UK’s Largest Kitchen and Bathroom Supplier Bathes in over $1,000,000 Cost Savings with Version One’s Document Management
PJH Group Ltd, the largest kitchen and bathroom supplier in the UK, is saving over $1,000,000 over five years by implementing electronic document management and imaging systems from Version One (V1 Document Management's UK sister company). These systems, which have been integrated into the company’s Oracle database, are also improving efficiencies and further enhancing PJH’s corporate image.
Electronic form design, automated document delivery and electronic document storage solutions are being rolled-out across all PJH’s nine sites and over two million documents each year are now going through these new systems. Version One’s technology has replaced an outsourced scanning solution which involved posting documents to a third party supplier for electronic imaging.
David Johnston, Group IT Director from PJH says, “We used to send a range of documents to be scanned by a third party supplier. This was costly as well as time-consuming as it could take up to a week before the scanned documents were available for us to view online. We also realized that this didn’t provide us with the level of automation, control and functionality we required. By implementing Version One’s systems, we have been provided with a fast return on investment and the flexibility and advanced functionality we needed.”
we are rolling-out the electronic delivery of documents to our customers to further improve efficiency and cut costs.
- David Johnston- PJH Group
Using Version One’s technology, PJH has replaced most of its expensive pre-printed stationery with its own electronically-created forms. A two-page branded document consisting of a delivery note, proof of delivery (POD) and picking note is one of the forms produced using Version One and as this document can be printed onto standard plain paper, it is considerably cheaper than the three-part pre-printed alternative PJH used to use. Invoices, statements and credit notes are also produced using Version One’s form design system, ensuring a quality corporate image across all documents.
All outgoing delivery notes and incoming PODs are scanned by one of ten Kodak scanners located across PJH’s nine different sites. They are stored in Version One’s electronic archive and the corresponding documents are automatically linked together. Other related documentation such as sales invoices and credit applications are also linked to the original delivery notes and PODs, enabling authorized staff to view the complete trail of correspondence directly from their PC screens. As well as improving efficiency, this ‘virtual paper trail’ is vital when chasing customer debt and resolving customer queries.
Johnston says, “We are saving at least $1,000,000 over a five-year period by significantly reducing pre-printed stationery, no longer needing to outsource our document scanning and by cutting day-to-day administration tasks such as the photocopying and manual filing and retrieval of documents.”
With authorized staff having instant access to documents either through PJH’s Oracle system or via Version One’s web browser, staff time is freed-up to carry-out more value-adding jobs. Once all the company’s historical documents have been imaged, staff will no-longer need to trawl warehouses full of paperwork, saving them up to an hour per document.
Johnston adds, “We now email documents around the organization instead of having to post or fax them and where possible, we are rolling-out the electronic delivery of documents to our customers to further improve efficiency and cut costs. We are also considering implementing Version One’s DbCapture software to automate the capture of vendor invoice data. This advanced optical character recognition technology will further improve organization efficiency, ensuring we remain the leader in our field.”
