Intelligent Capture Solutions: Delivering Business Value
Value-add activities
Dollars saved
Payment time & errors
Customer: MIQ Logistics
Industry: Logistics
Application: Accounts Payable
Partners: Zia Consulting
MIQ Logistics is a third-party logistics company improving transportation networks and supply chain efficiency.
The Situation
As a logistics company working to improve the transportation and supply chain management needs of its customers, MIQ had a complicated document processing situation they needed to better manage. Operating in and between 80 countries, hundreds of freight invoices were received daily. They were looking for a way to automate freight-invoice data entry and implement document storage in order to streamline their payment processes. In addition, MIQ was looking for a solution that they could mostly implement themselves and manage internally.
There was a limited amount of content similarities in invoices received from various carriers—with around 90% of them different from one another. This led to large amounts of manual effort being spent matching invoices to shipments, and entering invoice data. These manual tasks were inefficient and error-prone.
The process consisted of printing emailed invoices, handwriting key information on each, routing them through various departments, and then sorting and placing them in filing cabinets. Not only was this time consuming for employees, it later made finding the original paperwork very difficult. In addition, these tasks increased turnaround time for accounts receivable, creating a negative impact on cash flow.
The Process
A week-long Zia Initial Consulting Engagement (ICE) determined not only how existing processes at MIQ currently worked, but what kind of efficiencies they were hoping for. Zia determined that MIQ needed a system that was very simple for the end users to operate. MIQ needed the ability to scan invoices, apply metadata tags that would be carried over to SharePoint, and to notify the appropriate departments that the documents were ready for review. Ephesoft Smart Capture was determined to be the ideal solution, thanks to its ability to automatically classify, separate, sort, and extract data from paper, fax, and electronic documents.
Employees from MIQ traveled to Boulder for a week-long training on solutions to ensure a successful implementation and to guide leadership on usage. Zia and MIQ collaborated to create the ideal approach to handle their ECM needs.
The Solution
A two-part implementation was decided on for two different segments of the business. Zia began phase one of the project creating a system with robust features that were still simple to use. Zia went onsite to quickly and efficiently kick off the project and gather detailed requirements. The priorities were determined and Zia focused on items that would move the solution into implementation the fastest.
Within three months, the first phase of the system was ready to deploy. The second phase was put in place over another three-month period with minimal assistance required from Zia. MIQ now had the kind of document processing solution they had been searching for.
Results
- 32% more hours are now dedicated to value-add activities
- Tens of thousands of dollars saved thus far on printing and paper costs
- Employees now spend little time on low-value freight invoice payment tasks
- Integrated with existing SharePoint business process
- Streamlined freight invoice management and decreased payment time
