The Belgian ILB Group was able to quickly transform itself from a pure transportation broker into a trans-national logistics specialist. A digital DMS has become an important part of their success, enabling quick processing times for incoming invoices.
Founded and based in Belgium, ILB Group manages transportation via land and water, as well as containers. Through various partnerships, it draws on an impressive network of more than 100,000 vehicles. Major names from the chemical, pharmaceutical and plastics industries are among the customers of this logistics specialist, which employs a total of 30 staff and 40 drivers. A document management system (DMS) handles the filing and processing of all incoming invoices.
The company receives over 1,000 supplier invoices every month. Before introducing their DMS, the company received documents in paper form, as PDF downloads via supplier portals, and by email. Anything that was not physically available was printed out, checked against the internal order data and finally approved. Time and again, there were overlaps in the printing process, which meant it was unclear which invoices already existed on paper – for plenty of duplicates and double processing. Some invoices were simply overlooked or lost along the way. Reminders for payment were the order of the day. The company’s managing director, Sebastian Erren, 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. DocuWare Cloud scored highly in the selection process due to its flexible application options. At the same time, the DocuWare Partner impressed them with their extensive experience. As a result, the Belgian logistics company received their analysis, concept creation, configuration and rollout from a single source.
Post and pay invoices with a mouse click
Today, receipts, which are now mainly received electronically, are collected in a central mailbox. An algorithm classifies the documents and captures key index information. At the same time, the system adds other data, such as cost allocation to internal budgets or posting accounts. The documents are then transferred to DocuWare, where they are stored fully indexed in the digital archive. Invoice approval takes place automatically if a purchase order reference exists. DocuWare compares the invoice with open purchase order items and budget data from Navision. If there is a match, the invoice is released. At the same time, the DMS transfers all posting information to the ERP system, so that employees in accounting can display, post and pay the documents with just one click. “Our processes in accounting are now perfectly coordinated. Discussions with suppliers about late payments are a thing of the past”, said Sebastian Erren.
Cost savings with the core team
Since the introduction of the DMS, invoices are no longer lost. Once documents are in the system, they can be found again at any time and in the simplest way. Either via the DocuWare search function or via a digital button directly from Navision, Exact or Transfusion. Even employees who only occasionally need access to invoices can see them at the click of a mouse without having to call on their colleagues in the accounting department. The same applies to external auditors during the year-end closing process. Equipped with targeted and secure read access, they can perform their work without having to be present on site.
Since posting only takes a few seconds thanks to fully automated document reading, the accounting department has been able to keep its original staff without hiring new employees, even while the company has witnessed growth and an increase in the number of documents. Their DocuWare-based process automation definitely contributes to a low cost structure.
