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- Specsavers Case Study | Transforming AP Operations with Basware
Managing AP Across the World's Largest Optical Supply Chain
Specsavers operates what Richard Kennedy, Head of Finance Systems, describes as the largest optical global supply chain in the world. With 2,500 stores in the UK alone, each with at least two joint venture partners, Specsavers' AP team is answerable to more than 5,000 store directors before even accounting for head office entities. Across its international operations spanning the UK, Republic of Ireland, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, each country brings its own ERP systems, tax regimes and supplier base, creating an environment of exceptional complexity.
The scale of supplier management alone sets Specsavers apart. Unlike franchise models, Specsavers operates as a joint venture partnership with no central purchasing mandate, encouraging stores to buy locally. That means Nish Makwana, Finance Manager, and his team must manage around 100,000 active suppliers in the UK, with 300 to 400 new suppliers joining every month. Over one million invoices pass through the AP function annually.
Optimizing the process
80%
e-invoicing in the UK
100,000
active UK suppliers
300-400
new suppliers onboarded
From Paper Invoices to Enterprise-Wide Automation
Six years ago, Specsavers' AP process bore little resemblance to what it is today. Invoices arrived physically at stores, were printed and posted to the AP team's offices in Nottingham, where staff would manually stamp, scan and key every invoice into a separate finance system. As the store network grew, so did the volume of paper, and the process became unsustainable.
The transformation began with a practical first step: a PDF plugin that allowed stores to forward invoices to a central mailbox, which then auto-forwarded into Basware. It was an early signal of what automation could deliver. Over the following years, the team systematically moved from paper and manual keying to intelligent invoice ingestion through Basware's AP automation capabilities.
The results are measurable. In the UK, the AP team has achieved 80% electronic invoicing, a figure that had never exceeded 20% in the previous 40 years of the business. Processing volumes have also been optimized: what was once 65,000 invoices per month has been reduced to approximately 45,000, as Basware's automation enabled the consolidation of invoicing from key suppliers.
Deploying Across a Multi-ERP, Multi-Country Landscape
One of the most significant operational challenges Specsavers faces is the diversity of its back-end technology environment. Each country in which it operates, runs different ERP systems, requiring a middleware layer to translate and route data between Basware and the local finance systems. Despite this complexity, the Basware platform provides a consistent, standardized front-end experience across all entities.
Makwana's team is responsible for deploying Basware locally in each new market, onboarding suppliers, configuring language and guidance, and managing the integration between the Basware front end and local finance systems. Basware has since been successfully deployed to Norway, Finland and Sweden, further extending the platform's reach across Specsavers' international operations.
The deployment model requires the AP team to operate as both a finance function and an implementation resource, building relationships with business units, understanding local processes, coding structures and supplier bases, before rolling out the platform to each new country or function.
Expanding AP Automation Beyond Core Invoice Processing
The AP team's use of Basware has extended well beyond its original scope. Specsavers deployed purchase order management through Basware to its marketing function, a department that had previously managed POs manually through two individuals in Guernsey, who raised orders, printed invoices and obtained physical signatures before processing.
Within three months of beginning the project, the AP team had deployed an end-to-end purchase ordering solution for marketing through Basware, building supplier relationships, training guides, SharePoint resources and Teams channels from scratch. Specsavers' Technology function is next in line for deployment.
Within Finance Shared Services, Specsavers has also deployed invoice workflow approvals to its Newmedica Clinics (24 sites) and Netherlands stores (285 stores). A full rollout across UK and Republic of Ireland stores is on track to complete within the next few months. The solution enables store suppliers to submit invoices centrally into Basware, with the AP team coding and routing them for real-time store approval. The result is a significant reduction in email traffic to stores and a corresponding saving in the resource previously required to manage it.
Building an AP Team Capable of Leading Change
A core group of AP team members with 10 to 15 years' experience at Specsavers have become deep Basware experts, embracing each new phase of the rollout and acting as anchors for newer joiners. Under Makwana's leadership, the team has been empowered to liaise directly with Basware consultants and support teams, raise change requests independently and participate in global AP forums, a shift from a purely transactional function to a proactive, self-sufficient capability.
Kennedy notes the strategic importance of this model: rather than routing all Basware interactions through a central IT or systems team, Specsavers allows the AP team to own the relationship with Basware directly, accelerating decision-making and enabling the team to identify and resolve issues at the point of impact.
Specsavers has the biggest optical global supply chain in the world. Basware is what allows a 45-person AP team to manage over a million invoices a year, across 100,000 suppliers, in 13 countries. The scale Basware delivers is the only reason this is operationally possible.
Richard Kennedy, Head of Finance Systems, Specsavers
Basware is the consistent front end across every country we operate in. Behind it, each market has different ERP systems and tax regimes, but Basware gives us a standardized AP experience regardless of the complexity underneath.
Nish Makwana, Finance Manager, Specsavers
AP had never managed marketing invoices before. I had to build relationships, understand their processes, coding and suppliers. Within three months we deployed end-to-end. Now it runs smoothly. We're now deploying to Technology next.
Nish Makwana, Finance Manager, Specsavers
In the last 18 months the team's confidence has flourished. They live and breathe the processes. When issues arise, they identify and solve them themselves.
Nish Makwana, Finance Manager, Specsavers
The Results
Basware AP Automation has transformed Specsavers' accounts payable processes, delivering significant improvements in efficiency, control, and supplier relationships across 13 countries. The platform now supports over one million invoices annually across a 100,000-supplier base, with 80% of UK invoices received electronically. Scope has expanded from core invoice processing to purchase order management for new business functions, with each new deployment completed within months.
"Basware has optimized how we receive and process invoices, increased e-invoicing adoption, and enabled our team to focus on improving processes beyond AP, challenging why things are done certain ways and finding better approaches. With automation in place, we've been able to review and improve processes that were genuinely painful to manage manually." Nish Makwana, Finance Manager, Specsavers
Specsavers continues to benefit from streamlined processes and enhanced supplier interactions, setting a strong foundation for future growth and operational excellence.