The Challenge
Per Aarsleff is a leading northern European construction company. Before teaming up with Nextway Aarsleff was facing multiple challenges typical in the construction industry. Paper supplier invoices were normally sent directly to job sites where the materials were delivered for manual approval. When finally approved, invoices were returned to the central accounting department. With approximately 40% of the turnover for the Aarsleff Group coming from activities outside of Denmark, the Group was naturally concerned about the time-consuming and logistically complicated manual processes, which also increased the risk of losing documents along the way. Furthermore, this procedure made it almost impossible to get a clear view of the financial situation in a given project since a sufficiently reliable documentation overview was never available.
The Process
Nextway’s development and implementation of the solution took place in close collaboration among the management team. For Aarsleff’s Susanne Grumløse, this collaborative effort was the “secret” behind the successful IT implementation. Moreover, she stresses that this method reinforces the users’ positive attitude and expectations towards the new system.
“When you listen to the users’ wishes and demands before beginning development, it makes it easier to develop a solid solution” she says, “It’s like going to the tailor, who carefully takes all of your measurements before cutting the cloth.”
— Susanne Grumløse, project manager at Per Aarsleff
The Solution
Since Aarsleff began scanning documents into its system, it has experienced significant business advantages. Recently, their workflow solution for managing supplier invoices has produced significant efficiency gains and dramatically minimized errors. Now that the solution is fully integrated with the ASPECT4 business application, it is much easier for the accounting department to trace a specific document and manage cash flow. Because of the integration, it now provides them with a clear picture of outstanding invoices and future expenses. The solution also means that the company avoids double payments and other costly errors.
The Result
Aarsleff’s ROI has been so convincing that no precise calculation has been made. Although the company has experienced growth, the central accounting department has never felt pressure to hire additional staff. In fact, the accounting department has one fewer employee today than it did before implementation, despite increased growth. Moreover, substantial resources have been reallocated to other administrative tasks.
