Over 100 years of sweetness.
When you enjoy a piece of Swiss chocolate, chances are that you taste the sweetness of ‘Schweizer Zucker’. For over 100 years, Schweizer Zucker AG has supplied the Swiss market with high-quality products in great volumes. Each year, they turn around 1.7 million tons of beet into 300,000 tons of sugar. Around a third of it is processed into Swiss chocolate, a large proportion goes to beverage manufacturers, and some ends up on domestic shelves.
Beating complexity.
With two production sites in Aarberg and Frauenfeld, 250 employees, and a century-long operation, Schweizer Zucker has more than enough to keep track of. But with digital technology, it becomes easier.
For Schweizer Zucker, digitization is a strategic initiative. One that promotes the use of mobile devices, the streamlining of business processes, and thus also sustainability by saving time and paper.
The first process to be optimized was their handling of purchases, from orders to payments, because:
- overseeing 12,000 invoices, that were manually filed in two locations was no longer an easy task,
- coordinating orders in a unified way with ca. 2,200 suppliers became difficult, and
- complexity grew as many individual solutions and exceptions developed over time.
Until digitization entered the scene in 2018.
Streamlining to the maximum.
To make the most out of digitization, Schweizer Zucker AG opted for a process automation software from Nextway. Next® Invoices hit the highest score in their selection based on cost-competitiveness, Nextway’s customer-centric approach, and the proposed solutions’ ability to achieve:
- more efficient and uniform processes across both plants,
- automatic invoice control and timely booking of invoices, and
- reduction of paper mail and electronic invoice filing.
Up-to-date overview. Integrated with Dynamics NAV.
With Next® Invoices plugged into Dynamics NAV, orders are still issued directly in the ERP, but a PDF copy is automatically archived in Next®. Here, a workflow invites the right people to approve the purchase — and reminds them if they forgot to do so.
When the corresponding supplier invoices arrive, they’re either scanned or emailed to Next®. In either case, a digital copy is archived; available to anyone with persmissions, and from anywhere. The ERP is immediately synched with data from the invoices. This way, bookkeeping and accounting get a real-time overview of all important information: pending approvals, invoices waiting for payment, or monthly outstandings.
Finally, Next® automatically matches the invoice, with the purchase order, and the delivery. If there is no difference between these three items, the invoice is automatically released for payment.
Paperless boosts efficiency.
Since Schweizer Zucker rolled out the new solution, the number of incoming paper invoices reduced significantly. With everything digitized and automated, people do their tasks quicker.
Instant access to documents.
The embedded archive in Next® Invoices comes with tons of time-saving advantages. Among others, full-text search ensures that people find vital information in seconds. Not only purchase orders, and invoices, but also emails that they have previously archived in the system.
In full control.
Next® Invoices helps the purchase and finance teams tighten control over their processes, from orders to payment. But also the handling of finance and purchase documents. Strict permission settings secure that only authorized people see relevant invoices — and nothing more. Considering the high amount of users in the system, this is a huge advantage compared to any manual procedures.
Audit-proof.
With Next® Invoices, Schweizer Zucker has a legally compliant and audit-proof system in place. The entire corporate hierarchy and a strict permission control is embedded; thus, approval procedures are straightforward. By default, the 4-eyes principle applies. For larger amounts, up to six people are automatically invited to the approval process.
Easy for everyone.
Implementing a new system is never an easy task. Especially if work routines of nearly 150 people are affected. But with a multifunctional project team and a standard integration between Next® Invoices and Dynamics NAV, it did become easier.
The future is mobile.
With a clear digital agenda, Schweizer Zucker knows that the future is mobile. That’s why, the complementing mobile app (Next® Go) was an important plus.
In the future, Next® Go will help all 150 users submit and approve invoices on the go. And grant them access to thousands of documents in their digital archive. Ready to be reviewed or shared with colleagues, while they’re on the road. Easy, secure, and future-proof.
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