Transportation services are heavily dependent on logistics and management capabilities. For these companies to be as efficient as possible, they need up-to-date systems. In this Acceleration Case Study, discover how Excel Transportation Services used optical character recognition (OCR) and an ERP solution to improve its operations. With a solution by Datahaven, the company reduced administrative tasks and document-processing times, resulting in an estimated 218% return on investment.
Business Challenge – Better Data Management With Fewer Resources
Exel Transportation Services is a leading contract logistics, freight management, and supply chain management company. Its business operations impact over 75% of companies worldwide. With its ability to provide sector-focused logistical services, Exel is able to customize its services to meet individual customer needs. However, the company needed to improve efficiency and better manage its data.
- Exel needed to improve and upgrade in the following areas:
- Implement an up-to-date ERP system
- Automate data entry processes
- Management of paper and unstructured data
An updated ERP system can help many businesses. However, Exel also needed to minimize inefficiencies and risks in its high-transaction environment. Furthermore, the company wanted to improve its ability to automate various data entry points by using barcode recognition. Exel needed to upgrade its ability to manage paper and unstructured data.
Software Solution – Implementing Datahaven Software
Exel decided to partner with Datahaven to upgrade and improve its business operations. The solution involved integrating an up-to-date ERP system with advanced OCR technology.
Datahaven’s solution provides electronic workflow and high-quality document imaging. For example, users can divide single pages of a document into multiple pages, or merge pages into one document. Users can also add graphics, security annotations, or layered text on documents.
- In addition to ease of navigation, other features the solution provides include:
- Approval of invoices for payment
- Automated routing
- Determining the workflow of content within the ERP system
The OCR functionality allows Exel to apply advanced logic for a “fingerprint” to inbound invoices from vendors, whether via email, fax, or paper. Using this OCR process makes it possible to track invoices without the need for human involvement. By extracting this data from every invoice, the system makes it possible to automate data entry tasks. Once the automated data entry is completed, Exel employees have immediate access to the information.
The Results – Increased Efficiency with Optical Character Recognition
Now, it’s possible for critical information to easily move throughout Exel, whether it’s received via fax, email, or postal mail. Employees have real-time access to all of this documentation for every vendor through the ERP system. The Datahaven solution is fully integrated to provide advanced OCR while keeping up with the high volume of documents.
As a result, Exel has significantly decreased administrative tasks, while reducing document cycle times from ten days to five days. Exel can now process more than 6,000 invoices each day, plus an additional 6,000 pages of supporting documentation. Using a system with electronic workflow and OCR helps minimize the cost of labor by reducing the need to process large volumes of paper.
