X

BAE Management, a real estate development and construction company based in Germany, was founded in 2017 with the goal of minimizing paper usage and streamlining document management. They sought a solution that would allow them to store all types of documents, from invoices to contracts, in a structured and easily accessible manner. The company also wanted to avoid the hassle of backing up its own data, hence the preference for a cloud-based solution. The challenge was to find a system that could be easily integrated into their operations, provide automatic indexing for quick filing, and support various workflows to enhance administrative efficiency.

Buffalo Rock, a family-owned business founded in 1901, produces and bottles a variety of soft drinks, selling to approximately 19,000 customers in three different states. With 14 divisions and over 2,150 employees, the company also purchases items from 5,000 suppliers. This massive operation requires a large volume of document processing and record keeping, which prompted Buffalo Rock to start digitizing as early as 1999. However, certain key tasks in the Document Imaging and the Accounts Payable Departments remained manual. The company used to print all their emails and then scan them to input them into their previous system. The Accounts Payable department had to re-key everything the Document Imaging department had already keyed in. As the volume of documents grew, so did the manual processing, affecting productivity and causing delays.

BMK Group, a leading manufacturer of surface coatings and impregnations, was facing challenges with its accounting system. The company's bookkeeping was initially outsourced to an external tax consultancy. However, after acquiring a company with its own accounting department, they began doing the accounting work for the entire group. This globally operating department often struggled with incoming A/P invoices, since they were received at various locations and ended up in the accounting department in different ways. Some were scanned and sent by email, others were taken along by employees on their business trips between locations, and many were sent by mail. As a result, documents were often lost or received late, so that they rarely could benefit from early payment discounts.

Pharmigon, a manufacturer of patient-specific and highly specialized preparations for the targeted treatment of tumors, operates in state-of-the-art clean room laboratories. The company is required to adhere to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), which necessitates meticulous document processing and archiving. All documentation, including work instructions, forms, and plans, must be version-controlled and subject to a defined life cycle. Additionally, records must be created, archived for a specified period, and protected against tampering or manipulation. The company had been relying on digital document management for several years, but needed a solution that could seamlessly integrate with their existing pharmacy management system.

Airnautic, a company operating at airports in Basel, Geneva, and Zurich, along with another Basel office for administration and accounting, was struggling with an ever-increasing flood of documents created while handling orders and invoices. The company wanted to make its processes less paper-dependent and more efficient. The challenge was to set up an electronic file cabinet for the massive volume of documents, which included transport documents, loading lists, export declarations for customs, and all outgoing and incoming invoices. The company even had to rent extra office space in the past to store this considerable volume of documents.

EMOD Motors, a leading manufacturer of electric motors, was facing challenges with its document management. The company had to process over a thousand new documents daily, leading to stacks of paper. Documents had to be printed out from the ERP system and then transported between various departments. When specifications changed, it often took a long time to locate the document in question. If a document was filed incorrectly, it was difficult to track down. The company wanted to introduce a Document Management System (DMS) to reduce filing and search times, achieve more transparency in their processes, and ensure quick access to information for all departments.

Stanglmeier, a travel company based in Germany, was struggling with a flood of paperwork in its administration. With up to 200 incoming A/P invoices a day, the time and effort required for invoice verification was enormous. Invoices that had already been sent electronically by email from suppliers first had to be printed out and – like the invoices sent by mail – checked by employees at the individual locations before they were sent to the headquarters in Mainburg, then they were approved by management before being posted, paid, and archived by the accounting department. The search process was just as time-consuming when a particular invoice was needed at one of their many locations.

WSM Personal, a HR services provider, has a clear goal of lean and digital administrative processes. The company recruits its staff from abroad and applicants want to have a signed employment contract in their hands before they leave for their respective countries. This necessitates a digital signature process. Initially, WSM Personal managed all documents digitally in its own homegrown file system. However, the need to access the documents quickly from anywhere prompted the company to look for a more robust, cloud-based document management system.

Advantage Credit, Inc. (ACI) was facing a high employee turnover rate due to its paper-heavy work processes that did not allow for remote work flexibility. As the workforce matured, the company's president, Don Unger, realized that offering remote work could help retain the highly skilled workforce. However, the transition from paper to digital files was a challenge due to the large amount of paper files and records that each employee needed to access. The company needed a secure document management solution that could digitize paper documents, securely archive them, and offer fast retrieval, collaboration, editing, and other actions from anywhere and at any time.

