Single Source Keeps Staff Small and Business Running Smoothly with Automate

Background

Single Source is a large-volume provider of dry, refrigerated, frozen, grocery, paper, and chemical products for institutional commissaries, primarily correction institutions. The company processes and ships approximately 250 million pounds of food each year, nationwide, and they do it all with only 22 employees. 

As a small business with a high volume of orders to process and ship, Single Source can’t afford to have their limited staff tied up doing mundane repeated tasks like moving files or monitoring directories. That’s where Automate from Fortra comes in.

The Challenge

Single Source believes in automation. Robert Newhart, Vice President and CIO at Single Source, has always known that the company would never be able to keep costs low and the staff small without handing some of the work over to a process automation tool. As soon as Single Source moved from faxing files to the warehouse to making transfers by FTP, they began automating the process.

However, some automation solutions, including one that Single Source used for years, charge maintenance fees too high to achieve a reasonable return on investment. This tool was bloated with extra features that added to the cost but weren’t useful to Single Source.

The Solution

When Newhart discovered the Automate robotic process automation platform, it was clear the old software didn’t compare. “It wasn’t as sophisticated and easy to put together as Automate,” he said. Better yet, Automate provided that superior functionality at a lower cost. “I kept looking for hidden fees, but there were none,” said Newhart.  

Now Single Source uses Automate to run a variety of essential processes like moving files, monitoring directories, and making SQL updates. Automate reliably completes these tasks without anyone on staff needing to intervene or monitor the processes.

The Benefits

Automating has allowed Single Source to scale without adding staff by alleviating the burden of repeated, mundane tasks. It’s also good for reliability. Automate can make sure files get where they need to go on time, and notice if something doesn’t go through. “It’s never an error on our side when a vendor or customer doesn’t get a file,” said Newhart. While he is satisfied with the number of tasks that are currently being automated at Single Source, he knows that if they need more, “Automate can handle it.”