How Coopera Digitized Accounts Payable and ERP Integration for a National Leading Cancer Institute
Organization
A leading national institute for oncology research and treatment, operating under the Italian public healthcare system as a recognized Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalization, and Healthcare (IRCCS). The organization plays a critical role in biomedical research, specialized clinical care, and the administration of public health services, managing a complex ecosystem of suppliers, contracts, and regulated procedures.
The Challenge
The Institute was required to comply with stringent national and European payment regulations, mandating that all invoices be settled within 60 days and undergo strict financial, legal, and operational checks prior to approval.
With hundreds of vendors and thousands of monthly invoices, the Accounts Payable department had to manage a high volume of:
- Supplier contracts
- Purchase orders
- Invoices and delivery confirmations
- Tax and social security documentation
Manual processing led to delays, bottlenecks, and audit risks. The Institute aimed to automate the full lifecycle of invoice verification, approval, and settlement, while remaining compliant with ERP, audit, and healthcare sector standards.
The Solution
The Institute adopted the Coopera Enterprise Content and Process Automation Platform, implemented with the support of Interdata and KPMG, to digitize and orchestrate all Accounts Payable workflows.
Key components included:
- Document Management – for archiving contracts, orders, delivery slips, and invoices
- Case Management – creation of payment cases with structured digital folders
- BPM & Workflow Engine – automation of approval, matching, and escalation workflows
- Digital Signature Management – for legally binding approval by AP managers
- Task Management – for dynamic task distribution across teams and units
- RPA Integration – to automate repetitive validation and matching tasks
- SAP for Healthcare Integration – for 3-way invoice matching with PO, RC, and contracts
Every month, over 2,000 invoices are received, processed, validated, and archived automatically. Each invoice is enriched with metadata, matched to the relevant order and contract, and routed to the appropriate AP officer based on location and vendor. The system ensures real-time tracking of each step and automatically triggers digital signing for ERP authorization once approved.
Coopera Modules Involved
Coopera empowered a national cancer research institute to digitize and orchestrate the full Accounts Payable (AP) lifecycle—enabling structured, traceable workflows from invoice reception to ERP integration and legal validation.
Benefits & Results
The platform eliminated paper-based validation steps, enabled full traceability of payment cases, and dramatically reduced invoice processing time and errors. Coopera ensured alignment with legal, financial, and healthcare-specific compliance requirements while improving internal coordination and transparency across finance, procurement, and clinical departments.
Results achieved:
- End-to-end automation of invoice reception, validation, and settlement
- Seamless integration with ERP for real-time 3-way matching
- 100% digital signature workflows, fully compliant with legal and audit requirements
- Substantial reduction in processing time and manual effort
- Improved supplier satisfaction through timely payments and reduced disputes
- Full audit traceability of every action and decision in the AP process
- Better workload distribution, with automated task routing and SLA monitoring