ILB Group, a Belgium-based logistics company, was struggling with the management of over 1,000 supplier invoices every month. The company received documents in various formats, including paper, PDF downloads via supplier portals, and by email. Anything not physically available was printed out, checked against internal order data, and finally approved. This process often led to overlaps in the printing process, resulting in confusion over which invoices already existed on paper. This led to plenty of duplicates and double processing. Some invoices were overlooked or lost, leading to unpleasant inquiries from suppliers or reminders for payment. The company’s managing director decided it was time to start looking for a digital document processing solution. An ERP-independent solution was crucial, since their individual national companies use different IT systems.

The Town of Oakfield, established in 1842, was manually filing and retrieving its official documents and records. This method required additional physical space, with a price quote to add a records retention room being $300,000. The record-keeping personnel relied on their senior council members to guide them as to what day/month/year certain documents may be filed by. This system, based on human memory, was tedious and antiquated, and needed to be replaced by a modern digital one.

Before the introduction of the Document Management System (DMS), Rotonda Group was heavily reliant on paper-based processes and manual work. The company receives over 120,000 delivery bills annually, all of which were collected and sent to the headquarters once a month by courier. This led to considerable additional work and often resulted in delays and inconsistencies in invoice approval and storage. The administrative staff had to process a large number of documents at once, which was inefficient and time-consuming. As part of their digital transformation, Rotonda decided to implement a DMS to streamline these processes.

Ahembo, a beverage company based in the Canary Islands, was struggling with the management of over 300,000 invoices received annually. The company was receiving these invoices in various formats and at different locations, leading to significant delays in processing. Paper documents were often lost, electronic invoices overlooked, and some documents were duplicated, leading to inconsistencies in posting and payment. The company decided to implement an electronic solution to streamline the process and improve efficiency.

Ewart-Ohlson Machine Company, a precision machining company, was facing challenges with their document management system. The company, which produces large-size parts for various industries, had to store documents on each precision part produced for a number of years in compliance with AS9100 regulations. This required accurate and secure record keeping. However, all records and paper documents had to be manually sorted and filed in a physical location. When staff in Quality Control or any other department needed to reference the documents internally or respond to requests by a customer, the search process was long and arduous, becoming a growing obstacle that had to be overcome.

The Bavarian Tennis Association (BTV), one of the largest sports associations in Germany, embarked on a modernization journey in 2020. As part of this initiative, they aimed to make their structures more efficient, improve workflows, and accelerate coordination and decision-making processes. The association was looking for a solution that could help them redesign their administrative processes and make them more efficient. They wanted a solution that was easy to calculate, required minimal installation and maintenance effort, and offered a wide range of customization options.

Elektro Noehmer, an Austrian specialist electrical operation, has been experiencing rapid growth, expanding from 28 to 86 employees within a year. The company, which operates under the brand name “Cablevision,” offers more than 400 programs, including a local news channel. The company's growth has been driven by its transition to fiber optic cabling. However, managing this growth has been a challenge. The company needed to ensure that its processes were simple and clearly structured so that new employees could be quickly integrated. The company also needed to manage an increasing number of contracts, which had grown from ten per week to around 100 per week.

Entsorgungsservice Meindl, a leading waste removal and recycling service provider in Germany, was faced with the challenge of managing a huge volume of documents to meet strict legal guidelines. For each disposal order, all transition and accompanying documents had to be archived in an audit-proof, tamper-free manner. In addition to this, they had to manage the usual invoices and delivery slips. The processing of all these documents involved a great deal of manual work, with up to eight employees involved in sorting and archiving documents daily. If individual documents were needed for information purposes, they had to be retrieved from folders and filing cabinets. This led to the decision to digitize the processes and enable quick access to documents by introducing a Document Management System (DMS).

Imlek, the largest dairy producer in the Balkan region, was facing challenges with its paper-based business processes. Documents such as supplier invoices, contracts, and other receipts were physically transported between individual production sites and their headquarters in Belgrade on a weekly basis. This resulted in numerous inconsistencies and delays in approval and payment, especially when processing incoming A/P invoices. Employees at both the head office and at the individual branches found it extremely difficult to trace the documents. Once the documents were sent out, there was no way for colleagues on site to search for individual receipts or information.

Walker Group, a cheese producer and retailer in Switzerland, was struggling with a time-consuming and error-prone invoice approval process. The company, which supplies hotels, restaurants, canteen kitchens, and the retail trade with around 9,000 different products, had to check incoming invoices from around 150 suppliers and over 200 service providers. This process was paper-heavy and required many manual approvals, leading to inefficiencies and errors. The company wanted to introduce a document management system (DMS) to streamline this process and ensure efficient administrative workflows. They were looking for a solution that could provide more reliability and traceability in the invoice approval process.

The Kloster Eberbach Foundation, a non-profit organization with a broad range of administrative tasks, was facing challenges with its invoice receipt workflow. The old method of distributing mail by basket and folders meant that invoices were often paid too late or, in the worst case, inadvertently paid twice. The mail was distributed between various locations on the grounds, wandering from A to B, and it was often impossible to track where it was at any given time. This lack of clarity and inefficiency in the process was causing significant issues for the foundation.

