- Achieved business growth of 20%
- Cost-savings bring competitive strength
- Hugely reduced per-document cost
- Customer orders processed rapidly
- Major business process improvements
- Staff spend more time adding value
20% growth with e-procurement
1 min read
John Liscombe, which supplies protective clothing for industry, is a relatively small company with large blue chip clients. When it wanted e-commerce to improve processing of an increasing numbers of smaller orders it turned to IT partner Impaq Information Management UK, a supply chain, financials and purchasing software solutions provider.
Impaq deployed an e-procurement solution based on the Microsoft .Net Framework, Visual Studio .NET, Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2000. The firm also implemented its xDE suite, which is designed to form an e-community by linking customers, business partners and suppliers through an XML document exchange.
That system now supports electronic receipts and sending of multiple document types in multiple formats, with seamless integration with the back office. It also automates the day-to-day transactions associated with incoming and outgoing business documents – with self-billing, purchase orders, catalogue and invoicing all integrated.
Richard Morris, Liscombe's joint managing director, says: "e-procurement solutions tend to be bespoke. However, Liscombe is not a large company, so we can't dictate to customers. We need a solution that's responsive to their needs and to provide processes that adapt to their own. We knew from the beginning we wanted to offer the same to all our customers. Impaq's solution, based on the .Net Framework, is ideal for our needs and is flexible enough for us to roll it out to multiple clients."
The system integrates with the company's Synergy ERP system, and the firm says it's helped it to grow at around 20% by forging closer customer relations and increasing the speed and accuracy of transactions. "e-procurement has radically changed, and greatly enhanced, the way we do business," says Morris. "It has made a significant contribution to the 20% increase in growth."
Working with a solution flexible enough to be rolled out across multiple customers, and based on standard Microsoft platforms, also gives the firm significant competitive advantage even over larger competitors. Additionally, xDE reduces per-document cost compared with traditional methods.
Says Morris: "We now feel in a much better position to service our customers' needs in the same way as many of the larger players. The solution is adaptable and so are we – far more so than some companies 10 times our size. This system is something people dreamed about in the past and we have now made it a reality.
"With big organisations looking to streamline their suppliers to increase efficiency and reduce costs, it is key that SMEs like us are able to respond to the changing business landscape and ensure their systems integrate with those of their top customers."
Key benefits