Sometimes the fibers of a company process become tattered and torn, needing replacement. This was the case for Valdese Weavers, the leading producer of decorative textiles, and its document processing.
Low Productivity & High Costs of Manual Document Processing
With a wide variety of incoming and outgoing documents, Valdese Weavers document processing was left hanging by a thread. While relying on SAP software along with a combination of other systems to streamline communication, many aspects of its process remained manual.
As productivity began to plummet and the cost of physical supplies increased, the toll that manual processes were taking on Valdese Weavers was realized.
Combating Manual Pains with Document Process Automation
Searching for a way to combat the pains of manual processing while allowing for electronic document storage, Valdese Weavers found the answer to their problems — document process automation.
On the inbound side of business, vendor invoices and customer purchase orders (POs) are now automatically processed. On the outbound side, even more document types are automated: customer invoices, vendor POs, customer order acknowledgements, vendor remittances advices and ad hoc lists/reports out of SAP.
What does all that mean for its staff? Less paper, higher productivity and greater accessibility to documents in the workflow.
The newfound solution also provides a document storage tool to electronically archive the array of inbound and outbound documents it processes, providing 24/7/365 access and secure storage for all business-critical documents.
Straight to the Bank Benefits of Automation
Since implementation, Valdese Weavers has experienced a number of significant business benefits, including:
- 150 hours saved per month (that’s 75 days annually!) thanks to reduced manual tasks
- $40-50,000 in annual savings thanks to drastically reduced paper and postage costs
Beyond quantitative benefits, it also profits from:
- Higher staff productivity and satisfaction
- Complete control and transparency over workflow
- Duplicate checking to eliminate double payments and orders
- Measurable process efficiency
Currently upgrading its solution to enable enhanced functionalities and tools, Valdese Weavers is optimistic about the future and expanding the use of automation to other processes. With the benefits it’s already gained, furthering its automation initiative seems inevitable.
Read the full story on Valdese Weavers’ document process automation initiative: Download the complete case study.