- Universal Forest Products, Inc. -

Universal Forest Products makes critical documents available from virtually anywhere with Fujitsu scanners

Universal Forest Products, Inc. (UFP) is a Grand Rapids, Michigan based manufacturer of wood and wood alternative products for retailers, dealers and home builders. In 2004, UFP achieved sales of US$2.45 billion and its major customers include Home Depot.

While strong sales brought about faster growth at the manufacturer, they also increased the volume of various types of paper documents that needed to be processed, filed away and managed. As a result, UFP employees were being forced to spend increasing amounts of time searching for documents to complete specific jobs. And eventually, the issue grew to a level where UFP came to realize that it needed to implement an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution that reduced time spent searching for specific documents. UFP also came to the conclusion that it should be using valuable office space for people rather then filing cabinets.

Problem

Although UFP realized that it had to implement an ECM solution, the entry prices for most solutions were too expensive for a company that had financial obligations to shareholders and sought to contain costs. To make matters worse, most systems would have taken far too long to implement.

Solution

The decision to set up an appropriate ECM solution was made when the manufacturer accepted that its Legal Department needed to be able to maintain and easily retrieve data and documents from a rapidly growing volume of paper. UFP's search for an appropriate ECM solution began when it entered talks with Business Strategy, Inc. (BSI), a business partner of Hyland, the designer of OnBase software solutions. Through this process, UFP was introduced to the Fujitsu's duplex color workgroup fi-4120C scanner and its color departmental fi-4530C scanner. UFP liked what it saw and decided to implement a scanning solution that uses these scanners with Kofax Image Product Inc. Ascent Capture software to prepare data that is processed by Hyland's OnBase Software.

Application / Results

The Fujitsu scanners along with OnBase and Kofax software based solutions enable UFP to automate business processes, reduce time and costs, while improving organizational efficiency. It also addresses governance, risk management and compliance needs and use of this scanner with OnBase facilitates the sharing of digital content with employees, business partners, customers and other audiences.

a) Legal department

• As planned, the Fujitsu scanner based ECM solution adapted by UFP was first utilized by the manufacturer's legal department. The solution used by this department centrally stores scanned data, email and / or attachments along with other digitized documents in its OnBase repository. While this ECM solution was structured according to organizational needs and permits cross referencing with related documents and easy retrieval by authorized users, it also enables the tracking of document revisions, one of the legal staff's primary requirements.
  
  Not only has the implementation of the Fujitsu fi-4120C / fi-4530 scanner based solution reduced time spent locating and managing documents from a matter of weeks to hours, it also enables staff to scan and manage their own documents. As a result, employees can now centrally store electronic documents in a manner that permits virtually instantaneous viewing, regardless of their office location.

b) Payroll department

• After being successfully implemented in the legal department, this ECM was set up at UFP's payroll department to assist with managing pay related information for 9,000 employees working at 100 locations. The installed system uses the data entered by Fujitsu scanners to create virtual payroll files. Users indicate which employee the scanned data belongs to by marking employee numbers and "date of hire" information in standardized test-like "bubbles" printed on separator pages that are scanned along with the relevant document. This bubble based information is read with Kofax's Ascent Capture software and scanned documents are then processed into OnBase using the OnBase Document Import Processor (DIP) module.

c) Accounts payable department

• But regardless of the success of the previous two applications, UFP has achieved its biggest Fujitsu scanner based ECM solution success in its accounts payable department. The new system freed staff from the need to phone any of UFP's 71 sites to request that particular paper documents be pulled and sent as faxes. In addition, this ECM solution facilitated safe pay related document archiving and heightened security.
  
  Staff at each of UFP's 71 locations process pay related documentation by attaching a barcode to the document and then scanning the barcode with a wand. The barcode number creates a document number within the PSI record. The clerk then enters the data into the PSI system from with UFP's central office generates payments.
  
  The bar code attached document is then scanned with a Fujitsu fi-4120C or fi-4530C scanner. Digitized data is captured with Kofax's Ascent Capture via the internet and scanned batches are then sent to UFP's main office, where it is received by a Kofax Ascent Capture Internet server. Kofax Ascent Capture reads the barcode information and proceeds to retrieve various types of data, such as vendor names.
  
  The result is an easy to use solution that places little burden on end users. Installing Fujitsu scanners that had been pre-configured to a standard UFP profile removed the need for onsite technical staff to support scanner installation. Furthermore, use of bundled Virtual ReScanR (VRS) automatically compensates for issues such as faint text, colored paper or other challenges that could result in poor quality images. As a result, users are freed from the need to manipulate scanner settings or rescan documents.
  
  In addition, the $3,000 hardware and software cost for each location was quickly recovered through improved labor, storage and retrieval costs. Physical storage costs have been reduced or eliminated as paper invoices are destroyed upon confirmation that the batches had been successfully scanned by the Fujitsu scanners and processed into OnBase.
  
  The ongoing adoption of formal payable imaging accounts also assists UFP with meeting Sarbanes-Oxley compliance issues. In the future, UFP plans to introduce ledger reports that enable users to refer to supporting invoices by simply clicking the report's invoice number.

d) Environmental safety department

• Prior to the implementation of this Fujitsu scanner based ECM system, the manufacturer was required to mail UFP product safety data sheets to each of its manufacturing locations. However, all of this became a thing of the past when UFP was able to upload these documents into this OnBase system. Now, staff working at any UPF facility can access the most up-to-date information on the web. The result is improved safety for employees accompanied by the virtual elimination of related copying and postage related costs.

e) Shipping & distribution related

• UFP is considering other ways of using this Fujitsu scanner based system to simplify paper-intensive procedures used in its shipping and distribution processes. For example, it has begun scanning driver logs, which must be kept to meet federal regulations.

f) Accounts receivable department

• UFP is using Fujitsu scanners to digitize customer invoices, aging reports and other related documents for cross referencing with OnBase's "double-click". In addition to enabling staff to logically link information, this application is expected to significantly improve customer services by making a wide range of information instantly available. It also enables staff to immediately answer customers' questions and permits them to e-mail supporting documentation directly to the customer.
  
  Although UFP is currently capturing about 170,000 documents a month, volumes are expected to increase. When the accounts receivable department's system is in full production, it is expected to process 160 types of documents in 12 different classes.

Conclusion

Through the adaptation of this Fujitsu scanner based ECM system, UFP has been able to significantly reduce labor demands. Employees do not have to respond to nearly as many calls requesting particular documents and copying and faxing costs have been slashed. Authorized employees can access critical information from virtually anywhere and documents can be sent to other people as email attachments.The response from UFP's employees to this solution has also been positive. They are impressed with the versatility of the Fujitsu scanners and utilized software. UFP is pleased, because this solution has streamlined company operations, improved service and had a rapid return on investment.