Packaging Specialties Inc., a provider of sustainable film packaging solutions, was looking to digitize its operations as part of its eco-conscious mission. The company wanted to reduce paper use and save on mailing and printing material and costs. The company was previously relying on paper documentation filed in storage cabinets, which was not only environmentally unfriendly but also inefficient and costly. The company needed a solution that could be implemented across multiple departments, including accounting, human resources, sales, customer service, and maintenance.

Gastaldi International, a part of the Gastaldi Group, specializes in claims management consulting for insurance companies and reinsurers in the transportation and shipping sectors. The company relied on a digital document management system (DMS) for its operations. However, the old system did not meet all their functional and organizational requirements. The onset of the Corona pandemic highlighted the system's inadequacies, particularly in terms of document access from remote locations like home offices. The company needed a modern solution that was easy to use, allowed flexible management of documents and processes from a distance, and maintained a high level of information security.

Alfred Rexroth, a Berlin-based company in the metal industry, had to archive several hundred thousand documents every year. The company faced challenges in retrieving these documents due to the time-consuming search process. They decided to switch their ERP system to SAP Business One and find a new DMS system as updating their previous system would have been too expensive and required costly consultants. The company also faced issues with tracking invoices as they were sent around the company in circular files. The company also had to compile extensive documentation for each product manufactured, which had to be provided to the customer.

Stuart Plumbing & Heating Supplies, a family-run business with 8 branches in the Leicestershire, Warwickshire and the Midlands area, was facing a significant challenge in their finance department due to rapid expansion. The company was manually processing over 2,000 invoices a month from various suppliers, a task that was becoming increasingly time-consuming and laborious. With only two staff members handling this workload, the company was reaching a breaking point. They realized the need for an automation platform to ease the pressure and sought the advice of their long-standing print and software supplier.

gepe Peterhoff, a German company specializing in building management services, was facing challenges with its document management. The company did not have a Document Management System (DMS), resulting in many documents such as orders being archived and managed decentrally at twelve locations. This lack of a centralized system made daily work processes less transparent and less efficient. The company sought a DMS that would streamline their operations and a solution partner who could understand their processes.

KMP Media, a media agency based in Johannesburg, was struggling with a paper-based system for managing sales and buying processes. The company had to deal with a vast amount of paper documents, including order forms, consulting contracts, and invoices. Each month, between 5,000 and 10,000 documents were generated, requiring a significant portion of the staff to sort and archive these documents. The search for important documents was time-consuming and often led to delays in service delivery. The paper-based system was negatively impacting service quality, prompting the management to look for solutions.

iScan, a social enterprise launched by Humanim, provides document management services and employs individuals with disabilities. The company serves about 70 business customers, including Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles Administration and Maryland Department of Health, scanning 10 to 20 million images annually. However, the process of indexing a large volume of invoices and other documents was prone to human error, particularly when typing long strings of characters. The company needed a solution that could not only speed up operations but also eliminate these errors.

Lawrence Paper Company, a family-owned business established in 1882, produces a variety of boxes and packaging materials. With about 215 employees at its Kansas location, the company serves about 2,000 customers ranging from pet food producers to beer brewers, from industrial to retail, and from manufacturing to the automotive industry. However, the company was facing challenges with its record-keeping process. The volume of work required precise record-keeping, which used to generate a lot of paper. The company had been doing things the same way for 30 to 40 years, with a lot of paper pushing between different departments. They were looking for a way to be more efficient.

Before implementing DocuWare, SALUS initially relied on a local document management system (DMS), but this was not suitable for all documents. For example, due to their diversity and complexity, incoming delivery notes continued to be processed on paper and only header data of incoming invoices was processed electronically. This led to extensive problems, especially in the accounting department with its limited staffing. At the same time, the old solution was cost-intensive, because every change request led to long consulting and adjustment phases.

Linstow Baltic, a real estate company operating in Tallinn and Riga, processes around 800 documents every month. These documents include documentation related to ongoing tenders, legal and insurance records, as well as supplier receipts, such as cost estimates, invoices, correspondence and contracts. Before the introduction of DocuWare, most of these documents were managed using an electronic file cabinet. However, the old system only supported filing and searching via a simple digital folder structure, which made it difficult to quickly retrieve documents during active processing. As a result, Linstow Baltic continued to work on paper despite the digital archive. The company’s management recognized the low added value of this method of working and set out to find a better solution. The main objective was to improve internal controls and tracking, as well as improve efficiency by connecting the document-based invoice workflow to the Epicor iScala accounting system.