Introducing
MasterCard SmartLink™*
*MasterCard SmartLink is the program name in the United States only. Outside of the US, the program is referred to as MasterCard’s ERP Integration Program.
The promise of ERP Integration:
Our solution is unique. And revolutionary. It’s called MasterCardSmartLink, and it’s making the promise of automated dataintegration, streamlined procurement, and expense managementa reality. A major value-added component to your MasterCardCorporate Payment Solutions card program, MasterCard SmartLinkis also a MasterCard exclusive.
A breakthrough software solution, MasterCard SmartLink
harnesses the tight controls inherent in Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) systems to maximize procurement efficiency.
ERP systems are used to manage and integrate business processesacross multiple organizational divisions. So they frequently functionas an organization’s application backbone. As companiesworldwide invest tens of billions of dollars in these powerfulsystems, the promise of automating and integrating businessprocesses has become a critical marketplace requirement. Now,MasterCard SmartLink meets that requirement, providing themissing link in your ERP strategy, while delivering measurablereturns on your ERP investment.
MasterCard SmartLink resides within the ERP environment,
using your system’s own infrastructure to perform integrated
ERP functions. Rather than simply moving data into the generalledger account, MasterCard SmartLink directly leverages the ERPsystem’s technology to automatically populate up to 30background databases and processes—everything from financeand accounting, to HR and archiving—every step of the waypreserving the audit trail.
Now that’s the promise of ERP integration realized. And thekind of e-B2B innovation you’ve come to expect from MasterCard,your best partner for e-Business solutions.
MasterCard SmartLink saves money by streamlining the purchasing and expensemanagement process.
MasterCard SmartLink saves time by truly integratingMasterCard Corporate PaymentSolutions card transactions withyour ERP system.
MasterCard SmartLinkconsolidates hundreds to thousands of supplierinvoices and reconcilesthem against the bank’speriodic statements.
Save Money
Save Time
SavePaperwork
MasterCard SmartLinkmaximizes your ERP systeminvestment, automatingcumbersome manual processes,and seamlessly integratingtransaction data—all whilepreserving the integrity of the ERP system.
MasterCardSmartLink
Realized.
A masterful partnership.
By combining the tremendous purchasingpower of the MasterCard CorporatePurchasing Card® with MasterCardSmartLink, your organization instantlybenefits from enterprise-wide advantages—and dramatic time and costs savings—that only MasterCard can deliver.
MasterCard Corporate Purchasing Card eliminates manyfront-end purchasing steps.
• By providing enhanced data capture and customized controls overthe way business purchases are made, the MasterCard CorporatePurchasing Card frees your company from time and cost-consuming, paper-driven processes—beginning with purchaseinitiation and continuing straight through to invoice generation.
MasterCard SmartLink eliminates many ERP back-endprocesses.
• No more waiting for end-of-month statements to trackexpenses. With MasterCard SmartLink, full details of transactionsare available for review by the cardholder or designatedcompany officer within 48 to 72 hours after any purchase hasbeen made, anywhere in the world, so that irregularities can beimmediately picked up.
• You can automatically collect line item detail if it is available withthe transaction, add such detail if it is not available, splittransactions across cost centers, approve transactions, generateinvoices and purchase orders, merge data with the generalledger, automatically reconcile the issuing bank’s statement, andpay the bank on time, every time. All this while keeping your ERPsystem totally intact with all its existing functionality andreporting unchanged.
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MasterCard SmartLink iseasy to install. It’s a softwareprogram that resides securelyand separately on the ERPapplication server. Installation isfast and efficient, and canusually be completed withinjust a few days.
MasterCard SmartLinksupports MasterCard’s entiresuite of Corporate PaymentSolutions card programs.The powerful data-capturecapabilities of MasterCardSmartLink ideally complementsthe MasterCard CorporatePurchasing Card, theMasterCard Corporate Card®,and the MasterCard CorporateMulti Card®.
Integrationwith Purchasing Card
Save time and money
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How it works.
MasterCard SmartLink streamlines the purchase-to-payment process intofour precise steps, saving your companysignificant time and money each step of the way.
The Purchase
Your employee uses the MasterCard Corporate Purchasing Cardto make a purchase.
