Accelerating invoice processing efficiency with GenAI for DS Smith, a leading global packaging company

DS Smith, a global packaging leader, set out to optimize the processing of 150,000 supplier invoices in Phase 1 of a broader transformation. At the time, only 55% of these invoices were automated, leaving over 67.5K to be manually processed—resulting in inefficiencies, higher costs, and increased error risk. With an annual volume of 1.5 million invoices, this translates to approximately 420K invoices requiring manual intervention—highlighting the urgent need for a scalable, intelligent solution.

An earlier attempt to automate invoice processing failed due to its inability to meet business requirements. To address the inefficiencies and improve accuracy, the company sought a more intelligent and scalable approach to streamline invoice processing and reduce operational overhead.

Hitachi Digital Services proposed an innovative solution leveraging Generative AI (GenAI) combined with advanced Visual Language Models (VLMs) to extract and manage invoice information effectively. This innovative approach involved the integration of the following key components:

• LLM with visual capabilities
• Hitachi DS Custom algorithms & Customer designed prompt
• Cloud Optimisation techniques, Prompt Caching
• AWS Cloud, Bedrock, Textract, Comprehend

The solution would be delivered in 2 phases:

Phase 1: Deploy the IDP solution in a selected mailbox and integrate with DS Smith’s AP and financial systems across France, Portugal, and Spain.

 Phase 2: Scale the solution to all the remaining mailboxes and financial systems after validating value and performance.

Key results after Phase 1 go-live (150,000 invoices):

• Achieved 95% accuracy for documents successfully uploaded to the customer’s financial systems.
• Reduced the tool’s running cost per document by more than 90%, significantly improving cost-efficiency.
• Review process for remaining documents made more efficient through a more user-friendly interface.

Expected results after full-scale deployment:

• Increase AP process accuracy from 65% to 95%, eliminating the need for manual intervention on approximately 420,000 invoices annually.
• Reduce invoice processing costs by 60% through end-to-end automation.
• Free up the AP team from repetitive, manual tasks—enabling them to focus on strategic, value-added activities.
• Establish IDP as the standard approach for document handling across DS Smith’s operations.
• Position Hitachi Digital Services as a strategic transformation partner, driving innovation and efficiency across multiple use cases.
• Enable cost savings across additional document workflows, leveraging the adaptability and scalability of the current solution.