Diesel Direct: Fueling Business Growth and the Bottom Line with AI-Powered Accounting

Industry: Transportation and Logistics, ERP: Microsoft Great Plains, Products in use: Invoice Processing, Bill of Lading (BOL) Matching, Approvals, Payments, Advanced Analytics

AP cost and time savings driven by:‍

- 99% accuracy in invoice coding and classification

- Achieving a no-touch invoice processing rate of 84%

- Shortening the AP financial close process from 4 to 3 days

- Reassigning 3 FTEs to focus on higher-value departmental activities

Download the Diesel Direct case study

Diesel Direct, a leading fuel delivery and transportation company headquartered in Massachusetts with customers in all 50 states, has transformed its financial operations and realized a significant ROI by adopting Vic.ai for autonomous invoice processing and bill pay. With multiple operating brands and a complex network of fuel deliveries, Diesel Direct faced significant challenges in scaling and managing its accounts payable (AP) processes without adding headcount. The company also struggled to accurately present AP on its balance sheet on a timely basis, requiring time-consuming manual accruals by its accounting department. This case study examines how the company overcame these obstacles, realized near-immediate ROI, and achieved remarkable improvements in its financial operations through advanced AI.

Prior state and business challenges

Before adopting Vic.ai, Diesel Direct's AP department struggled to keep up with recording the volume of invoices and payments. Andrew Turkish, VP and Corporate Controller at Diesel Direct, describes the situation: "Our AP state of affairs was, to be quite honest, always a fire drill. We probably had 100 or more unread emails in our inbox at any given time. So we were constantly in a backlog position."

The company used a template-based document management and workflow software, which proved inflexible and prone to errors. Turkish explains, "Every time a vendor tweaked their invoice, the template broke. And we had to spend time redeveloping that template to get efficiency from it."

The situation was particularly problematic when dealing with fuel suppliers who would auto-draft payments upon the due date. Turkish elaborates, "If we were behind on processing their invoices being emailed to us, slowly but surely, we're going to get into a debit balance because they're going to debit the vendor weekly for the payments. And we're not processing the credits timely (for the invoices) to zero out."

Process inefficiencies drained money

In addition to the manual effort to maintain an accurate balance sheet, Diesel Direct faced multiple automation challenges for managing incoming invoices and processing payments, which caused delays and unnecessary costs:

1. Constant invoice backlog: The AP mailbox regularly had over 100 unread emails containing invoices, leading to debit balances in our AP subledger and a significant challenge in managing DPO and related analytics. This backlog created a snowball effect, as the AP team struggled to catch up while new invoices continued to arrive daily.

2. Manual and time-consuming invoice processing: Their template-based software was inflexible and prone to errors. Even minor changes in vendor invoices would break the template, requiring time-consuming manual intervention and template redevelopment. This inefficiency significantly slowed down the entire AP process and caused frustration for the AP staff.

3. Inefficient payment systems: The company's check payment process was particularly cumbersome. AP analysts spent four to six hours printing checks, obtaining signatures, and stuffing envelopes every Friday. This manual process not only consumed valuable time but also increased the risk of manual errors, risking a delay for vendor payments.

4. Difficulty presenting accurate financial positions: Due to the invoice backlog and inefficient processes, Diesel Direct's AP balance often appeared in a debit position on the balance sheet. While mitigated via accruals, this complicated interactions with auditors and financial institutions.

5. Challenges in scaling AP operations: As Diesel Direct grew, they faced difficulties in integrating and centralizing AP operations. Any acquisition or significant growth required additional AP support, as the Diesel Direct AP team could not absorb the additional workload. This approach hindered standardization efforts and increased operational costs.

To reduce invoice processing errors, improve balance sheet accuracy for real-time forecasting, and implement true automation without human intervention, Turkish knew Diesel Direct needed to rethink its operational AP approach and reevaluate the technology in use.

Evolving to an AI-first solution

Recognizing the need for a more robust solution, Turkish sought assistance from a trusted partner with experience in software sourcing. After a thorough evaluation of various software options. "They came back with raving reviews about Vic.ai," Turkish recalls. This recommendation prompted Turkish to reach out directly to Vic.ai for a demonstration.

During the vendor selection process, Turkish was particularly impressed by the comprehensive nature of Vic.ai's offering. Unlike other point solutions focused solely on invoice processing, Vic.ai presented a holistic approach to financial operations. 

"It wasn't just an invoice ingestion AP software," Turkish explains. "Vic.ai to me was not just about what they offered at the time but also where they were going. You have all these different modules that can take me from start to finish and more." 

