to the bottom. AP teams get swamped with endless inquiries and working capital cannot be put to use. There's a better way. And it starts with Direct Commerce.
Philip Rowley
Jan 141 min read
Chaos to Clarity: How Direct Commerce Empowered a Lockheed Supplier
Direct Commerce's innovative platform was gamechanging for Nationwide Consulting When a small business works with global enterprises, visibility isn't a nice-to-have. It's vital. Robert Hanson knows this fact intimately. He also knows a thing or two about Accounts Payable – he's been working with clients (and their AP systems) since the 1990s. He also knows how damaging inefficiencies in the AP process can be – as every supplier inquiry, back and forth with a buyer, and del
Eric Warren
Dec 21, 20252 min read


Suppliers Are the Forgotten Stakeholder in AP Automation; How Direct Commerce Fixes It
Suppliers have become the forgotten stakeholder. They've been punished by high rates, stuck with clunky and outdated software, and saddled with worsening payment terms. But they are critical to any AP program: if they have no incentive to participate, the entire system breaks down. That's why we're not rethinking the current system. We're rebuilding it from the ground up – creating the industry's only Supplier-First platform.
Philip Rowley
Dec 15, 20251 min read


AP Automation Is Broken. How Direct Commerce Turns AP Chaos into Clarity
The AP Automation system is broken: for decades AP automation "solutions" relied on antiquated processes, misaligned incentives, and technology that automated dysfunction. The result was AP chaos. At Direct Commerce, we're not tweaking the system. We're replacing it.
Philip Rowley
Nov 12, 20251 min read
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