Online marketplaces are growing at a tremendous pace because of the economy’s digital shift. Executives now recognize that, paradoxically, the faster their monthly payables volume grows, the harder it will be for them to manage and continue operating efficiently. 
More than four in five online marketplace executives also understand that their ability to expand their businesses would be at least somewhat compromised if they cannot handle their forecasted growth in accounts payable volume. This risk is powering their determination to automate their payables platforms.
Marketplace executives expect the innovations they make to their accounts payable platforms to provide greater visibility, better transparency and faster payment processing, ultimately bolstering relationships with vendors.
These are just a few of the key findings in “Accounts Payable Automation: Online Marketplaces And The Challenge With High Volume Payouts,” a PYMNTS and Routable collaboration. PYMNTS’ findings are based on a survey of 204 executives from small, mid-sized and large companies to evaluate the challenges online marketplaces face in processing larger volumes of accounts payable as they grow.
• Ninety-eight percent of online marketplace executives project that they will continue growing through the next three years. The growth forecast demonstrates the importance for marketplaces to innovate with their accounts payable platforms so they can manage their rapid growth.
• Fifty-four percent of online marketplace executives say it is very or extremely important to have automated systems to manage the increasing volumes of payables they process. Online marketplaces say their ability to manage their projected growth will determine the success of their business strategies.
• Ten percent of online marketplace executives say they face difficulties when paying vendors in the vendors’ preferred currencies. This is one of the challenges online marketplaces face with their current accounts payable platforms, and it is one they hope will be resolved once their payables platforms are automated.
Online marketplaces are in a period of steady growth, and their executives are confident that automation of their accounts payable platforms will position them to meet the demands of this growth.
To learn more about how online marketplaces are using accounts payable automation to manage their projected growth, download the report.