1. Bank of America Merrill Lynch Case Study
Executive summary
In 2011, Provena Health and Resurrection Health Care merged to form Presence Health.
The merger provided the perfect opportunity for the new company to update their
payments capabilities.
After a strategic assessment, Presence decided to streamline processes and reduce
costs by implementing a comprehensive automated payments program. Their goal was
to leverage multiple payments solutions, with card as the preferred payment method.
Evolution of ePayables
at Presence Health
November 2016
Contents
Recognizing an opportunity. . . 2
Moving toward a fully
electronic solution. . . . . . . . . . . 2
Comprehensive
Payment Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Promoting electronic
payments with suppliers . . . . . 3
Buyers have more leverage
than they realize. . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Company-wide
support is key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A long-term plan
is coming to fruition. . . . . . . . . 4
Forward planning pays off. . . . 4

2. EVOLUTION OF EPAYABLES AT PRESENCE HEALTH | 2
Recognizing an opportunity
Presence Health has more than 150 locations in Illinois, including 11 hospitals and 27
long-term care and senior living facilities. The merger motivated the new company to
seek ways to do business in a more cost effective manner. Presence explored their
end-to-end approach to payments, with the goal of eliminating checks and fully
automating processes. “Cost savings were a major driver for us, along with reducing
errors through switching to paperless solutions that offer greater oversight,” says
Robert Banwart, accounts payable system director, Presence Health.
Presence wanted to design a more efficient system that could:
ŸŸMaximize payment integration
ŸŸEnsure data accuracy
ŸŸStreamline processes
ŸŸOptimize cash flow
Moving toward a fully electronic solution
Pre-merger, both Provena and Resurrection leveraged some forms of electronic payments,
using different systems and tools, but neither organization fully optimized their electronic
options. To make necessary changes, the new company initiated a PeopleSoft conversion,
giving Presence a unified accounts payable (AP) solution. At the same time, when the
two legacy companies began to merge operations, they expanded their use of electronic
payments and encouraged all suppliers to accept card payments.
Attracted by robust security features, increased efficiency and potential cost savings,
Presence implemented solutions such as BofAML’s ePayables, a virtual card program that
integrates seamlessly with existing AP processes. “It allowed us to easily consolidate the
different methods the legacy companies were using to process payments, giving us a
centralized system,” says Banwart. For suppliers not accepting cards, Presence offered
alternative electronic payment methods, prioritizing BofAML’s Paymode-X solution.
This payment option replaces paper checks by electronically sending payments and
remittance data via ACH.
Comprehensive Payment Strategy
“Cost savings were a major
driver for us, along with
reducing errors through
switching to paperless
solutions that offer
greater oversight.”
Robert Banwart
Accounts Payable
System Director, Presence Health
Attracted by robust security
features, increased efficiency
and potential cost savings,
Presence implemented
solutions such as BofAML’s
ePayables, a virtual card
program that integrates
seamlessly with existing
AP processes.

3. EVOLUTION OF EPAYABLES AT PRESENCE HEALTH | 3
Promoting electronic payments with suppliers
In addition to replacing two legacy AP systems and introducing PeopleSoft, Presence
rethought how they work with suppliers. “Suppliers are key to any successful payments
strategy,” says Jeannette Bugg, senior product manager, e-Payables, at Bank of America
Merrill Lynch. “Thinking strategically about what type of payments methods they wanted
to promote allowed Presence to put the right systems and processes in place early on
and ensure supplier adoption.”
Work began on introducing a new supplier process and streamlining payment terms.
“Reconciling the differences between the legacy companies’ files was critical, but it
wasn’t something we could easily do alone,” says Banwart. “That’s why we leveraged
a third-party organization to help research supplier information for us.” Additionally,
dedicated Bank of America Merrill Lynch specialists worked with Presence to help
shape their supplier enrollment strategy.
The process began with detailed data analysis on payment types, suppliers and solutions.
These efforts helped create a robust database and a fluid and consistent supplier on-boarding
process, beginning with every new supplier completing a questionnaire on their payment
capabilities. This allows Presence to segment by payment type, designating regular
suppliers who opt to receive card payments as “preferred suppliers,” and offering more
favorable terms. Card acceptance language is now required in new supplier contracts,
and suppliers benefit from the opportunity to get paid faster and receive detailed
remittance information.
Buyers have more leverage than they realize
Would you allow your customers to pay by card?
Company-wide support is key
Implementing a new payments strategy requires high-level backing within a company —
including department heads and key managers — that will help drive desired payment behaviors
and supplier adoption. “Presence had support right from the top, including the CFO, VP of
Treasury, and Director of Accounts Payable, as well as buy-in from supply chain,” says Katie
Steinfeld, senior treasury product sales specialist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
“Without this momentum, the program may not have been as far-reaching or successful.”
82%
Likely to
accept card
18%
Unlikely to
accept card
Implementing a new
payments strategy requires
high-level backing within
a company — including
department heads and key
managers — that will help
drive desired payment
behaviors and supplier
adoption.
Source: Kaiser Associates Study, 2013

4. EVOLUTION OF EPAYABLES AT PRESENCE HEALTH | 4
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1
Presence Health supplier payments data from 1/1/2016 through 9/30/2016.
This high-level buy-in also helped streamline the company’s approval processes, saving
time, energy and effort. “Because the guidance we’re following comes right from the top,
we’re able to make decisions at a relatively low level on issues such as supplier payment
methods and terms,” Banwart comments. “It’s rare that we run into issues we can’t deal
with ourselves.”
A long-term plan is coming to fruition
Presence is already experiencing the rewards of their payments evolution. “The program
has been a real success,” says Banwart. “We focused our efforts on suppliers we spend
the most with, and have seen a big uptick in card acceptance among these organizations.”
Recent data shows that 23% of Presence AP spend is by card or ACH, amounting to
$291M annually, a figure that looks set to rise.1
The company is also benefitting from their work on the supplier database, with greater
transparency into their transaction behavior at the individual supplier level. Additionally,
leveraging card solutions fully across the entire organization has brought working capital
benefits. Electronic transactions cost less to process, and improve visibility into and control
over payments.
Forward planning pays off
Presence is a great example of how an electronic payables strategy evolves. Although they
had to address a range of issues and disruptions related to a merger, they still thought
very carefully about how to best create and deploy a successful strategy. “Forward planning
was critical for us, and it’s where Bank of America Merrill Lynch had a real impact,” says
Banwart. “Having someone to coach us through all the details has been indispensible.”
In the four years since the merger, Presence has made significant progress with payment
automation. The company now has everything in place to expand their program to drive
down costs and improve processing efficiencies.
Presence is paying almost
23% of their suppliers by
card or ACH, amounting
to $291 million annually, a
figure that looks set to rise.