Linking key documents to the enterprise system does more than produce fancy-looking paperwork. As two recent implementations of Formscape's document technology underscore, there are distinct bottom-line benefits, too—such as improved efficiency, reduced costs, and increased quality.
"ERP systems are weak when it comes to inbound and outbound documentation. We aim to fill that gap," says Formscape CTO Darren Atkinson.
At thermoplastic resin wholesaler M. Holland Company
, Northbrook, Ill., producing certificates of conformance occupied one full-time employee working on average 10 hours a day, explains CIO Tom Murray. The paper-based process involved identifying the certificate provided by the original manufacturer in respect to an incoming batch of material so as to reproduce it when some or all of a batch was consigned to an M. Holland customer.
"Backlogs could quickly arise, and we were considering hiring a second person," Murray adds.
Since discovering Formscape, says Murray, the process has radically changed. All incoming certificates are scanned into Formscape, indexed, and the ERP system updated with the information required to correctly link product to its conformance certificate. Then, when resin from that batch is being shipped to a customer, the certification requirement is picked up from the customer order, and a copy of the scanned original certificate presented to the certification administrator for approval. It is then delivered with the shipment as required.
At a stroke, says Murray, M. Holland achieved three things. "We've now got a complete archive of dispatched certifications, we've avoided hiring another person, and we've reduced by 30 percent the amount of time the original person spends on certification—which is a pretty good return."
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care
, Jacksonville, Fla., is another enthusiastic Formscape adopter. The company's European distribution depot in Sunbury-on-Thames, U.K., which ships to 26 European countries, uses Formscape to produce picking slips and labels. Typically, says Chris Fountain, systems development manager, picking slips are multilingual, two-sided documents containing a variety of graphics, logos, bar codes, boxes, lines, and text—each differing according to the language and country of destination, freight handler, and ordering optician.
Volumes average 40,000 shipments per week, with Formscape outputting to two 45-page-per-minute Océ printers containing plain cut-sheet office paper. Not only have errors been reduced and efficiency levels increased, says Fountain, but there's been a positive impact on sales as well. "The ability to print 'branded' pick slips, containing customers' logos, has opened up new business opportunities," he notes.
Technologies particular to document management in manufacturing enterprise include the following:Document storageDocument imaging and OCRBar-code integrationInbound/outbound fax integrationPDF form integration/data sourcingInput/output interfaces