Gartner Says Average B2B Biller Can Save More Than $10 Million per Year by Automating the Delivery of All Bills and Self-Service to The Internet.

Business Editors

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 24, 2003

An average business-to-business (B2B) biller can save approximately $10.1 million for automating the delivery of all bills over the Internet, automating all disputes and payments, and migrating all phone calls to Web-based self-service, according to Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB).

In January 2003, Gartner surveyed more than 100 large U.S. companies to gauge their activities and interest in automating invoices and customer services over the Internet. The typical business biller in the Gartner survey could save $2.7 million per year if all business bills were delivered over the Web. The average company surveyed sends out 75,000 bills each month. Paper bills cost the company $5 each to produce and deliver; Web-based bills cost $2 each.

"Internet billing and payment reduces costs, and drives needed economies and savings to a company's bottom line," said Avivah Litan, vice president and research director for Gartner. "By looking only at cost savings, however, a biller can forget that e-billing generates significant business value for a company by enabling it to deliver superior and efficient customer service that keeps customers coming back, and attracting new ones as well."

Moving customer service phone inquiries to a Web self-service channel also provides significant savings. Business billers surveyed by Gartner typically receive about 198,000 calls per year concerning invoices, at a cost of $17 per call, vs. $10 per call when the customer uses the Web services. If service calls are automated, the average surveyed biller could save $1.36 million per year.

Gartner analysts said the most significant savings accrue to billers from automating invoice disputes. Approximately, 13 percent of business invoices are disputed at a cost of $55 each for manual resolution, vs. $27.50 for resolving the dispute online. The surveyed billers could save more than $3.2 million if all disputes are managed online, or more than $1.6 million if just half are resolved online.

"Automating disputes also has the significant benefit of reducing day's sales outstanding for billers, thus enabling the billers to put money to work faster for their own companies," Litan said. "It also allows billers to avoid paying extra days of interest on their debts because the faster collection of money owed on invoices means they have to borrow less."

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc. is a research and advisory firm that helps more than 10,000 clients leverage technology to achieve business success. Gartner's businesses are Research, Consulting, Measurement, Events and Executive Programs. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., and has more than 3,800 associates, including approximately 1,000 research analysts and consultants, in more than 75 locations worldwide. Revenue for calendar year 2002 totaled $888 million. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.