Esker Helps Firstan Streamline Sales Orders and Accounts Payable through Document Automation
Derby, UK — June 11, 2015 — Esker, a worldwide leader in document process automation solutions, today announced it has been selected by Firstan, the UK’s leading independent carton packaging manufacturer.
Esker was specifically chosen to emulate the same success that Firstan had gained from using lean processes in their manufacturing by looking at how this could be achieved with automating their back office processes.
In the past the orders were received by either email, fax or postal mail which were then processed manually into the system by SOP and AP representatives. Therefore these paper-based documents could potentially be lost in transit and the information that was being keyed in manually could often lead to delays and errors causing customer queries further down the process. However, the biggest challenge for Firstan was to find a solution that was compatible with its existing order management and accounting systems, EFI Radius and Sage.
Esker could also commit to the requirement that Firstan had for the solution to be up and running within a matter of days/weeks not months. They also wanted the end users to be fully trained in this timeframe which was made possible due to the solution having a flexible platform which would then allow Firstan to continue to manage the process themselves.
“Esker has allowed us to streamline our document processing in AP and SOP through eliminating manual paper-based processing. This has brought many benefits to Firstan from helping to stop the creation of duplicate orders/invoices by reducing data entry errors and stopping the documents being lost by utilising electronic workflow with real-time tracking”, continued Paul.
“We’ve also experienced much faster processing times as a result of document automation, saving time with manually inputting data, reducing the need to walk paper around the organisation to seek approval and eliminated the manual process of archiving and retrieving documents. To conclude we now have the ability to support our company growth with more efficient processes and help improve the way we do business with both our customers and suppliers.” Paul Hartwig, Production Director, Firstan.
Benefits Achieved
- Time savings – through the automation of manual handling and routing of inbound documents
- Real-time tracking – provides invaluable reporting for financial managers
- Improved visibility – electronic workflow improves the speed, control and visibility of order processing
- Less errors – through reduced manual input, leading to fewer customer queries
- Improved customer service levels – through more efficient order processing
About Firstan
Established in 1975, Firstan is an independently owned company producing over 500 million cartons each year to the pharmaceutical, healthcare, cosmetic and food retail industry sectors. Over the last 40 years Firstan have grown significantly and is now a recognised leader in the UK’s independent carton manufacturer world. Being independently owned has enabled Firstan to be a dynamic and customer orientated company therefore leading to the overall success of the company.
About Esker
Esker is a worldwide leader in document process automation solutions. Addressing all types of business processes, from accounts payable and accounts receivable to order processing and procurement, Esker cloud computing solutions enable companies to automate the reception, processing and sending of any business document with one platform. Esker helps over 80,000 companies around the world to reduce the use of paper and eliminate manual processes while improving their productivity, efficiency and environmental impact.
With 46.1 million euros in sales revenue in 2014, Esker operates in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific with global headquarters in Lyon, France, and U.S. headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. Esker is listed on the NYSE Alternext in Paris (Code ISIN FR0000035818).
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