Parker Hannifin to save $100,000s on document output

$6bn global hydraulic and pneumatic instrumentation and motion control products manufacturer Parker Hannifin is standardising on the Create!form document output management, and proving the power of these systems to improve efficiency across departments and sites, and to cut costs. Document output formatting, archiving and associated business process automation is one of the relatively unsung aspects of potential ERP add-ons that’s applicable to most company sizes. The system here is being used to streamline and e-enable Parker’s business document output formatting, generation and delivery from its global JD Edwards World ERP system, for which Create!form has been certified. Parker has so far completed implementation in the UK, Mexico, Korea and Australia, and expects to go live in Japan soon, with others of its 100-plus sites across 27 countries coming on as and when. Parker business application manager Tina Williams says the software will be available to all locations as user sites request it. “We already had a forms overlay product, but it was not able to support the growing output management needs of the 100-plus locations for which we provide IT support,” she explains. Williams says the new system was chosen for its flexibility and business process automation potential. “We wanted a system that provides digital forms archiving, was more scaleable, more economical with our WAN bandwidth so it didn’t take too long to process – and from a company able to provide 24/7 support internationally.” Create!form matched the criteria, and hence the choice. “For example, this system reduces time on the WAN by 50% compared with our old document system because it sends the overlay formatting only once and then the document data,” she says. The firm also offered to develop the double digit compatibility required by Parker for its Far East operations. Looking at ROI (return on investment) Williams says: “The main driver wasn’t cost savings; we needed to make a change to a more mature and flexible system. But we will be developing an ROI case for each future implementation.” However, she says the system certainly is generating cost savings and improving efficiency. “For example, in Germany, our accounts receivable department used to review the severity level of past-due accounts, then manually fax 21,600 payment reminders from JD Edwards on pre-printed stationery to customers. “That cost Parker more than £30,014 a year. Now, using the new system’s intelligent document routing functionality, accounts runs the reminders overnight, and the notices are automatically faxed directly to the customers based on severity rules set up in Create!form. The cost now, including faxing, is £754 a year.” And implementation costs were just £5,000. That’s just one aspect in one country. Other applications at Parker in the UK, for example, include purchase order paperwork, sales order enquiries, despatch notes, invoices and pick notes, as well as accounts payable processing, statements and so on via email and fax. Clearly, there’s a lot of potential for manufacturers of most sizes with this kind of system – and not just to cut down on pre-printed stationery.