The Approval
Through MasterCard SmartLink, data is downloaded fromMasterCard’s global data repository into your company’s ERPsystem. Your employee may then review the details of everypurchase and add, but not delete or change, the individual lineitem details. An authorized manager may also view and changethe accounting information to direct the data or split allocation tothe appropriate cost center(s). Either the employee or the managercan then approve the transaction, depending upon yourorganization’s pre-established controls. If desired, all or certaintransactions can be automatically approved and processed, withoutthe need for any human intervention.
The Invoice
Once the transaction is approved, MasterCard SmartLinkautomatically generates an ERP invoice. The invoice supplies fulldetails of the purchase, including supplier information and lineitem detail, if available. Each invoice is assigned a “blocked forpayment” status. Purchase orders and goods receipt documentsmay also be generated if three-way matching is required.
The Payment
Once the issuing bank’s electronic billing statement is received,MasterCard SmartLink matches the transactions on the statementto the “blocked for payment” invoices. When successful matcheshave been made, invoices are automatically released for paymentto the bank.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Maximizing your ERP investment.
As a fully integrated expense managementsolution for ERP systems, MasterCardSmartLink streamlines the monitoring,management, and administration ofexpense accounting—giving yourorganization greater control over all your business expenses.
Designed for companies of every size that use an ERP system and the MasterCard Corporate Purchasing Card,MasterCard SmartLink:
• Fully leverages your ERP investment
• Satisfies the need for an efficient and effective electronicbusiness-to-business solution to integrate procurementinformation into an ERP system
• Consolidates the hundreds to thousands of supplier invoices yourcompany generates and reconciles them against your issuingbank’s regular statements
• Eliminates virtually all fraud and expense account abuse, includingmaverick spending and off-contract purchasing
• Allows buyers to buy better and smarter, unhindered by routine,mundane tasks—freeing them to focus on more strategic,business-building initiatives
• Currently designed to work with SAP R/3, MasterCard SmartLinkwill soon be architected with other leading ERP systems
MasterCard SmartLinkeliminates hassles for amajor research university. By applying comprehensive,enterprise-wide controls,MasterCard SmartLink,together with the MasterCardPurchasing Card, achievedimmediate and dramaticbenefits for The University OfCape Town, Africa’s leadingresearch university.• Purchase orders within SAP
R/3 were cut by 40%,substantially reducingprocessing costs
• Reductions in unmatched POs significantly loweredadministration costs
• Immediate payment tovendors reduced abuse of the One Time Vendor system
• Greater efficiency allowed the procurementdepartment to refocus oncore business issues
• The order cycle was reduced• Vendor relationships
improved
“We are discovering new applications daily, all making procedures and processing smoother andmuch more hassle free, saving vast amounts of time, administration, paperwork, and cost. Forexample, purchasing Library and Academic books from around the world used to be a laboriousprocess, especially arranging funds deposits with the suppliers before books would be supplied.Now, it couldn’t be easier. If the user is entitled to buy it, the card works and MasterCard SmartLinksimply posts the cost into the correct general ledger account.”
Linda Harrower, Purchasing Administrator, University of Cape Town
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MasterCard SmartLink vs. traditional “mappers”
Several middleware providers, or mappers,currently provide a simple link to ERPsystems. MasterCard SmartLink goesfurther, fully integrating transaction datawith your system. And that’s unique.
Mappers typically move data into general ledger accounts, puttinga number or “value” into an expense category that’s been definedby some type of master mapping chart. The result? Changes madeto the general ledger require a manual rewrite of the mapping chart—which is why simple mapper products call for a high degree ofmaintenance and hands-on involvement.
MasterCard SmartLink, on the other hand, uses ERP technology toput the data in up to 30 background databases and processes,everything from finance and accounting to inventory and HR. Andsince MasterCard SmartLink uses your ERP system’s owntechnology, no changes are required when adjustments to thegeneral ledger are made, corporate re-organizations take place, orstaff are moved from one department to another. All of whichsaves your company valuable time and money.
And seamless data movement is only one of MasterCard SmartLink’smany advantages. Superior data validation, invoice generation andapprovals, exception handling, and reconciliation with bankstatements also make MasterCard SmartLink the right solution forfully leveraging your ERP investment. Efficiently. And cost-effectively.
© 2002 MasterCard International IncorporatedAll rights reserved.
www.mastercardsmartlink.com
MCSL-0302
The MasterCard SmartLink software application is exclusively licensed to MasterCard International by SPS International Limited.
For more information about how MasterCardSmartLink can help your company realize the promise of ERP systems, pleasecontact your Customer Representative. Or e-mail us at [email protected].