This end-to-end solution capability, combined with the projected headcount efficiencies, set Vic.ai apart from other vendors and aligns well with Diesel Direct's goals for financial transformation.

The Vic.ai platform

Diesel Direct implemented several key components of the Vic.ai platform: Invoice Processing, Bill of Lading (BOL) matching, Approval Flows, Payments, Advanced Analytics.

The Vic.ai platform integrates directly with Diesel Direct's ERP system, Microsoft Great Plains, enabling a seamless flow of financial data across the organization. The integration allows for real-time synchronization of invoice data, payment information, and financial records between Vic.ai and Great Plains. This interconnectivity eliminated the need for manual data entry, reduced errors, and provided a single source of truth for financial reporting and analysis.

The implementation of Vic.ai has had a significant impact on AP processes for Diesel Direct, all of which contribute tangible savings and measurable improvements:

1. Invoice Ingestion: All invoices now go through Vic.ai, posting and integrating directly into Great Plains.

2. Bill of Lading (BOL) matching: BOL documents are automatically matched at 99 percent accuracy rates using Vic.ai’s PO matching functionality.

3. Workflow standardization: Approvals for general invoices have been standardized across the organization.

4. Payments execution: Payments are now being executed through Vic.ai and integrated directly into the ERP system.

5. Analytics and reporting: The platform provides real-time analytics on invoice processing data, team performance, and business trends.

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The tangible ROI of an AI-driven approach

Meeting the goals they had set for improving efficiency and scalability, Diesel Direct also realized efficiencies of three FTEs.

Headcount efficiency gains have been realized, leading Turkish to extend the Vic.ai contract: Turkish reports, "Our initial business case said we would achieve three FTE efficiencies from going live with this. I'm happy to say that we're somewhere around two and a half today, and I'm expecting we'll hit our three FTE efficiencies once the rest of our entities get on the payments module."

These efficiency gains and annual savings were afforded by the tangible benefits of implementing Vic.ai, including:

Faster invoice processing: The Diesel Direct team has seen a 65% reduction in invoice processing time. By month six, they had also achieved a 99% accuracy rate in all relevant invoice information, including vendor, dates, GL coding, BOL, and dimensions, further supporting a more efficient and reliable process. This saved the team both time and money previously locked up in manual work.

Payment processing automation: Leveraging Vic.ai Payments has transformed their manual process. The AP team spent hours printing, signing, and mailing checks each week, draining the equivalent of 0.5 FTEs per month. Turkish has already seen significant time savings across the entities using payments today and anticipates further efficiencies once the remaining entities are live. “Vic.ai eliminated all the manual components of our payments process, providing each AP analyst with an additional 3 to 6 hours of capacity each week,” Turkish says.

Improved financial clarity: The accurate processing of invoices has stopped the snowball effect of the previous issue regarding the AP balance appearing in a debit position. This has significantly improved Diesel Direct's efficiency in presenting its financial position to auditors, rating agencies, and banks, saving hours of time each month recording manual accruals.

Time savings: "One of the things this did was shorten our AP close process by a day. Our AP team was closing on workday four. They now close on workday three without the need to make significant accruals," Turkish explains.

Scalability: The Vic.ai platform has allowed Diesel Direct to centralize its AP operations across multiple entities. Turkish highlights, "It is now much easier to scale for growth and set up new entities and brands in Vic.ai through our established process." This means Diesel Direct can continue to grow more efficiently and add much less headcount against AP workflows, while maintaining the speed and accuracy of their new efficiency benchmarks with Vic.ai.

Improved employee satisfaction: The AP team has embraced the Vic.ai platform. Turkish shares, "I was pleasantly surprised and they all fully love the usability and the friendliness of the software."

Future platform expansion and automation goals

Looking ahead, Diesel Direct plans to fully implement the payments module across all entities, which will bring additional time savings. Turkish anticipates, "Every Friday is check day, taking each AP analyst four to six hours to print checks, get them signed, and stuff envelopes. Payments will drive significant time savings."

The company also sees potential for further leveraging Vic.ai's capabilities for treasury functions and cash flow forecasting. 

As Diesel Direct continues to grow, the scalability offered by Vic.ai will play a crucial role in maintaining efficient financial operations across the expanding organization, while maintaining a lean AP team.

The implementation of Vic.ai has not only solved Diesel Direct's immediate AP challenges but has also positioned the company for future growth and financial stability. By leveraging AI-powered accounting solutions, Diesel Direct has transformed its financial operations, improving efficiency, accuracy, and strategic decision-making capabilities.