The media and entertainment industry is undergoing rapid changes with shifting customer expectations and trends. To keep up, all aspects of the business need to execute a digital transformation strategy.

At Warner Bros., onboarding of new suppliers and vendor master data maintenance was a key area that was ripe for digital transformation as it was based on a highly manual paper-based process. Requests were submitted on an Excel form then sent to a vendor maintenance team who keyed the data into the ERP system. It was a process that was subject to transcription errors and posed compliance risk to data privacy policies and regulations.

In 2018, faced with the need to comply with stricter data privacy regulations (such as GDPR), the company embarked on an initiative to adopt an online self-service vendor portal which would eliminate manual processes, improve data quality and integrity and ensure compliance to information security requirements.

The goal was to deploy an external facing portal, providing the vendor with the ability to input their own information and attach any required documentation. Once the vendor is on-boarded in the portal, they have access to the benefits of the self-service functionality to maintain their details as well as view the status of invoices. Automated workflows and updates within the portal have made the process more efficient. All of these improvements have resulted in a leaner Accounts Payable support organization with a focus on more value-added activities. Watch the full story during this webinar to learn about:

• Vision and design of the vendor registration portal

• Preparations and data cleansing

• Hypercare during cutover

• Lessons learned

• Reaping the benefits