Vimto puts the fizz into document system

The manufacturer of Vimto, Sunkist and Panda is saving £100,000 per year by consolidating its offices and installing electronic document management and imaging software.

Following a strategic review Nichols decided to create a finance operation for its six different operating companies.

Allan Doyle, Nichols group IT manager, said: "Each had their own sales and purchase ledgers and the company wanted to move to a shared services model, consolidating these down to one."

One problem was that each of these offices had six to 12 cabinets full of invoices which needed to be dealt with. Also, as the execs signing off invoices were scattered around the country, some way of getting them authorised quickly was needed.

The company opted for Version One's electronic storage, authorisation, delivery and form design modules, which integrated with its Sage Line 500 finance system. The cabinets of invoices were scanned and backed up into the archive.

Electronic images of documents such as purchase orders, invoices, remittance advices, statements, contracts and payslips are automatically stored in the DbArchive central electronic archive.

New incoming documents such as purchase orders are scanned into the system and then the paper is shredded, while documents such as sales invoices are created electronically and also stored in the archive.

Nichols produces 20,000 invoices per year from just one of its operating companies - for soft drinks vending company, Cabana - so the benefits across the entire business are significant, saving as much as £100,000 per year.

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Doyle told silicon.com: "We are more efficient in paying our suppliers. We now only have one and a half purchase ledger clerks for four operating companies and the Plc. We don't print out five-part sales invoices - we print out one for the customer and anyone else needing to look can go to the archive."

The same system is used for approving invoices. Execs are sent an email once per day reminding them of the electronic invoices they need to sign off in the system. Doyle added: "There's no piece of paper going into an envelope."