Paperwork and steel go hand-in-hand for one major steel supplier (MSS) with locations across North America. Every piece of steel they ship includes paperwork assuring customers of the quality of the product they’re receiving.
But MSS had a problem: their processes were keeping them from meeting customer expectations. It was time to make a change.
The Paperwork Problem
Pre-printed forms and Dot matrix printers were still used at MSS to create everything from invoices to shipping documents. Paper was involved every step of the way, and it was slowing them down. Shipping documents were arriving after the steel shipments. It was a problem for their customers.
Plus, their digital documents were stored in an older IBM proprietary format. Since the documents need to be retained for at least seven years, MSS needed to undergo a full conversion to PDF—and fast. They chose a Fortra document and forms management solution.
Taking the Paper and Work Out of Paperwork
In just four months, MSS converted all of their documents to the new format and developed electronic forms for quotes, orders, invoices, bills of lading, and finance charges. Once those electronic forms were in place, they were really able to speed up their paperwork processes.
Paper couldn’t be completely eliminated. MSS steel needed (and still needs) to arrive at a customer’s destination with a mill test report (that verifies the quality of the steel). But MSS could—and did—significantly reduce the role of paper in their processes.
Today, all mill test reports are scanned and digitally stored immediately. Invoices and shipping documents can be created quickly using electronic forms. Supplementary documents can be attached or bundled in just a few clicks. Plus, they can even email the documents straight to the customer and include a print copy with the shipment.
Plus, the solution helps with all kinds of documents—from shipping to transportation to financial documents. And it really helps MSS improve customer service.
Documents arrive with the shipment and assure customers of the steel quality. And, whenever a customer requests a document from a past order, it can be retrieved and delivered in under a minute—instead of over an hour. Now they can meet customer expectations and boost satisfaction.
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The software gives the IT department a way to make processes more efficient. If we didn’t have this tool, we’d be doing a lot of stuff manually. Fortra came up to bat and hit a home run.
MJ, IT Manager, Major Steel Supplier
Document and Forms Management with Support They Can Count On
Functionality and support—for their implementation and beyond—were huge deciding factors for MSS. They knew they needed a solution that could handle their conversion needs, but it was equally crucial to find a solution with the support to back it up. And they found just that with Fortra.
No matter whether MSS is looking for best practices or help developing a new form, Fortra service and support teams have their back.
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