[Survey on Sales and Purchase Management] ~70% of Invoices are Paper or PDF, Digitization Under 20%. 'Revising Business Processes' is the Top Barrier to Paperless at 37.0%
A survey by PCA Corp reveals that approximately 70% of invoices in the wholesale, manufacturing, and construction sectors are still handled via analog methods. While process revision remains a major hurdle, there is strong demand for AI integration in inventory management and payment collection.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 19, 2026 at 20:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 19, 2026 at 11:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 27, 2026 at 11:18 (191h 46m after Collected)
PCA Corporation (President: Fumiaki Sato; Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) has conducted a survey on 100 professionals responsible for sales and purchase operations in the wholesale, manufacturing, and construction industries.
## Key Survey Insights
- **Invoice Delivery Methods**: 36.0% use 'PDF email attachments' and 32.0% use 'Paper mail,' meaning nearly 70% rely on analog or semi-analog processes. Purely electronic delivery services remain underutilized.
- **Desired Delivery Format**: Respondents are split between 'PDF email' (35.0%) and 'Electronic delivery services' (35.0%), indicating a strong desire for full digitization compared to current practices.
- **Barriers to Going Paperless**: The top reason cited was 'Difficulty in revising business processes due to paper-based operations' (37.0%), followed by 'Insufficient IT skills among employees' (30.0%).
- **Automation Needs**: There is a significant demand to automate manual tasks such as 'Order processing via phone or FAX' (32.0%) and 'Reminder calls for unpaid bills' (29.0%).
- **Expectations for AI**: Respondents expressed high hopes for AI in 'Inventory optimization' (48.0%), 'Payment collection support' (39.0%), and 'Enhanced risk management' (33.0%).
PCA aims to address these industry challenges by supporting business process transformation and efficiency through its cloud-based ERP solutions, including 'PCA Arch'.
## Key Survey Insights
- **Invoice Delivery Methods**: 36.0% use 'PDF email attachments' and 32.0% use 'Paper mail,' meaning nearly 70% rely on analog or semi-analog processes. Purely electronic delivery services remain underutilized.
- **Desired Delivery Format**: Respondents are split between 'PDF email' (35.0%) and 'Electronic delivery services' (35.0%), indicating a strong desire for full digitization compared to current practices.
- **Barriers to Going Paperless**: The top reason cited was 'Difficulty in revising business processes due to paper-based operations' (37.0%), followed by 'Insufficient IT skills among employees' (30.0%).
- **Automation Needs**: There is a significant demand to automate manual tasks such as 'Order processing via phone or FAX' (32.0%) and 'Reminder calls for unpaid bills' (29.0%).
- **Expectations for AI**: Respondents expressed high hopes for AI in 'Inventory optimization' (48.0%), 'Payment collection support' (39.0%), and 'Enhanced risk management' (33.0%).
PCA aims to address these industry challenges by supporting business process transformation and efficiency through its cloud-based ERP solutions, including 'PCA Arch'.
FAQ
販売仕入業務における請求書の主な送付形式は何ですか？
調査結果によると、「PDFファイルをメールに添付して送付」が36.0%で最多、次いで「紙の請求書を郵送」が32.0%となっており、合計約7割がアナログまたは半アナログな手法で運用されています。
ペーパーレス化が進まない最大の理由は何ですか？
「紙ベースの業務が多く、業務プロセスの見直しが難しいから」という回答が37.0%で最多でした。次いで「従業員のITスキル不足（30.0%）」、「適したシステムの不明（25.0%）」が挙げられています。
システム化・自動化が最も希望されている手作業は何ですか？
「電話やFAXでの発注処理業務」が32.0%で最も多く、次いで「未回収代金に対する督促の電話対応」が29.0%となっています。
販売仕入業務においてAIに期待される役割は何ですか？
「在庫管理の最適化（需要予測・発注提案等）」が48.0%で最も高く、続いて「代金回収業務のサポート（39.0%）」、「リスク管理の強化（33.0%）」が期待されています。
多くの企業が現在どのように業務を補完していますか？
半数の50.0%がWordやExcelなどのオフィスソフトで「顧客情報管理」を補完しており、在庫管理（46.0%）や売上集計・分析（45.0%）でも高い利用率となっています。