Automation of Invoicing in Qemetica's German Branches with SAP DRC Cloud

Enhancing Efficiency and Compliance by Eliminating Manual Accounting Processes

Invoicing automation is often perceived as a digital challenge—a potential issue that raises concerns about the accuracy and smoothness of accounting processes. Uptime ERP successfully carried out a transformation process for a large German group, increasing process efficiency by 70% while simultaneously eliminating errors caused by manual invoice handling.

Qemetica, formerly known as Ciech SA before rebranding, required the standardization and automation of invoicing processes across all its German branches. The implementation of SAP Document and Reporting Compliance (DRC) Cloud aimed to streamline the management of XRechnung invoices, ensure compliance with German regulations, and eliminate manual operations that burden accounting teams.

The project encompassed several key organizational units, including Kavernengesellschaft Staß, Sodawerk Staßfurt Verwal, Sodawerk Holding Staßfurt, QEMETICA Energy Deutschland, QEMETICA Soda Deutschland, QEMETICA S.A. Zweignie.DE, and QEMETICA Salz Deutschland. To ensure full compliance with regulations and minimize the risk of errors, the company decided to collaborate with Uptime ERP. This decision was driven by the brand’s reputation and previous successful implementations, such as the seamless integration of the SAP system with KSeF requirements.

Implementation Goal – Precise Automation of Invoicing

The problem analysis left no doubt: with the increasing volume of purchase invoices and stricter e-invoicing regulations, Qemetica needed a solution that would fully centralize its processes, enhance document visibility, and ensure compliance with the German XRechnung standard.

XRechnung is the German e-invoicing standard introduced to streamline the exchange of financial documents between businesses and public administration (B2G – Business to Government) as well as in the B2B sector. It complies with the EU standard EN 16931, meaning its structure is based on common electronic invoicing standards used across EU countries. XRechnung is not a traditional file format but rather a defined data structure in XML format that contains key accounting information in a standardized way, eliminating the need for paper or PDF invoices.

The previous invoicing process was decentralized and required significant manual effort, leading to a high risk of errors and delays in processing accounting documents.

The adopted implementation strategy focused on:

Full digitization of the invoice workflow – eliminating paper-based and manual document processing through automatic invoice capture and indexing in SAP.
Integration of SAP DRC Cloud with the IT Capture system – ensuring automatic forwarding of invoices for further processing and analysis.
Real-time data visualization – providing complete access to invoice information directly within the ERP system.
Seamless regulatory compliance – implementing validation and archiving mechanisms that meet XRechnung requirements.

Implementation Process – How Did the Transformation Unfold?

Qemetica opted for a gradual implementation of SAP DRC Cloud to minimize the risk of downtime and data loss during migration. The first step involved an in-depth analysis of existing invoicing processes and the identification of areas requiring optimization. Together with the Uptime ERP team, a detailed implementation schedule was developed, covering testing phases and the gradual rollout of new functionalities.

The second phase focused on integrating SAP with the IT Capture system, enabling the automatic transfer of purchase invoices to the central SAP database. An OCR mechanism was implemented to recognize key information on documents, eliminating the need for manual data entry.

In the next step, real-time invoice visualization was introduced, allowing accounting teams to access the complete transaction history without the need to search through archives.

Implementation Results – How Did SAP DRC Cloud Transform Qemetica’s Workflow?

The implementation of SAP DRC Cloud delivered significant business benefits for Qemetica, enabling the complete elimination of manual invoice handling and a substantial acceleration of accounting processes.

Process efficiency increased by 70% – the processing time for a single invoice was reduced from several days to just a few minutes, marking a major optimization improvement for the company.
Elimination of manual data entry errors – the IT Capture system ensured nearly 100% accuracy in invoice recognition.
Financial transparency – full invoice visibility in SAP allowed financial managers to monitor document statuses in real time and make faster decisions.
Foundation for further automation – the implementation provided a scalable framework for future automation of accounting processes, facilitating expansion to other company branches.