Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative Streamlines AP Process
2009 Perceptive Software Rachel Ellis Manager Administrative Services 800.842.7708 rachel.ellis@bluebonnet.coop Shirley Patschke Records Management Administrator 800.842.7708 shirley.patschke@bluebonnet.coop Heidi Exner Accounting Lead 800.842.7708 heidi.exner@bluebonnet.coop Ruby McCullough Senior Accounting Specialist 800.842.7708 ruby.mccullough@bluebonnet.coop Michael Chohrach Program Manager 800.842.7708 michael.chohrach@bluebonnet.coop
Agenda Introduction to Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative Life Before ImageNow Finding the Right Solution Implementing ImageNow ImageNow Go Live Key Benefits Lessons Learned The Future Questions and Answers 2009 Perceptive Software
Poll One What part of your energy utility do you work in? > Information Technology > Personnel > Finance > Customer/Member Service > Other 2009 Perceptive Software
Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative 2009 Perceptive Software
2009 Perceptive Software Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative Headquarters located in Bastrop, TX Safety Courage Our Foundation Values Respect Reliability Community Love
Life before ImageNow In the beginning
Life before ImageNow Previous Process > Paper process with interoffice routing and approval of invoices > Post approval scanning of documents > Manually Index Documents > Desire to link to transaction in SAP financial accounting system Accounts Payable Department > One Accounts Payable Clerk > Approximately 2500 invoices processed monthly 2009 Perceptive Software
Life before ImageNow Limitations of Process > Limited SAP connectivity expertise from previous vendor > Technical challenges in connecting to SAP > Capture Software Issues (tedious process) > Manual Indexing Challenges 2009 Perceptive Software
Finding the Right Solution
2009 Perceptive Software Finding the Right Solution Requirements > SAP Partner > Easy to install, configure and use > Built in Workflow Solutions Evaluated > FileNet > OnBase > ImageNow
2009 Perceptive Software Finding the Right Solution Why we chose ImageNow > End-user friendly > Point and click workflow > No SAP configuration required > Knowledge transfer ImageNow Solution purchased > 20 Concurrent User Licenses > CaptureNow, iscript, Replication Agent, Content Server, Recognition Agent Suite, Direct Print, Document Control Suite
Poll Two How does your utility currently manage and process documents and files? > We use paper exclusively > We use a homegrown/legacy imaging system > We use a commercial document imaging & management system 2009 Perceptive Software
Implementing ImageNow
2009 Perceptive Software Implementing ImageNow Accounts Payable Department > 10 Document Types Invoices Checks Vendor documents (W-9, 1099) Packing Slips (imported using iscript) Indexing Schemes > Document Keys > Custom Properties Records Management Department > Backlog invoices and checks
Implementing ImageNow Accounts Payable Workflow Approval Process > Workflow with 10 routes (for different business areas) to allow coding, approval and linking of invoices to SAP 2009 Perceptive Software
Implementing ImageNow Packing Slip Import Process > Custom iscript used to import and index packing slips related to work orders 2009 Perceptive Software
Implementing ImageNow Check Image Import Process > Custom iscript used to import and index check images from SAP 2009 Perceptive Software
ImageNow GO LIVE
2009 Perceptive Software ImageNow Go Live Go-live September 8, 2009 Version 6.3 (currently on 6.5.1) Fujitsu Scanners (Models fi6130 and fi6140) Highly Successful Low impact on End-Users with big impact on business process End-users like the new system Perceived by everyone as an improvement over the old process
Key Benefits Return on Investment
Key Benefits Savings in Time, Effort and Environment Eliminated need to scan checks before mailing Reduced time to get invoices processed > Invoices received in field offices can be scanned on local copiers and automatically imported into ImageNow via Import Agent Reduced time required to do scanning and indexing > Scanning / indexing done on front end versus back end Saving trees > Electronic Workflow eliminates need for intermediate copies 2009 Perceptive Software
Key Benefits Other Savings Increased visibility to all documents (inside and outside of workflow) > Can track progress of items through workflow approvals > End-users have ability to retrieve documents and confirm payment processing through ImageNow Eliminated need to manually match and file check copy with invoice Scanning is now up-to-date and current > Time lag in old system > Six months of scanning backlog Ability to destroy paper invoices after 3 months 2009 Perceptive Software
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned SAP Screens and script issues > HyperLearn mode not best choice for SAP screens > Use scripting against SAP screen field names instead Client Software deployed to all ImageNow users Document Keys versus Custom Properties Be aware of the need for cleanup of index values on migrated documents Scanning Profiles 2009 Perceptive Software
The Future What s next
The Future Plans for Expansion Fleet Vehicle Documents (2010) > Just recently implemented SAP Attachments (2010) > New ArchiveLink connector will allow us to use ImageNow repository to store SAP attachments > Increase SAP performance and reduce SAP database growth SAP Archiving (2010) > Utilize ImageNow as external content server to allow archiving of SAP data 2009 Perceptive Software
The Future Plans for Expansion (continued) Contractual Agreements (2010) > Repository for easy retrieval Retention Policy Manager (2010 / 2011) > Establish retention rules on images 2009 Perceptive Software
The Future Plans for Expansion (continued) Human Resources (2011) > Create common point of access to all records related to an employee > Link employee records to SAP Geographic Information System (GIS) Integration (2011) > Linking Engineering records to features in the GIS And more to come.. 2009 Perceptive Software
Questions and Answers Rachel Ellis: rachel.ellis@bluebonnet.coop Shirley Patschke: shirley.patschke@bluebonnet.coop Heidi Exner: heidi.exner@bluebonnet.coop Ruby McCullough: ruby.mccullough@bluebonnet.coop Michael Chohrach: michael.chohrach@bluebonnet.coop
2009 Perceptive Software Thank You for Attending If you wish to provide feedback, please e-mail us directly at webinar@perceptivesoftware.com. Visit www.perceptivesoftware.com/highered for interactive demos, customer success stories, white papers and more.