DocuWare Case Studies Metalen Galler: Wholesaler makes the most of economic crisis

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	Metalen Galler: Wholesaler makes the most of economic crisis DocuWare

Metalen Galler: Wholesaler makes the most of economic crisis

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Technology Category	Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
Applicable Functions	Business Operation Sales & Marketing
Use Cases	Inventory Management Supply Chain Visibility
Services	Software Design & Engineering Services System Integration
Challenge	Metalen Galler, a Belgian iron and steel products wholesaler, was facing increasing pressure from competition and increasing demands from customers for attractive prices, flexible delivery options, and short processing times. The company's sales structure was divided into areas of steel products and iron products, resulting in a decentralized storage and separate processing methods. This led to time-consuming searches as more copies were made and documents were filed more than once. The annual volume of 200,000 documents created huge amounts of paper, leading to bad morale among employees. The company needed to find a way to increase the efficiency of its business processes without neglecting customer service. Read More
About Customer	Metalen Galler is a long-established Belgian company that specializes in the wholesale of iron and steel products. The company, which was founded in 1845 in Antwerp, has been run by the same family for generations. It has an excellent reputation across the country for its top-quality products and its company philosophy that strives for total customer satisfaction. The company has around 100 employees and operates from its headquarters in Antwerp, with branch offices in Mol and Hemiksem. The company's sales structure is divided into areas of steel products and iron products, with the latter consisting of three sub-departments of tools, occupational safety, and fixtures and fittings. Read More
Solution	Metalen Galler decided to implement a Document Management System (DMS) to digitalize almost all business documents throughout the company, starting from customer queries to offers, material certificates, orders, parts lists, and delivery notes right through to incoming and outgoing invoices. The company chose DocuWare for its functionality and user-friendliness. The DMS project started in October 2008, and by January 2009, the first digital business processes, including the processing of customer orders, were approved for operation. The company also decided to process orders electronically using document workflow processes. The integration of the Windows-based DocuWare server in an IBM System i environment, the conversion of separate fax machines to one central digital fax server, and numerous minor software adjustments were part of the solution. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration

Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms

Applicable Functions

Business Operation

Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Inventory Management

Supply Chain Visibility

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

System Integration

Challenge

Metalen Galler, a Belgian iron and steel products wholesaler, was facing increasing pressure from competition and increasing demands from customers for attractive prices, flexible delivery options, and short processing times. The company's sales structure was divided into areas of steel products and iron products, resulting in a decentralized storage and separate processing methods. This led to time-consuming searches as more copies were made and documents were filed more than once. The annual volume of 200,000 documents created huge amounts of paper, leading to bad morale among employees. The company needed to find a way to increase the efficiency of its business processes without neglecting customer service.

About Customer

Metalen Galler is a long-established Belgian company that specializes in the wholesale of iron and steel products. The company, which was founded in 1845 in Antwerp, has been run by the same family for generations. It has an excellent reputation across the country for its top-quality products and its company philosophy that strives for total customer satisfaction. The company has around 100 employees and operates from its headquarters in Antwerp, with branch offices in Mol and Hemiksem. The company's sales structure is divided into areas of steel products and iron products, with the latter consisting of three sub-departments of tools, occupational safety, and fixtures and fittings.

Solution

Metalen Galler decided to implement a Document Management System (DMS) to digitalize almost all business documents throughout the company, starting from customer queries to offers, material certificates, orders, parts lists, and delivery notes right through to incoming and outgoing invoices. The company chose DocuWare for its functionality and user-friendliness. The DMS project started in October 2008, and by January 2009, the first digital business processes, including the processing of customer orders, were approved for operation. The company also decided to process orders electronically using document workflow processes. The integration of the Windows-based DocuWare server in an IBM System i environment, the conversion of separate fax machines to one central digital fax server, and numerous minor software adjustments were part of the solution.

Impact #1	The efficiency of business processes has increased so much that it is almost equivalent to the productivity of two full-time members of staff.
Impact #2	Employees now have more time to provide a higher quality of customer care.
Impact #3	The faster processing of incoming invoices means that the company can make better use of cash discount periods.

Impact #1

The efficiency of business processes has increased so much that it is almost equivalent to the productivity of two full-time members of staff.

Impact #2

Employees now have more time to provide a higher quality of customer care.

Impact #3

The faster processing of incoming invoices means that the company can make better use of cash discount periods.

Benefit #1	The efficiency of business processes has increased to the equivalent of the productivity of two full-time members of staff.
Benefit #2	The company expects a return on investment within two years.

Benefit #1

The efficiency of business processes has increased to the equivalent of the productivity of two full-time members of staff.

Benefit #2

The company expects a return on investment within two years.

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Overview

Metalen Galler: Wholesaler makes the most of economic crisis

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit