AnyDoc®INVOICE™ inflates cost savings for Calor Gas

Founded in 1935, Calor Gas is the United Kingdom's leading liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplier of propane and butane with over 70 years experience in this flexible and environmentally sensitive energy market. The company is owned by SHV Gas, the largest global distributor of LPG.

Around four million customers rely on a Calor LPG supply for a wide variety of applications. Calor's traditional ranges of cooking and heating applications have been extended to cover areas such as materials handling, alfresco living, automotive fuels, and ground care. Calor's implementation of ISO 9001 quality procedures and accreditation as an Investor In People, are just two examples of its commitment to continuous improvement. Investors In People (IIP) is an international quality standard for effective investment in the training and development of people to achieve business goals.

Across the UK, Calor has nine customer operation centers and multiple retail outlets, with its head office in Warwick. The company employs approximately 1,200 people across the country and has revenue in excess of 325 million.

Challenge

In its head office, the company handled in excess of one million documents including delivery notes and customer correspondence annually. Calor previously used a legacy system for document management, which had no data capture capabilities. Calor recognized there were two priority areas it needed to address in terms of process optimization: first automating accounts payable (AP) and second digitizing its mailroom.

Regarding the AP department, there was a requirement to deliver significant efficiencies within accounts payable workflow processes. As part of delivering those efficiencies, supplier invoices needed to be captured electronically through the mailroom. "Our former system was antiquated," said Kam Gakhal, systems process manager at Calor Gas. "We needed a single platform for both applications."

Solution

Calor Gas chose to digitize its mailroom and accounts payable applications using AnyDoc software. The project began with accounts payable. "We were particularly impressed with the technology of AnyDoc®INVOICE™ it integrated well with our workflow system Docusphere," commented Gakhal.

The system handles both structured and unstructured documents, the latter through use of AnyDocINVOICE's AnyApp™ technology. "We have set up a forms-based template which is used routinely across the business. Where the template cannot be applied, AnyDocINVOICE's real free-form capture ability comes into operation," said Gakhal. The captured data is accurate, and it is validated automatically against a number of Calor's data sources.

Utilizing a single supplier was important for Calor. Reference visits were made to AnyDoc customers to determine suitability.

"AnyDoc was more powerful than any other technology [we reviewed]. In addition, it was sophisticated and it integrated with our software and network infrastructure, which includes Docusphere for workflow; Onyx, our CRM system; and JD Edwards."

Benefits

Cost savings was a key driver for Calor and some savings have already been achieved. A number of AP staff have been able to refocus on their core competencies. Archiving and postage costs have been reduced, and the company has also seen much improvement in the distribution of documents across their business.

"We are paying suppliers quicker than before, and we're in a much stronger position to negotiate extended payment terms because of the reliability of AnyDocINVOICE and our supporting infrastructure. We've also been able to reduce our duplicate payments by nearly 50 percent," said Gakhal.

The AnyDoc solution is also benefiting Calor's suppliers. They now experience more seamless, timely transactions and invoicing, have less contact with Calor's AP department, and client communication has improved. Documents are better managed and distributed much more efficiently. All this makes for better overall customer service.

"We feel we have achieved our goals," Gakhal added. Calor will continue to work with AnyDoc to identify how greater efficiencies and savings can be achieved in other areas of its business. "Moving forward, we are looking to make better use of what AnyDoc has to offer, such as remote scanning and classification options for our digital mailroom. I would not hesitate in recommending AnyDoc to other companies," Gakhal concluded.

Calor Gas

Industry: Utilities

Customer Profile
Calor Gas is the UK's leading LPG supplier of propane and butane, employing 1,200 people across the country with revenue in excess of 325 million.

Challenge
Calor Gas had over 1 million documents being handled by an antiquated legacy system serving its mailroom and accounts payable department, which had no data capture capabilities in place. It needed to move to a single platform that would integrate with its workflow and CRM system in its head office, digitizing and optimizing all documents. Increasing efficiency and saving costs were the two main business drivers as well as improved customer service.

Solution
AnyDocINVOICE is used in Calor's accounts payable department, integrated with Docusphere's workflow software, to capture data from both structured and unstructured documents, which is then validated against Calor's databases. The mailroom correspondence has also been digitized and integrated with AP, providing greater efficiencies in workflow, internal document management, and distribution.

Benefits

• Reduced manual sorting with automated classification of incoming mail
• Improved workflow by increasing distribution and availability of documents across the business
• Reduced duplicate payments by increasing AP efficiency
• Improved payment terms through improved negotiating position with suppliers.
• Reduced costs including postage and archiving
• Improved customer service through better communication
• Produced seamless, timely transactions and invoicing by improving data accuracy and document availability

To find more AnyDoc Case Studies, please visit: www.anydocsoftware.com/headlines/Content/Default.aspx?CatID=2

What can AnyDoc Software do for you?

For information please contact us: info@anydocsoftware.com | eurosales@anydocsoftware.com

Contact details:

U.S. Headquarters
AnyDoc Software
Inc.One Tampa City Center
Suite 800 Tampa
FL 33602-5157

Located at
201 N. Franklin St, 8th Floor
Tampa, FL 33602-5157
T: +1 813 222 0414
F: +1 813 222 0018

Swiss Office
AnyDoc Software GmbH
Baarerstrasse 10
CH-6300 Zug
Switzerland
T: +41 41 729 63 33
F: +41 41 729 63 34

UK Office
AnyDoc Software Ltd.
Herschel House
58 Herschel Street
Slough, SLI 1HD
United Kingdom
T: +44 175 355 2205

German Office
AnyDoc Software Deutschland GmbH
Hagenauerstrasse 47
D-65203 Wiesbaden
Germany
T: +49 0 241 446 7717