CHALLENGE

Manual tax verification didn’t keep pace with AI business boom

Welo Global is a leader in multilingual AI, technology, and content solutions. Its family of brands spans multilingual content and localization, intellectual property and patent translation, regulated life sciences content, multilingual digital marketing, and AI data services. Supported by a global network of more than 500,000 linguists, contributors, and domain experts, Welo Global combines multilingual infrastructure with advanced NLP, computational linguistics, and enterprise-grade compliance.

Before Fonoa, Welo Global's accounts payable (AP) team, two full-time employees were responsible for manually verifying tax information for every new supplier. They relied on publicly available resources like VIES and OECD to validate tax IDs by country, but coverage was often incomplete. For countries not supported by those sources, the team-initiated research into the correct tax ID format, accepted documentation, and verification approach.

This manual process was manageable at lower volumes. But as the company expanded into AI data services, a service line that requires large pools of suppliers to annotate and validate AI outputs, volume surged to batches of up to 2,000 new suppliers at a time.

"Once we started getting into the AI sector of our business, our supplier volume increased significantly. Manual research and not having a way to quickly validate tax information really created a bottleneck."
Angelia Jones, Global Accounts Payable Manager, Welo Global

The AP team was operating under a 7-day service level agreement (SLA) to get each supplier approved and ready to work, while the talent team wanted approvals same-day. The gap between those expectations created sustained pressure across AP, finance, and talent teams, all of whom were pulled into status checks and supplier support.

SOLUTION

Global coverage made Fonoa the clear choice

Welo Global evaluated multiple tax validation providers, selecting Fonoa Validate based on its breadth of global country coverage. A key factor in the decision was that the alternative under consideration did not support the range of countries required.

"Our suppliers come from all over the globe, and we really need that coverage. Fonoa has more countries supported, so we went ahead with Fonoa."
Angelia Jones, Global Accounts Payable Manager, Welo Global

The Validate API was connected directly to their supplier platform. When a supplier submits their information during onboarding, it’s automatically sent to Fonoa for validation. Suppliers who pass move straight into the finance system without any manual AP intervention. The integration was smooth and fast, allowing the team to see results almost immediately.

OUTCOME

7X faster onboarding, lower costs, and global expansion opportunities

The shift to automated tax validation delivered measurable results across cost, time, and supplier experience.

• Onboarding reduced from 7 days to same day with most Fonoa tax ID checks completing in real time
• $40,000 in annual cost savings due to the automation
• An estimated 13 days of manual work eliminated per month with automated validation
• 18,000+ suppliers onboarded in 2025, a volume that would not have been achievable without automation

Fonoa's proactive approach to ongoing customer support has reinforced the value of the partnership. Tickets are typically resolved within a day to a day and a half. When a new tax ID type was introduced in Nigeria in January 2026, Welo Global received a clear response on timelines within roughly 36 hours.

"Support has been really great, with fast feedback and availability. We can reach out and know we'll get a response quickly."
Angelia Jones, Global Accounts Payable Manager, Welo Global

Supplier onboarding at Welo Global is set to grow fivefold, from up to an average of 1,500 new suppliers per month to up to 8,000. Fonoa Validate is the foundation that makes that possible.

"For a fast-growing company expanding globally, Fonoa provides dependable and accurate tax verification, providing ease and peace of mind to the onboarding process."
Angelia Jones, Global Accounts Payable Manager, Welo Global