Liscombe achieves 20% growth with e-procurement

Key benefits Business growth of 20% without hiring new staff, ensuring this growth is profitable and efficient Cost-saving and flexibility competitive and service edge over larger competitors. Significantly reduces per-document cost compared with traditional methods Customer orders processed more rapidly Major business process improvements, eradicating the log jam in getting orders into business systems Staff spend more time adding value Closer relationships with, and better services for, customers 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 small-volume orders it turned to long-term IT partner Impaq Information Management UK, a supply chain, financial and purchasing software solutions provider. In 2002, Impaq deployed an e-procurement solution based on the Microsoft .Net Framework, Microsoft Visual Studio .NET, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft SQL Server 2000. Between August and December, the firm worked on implementing its xDE suite, which is designed to form an e-community by linking customers, business partners and suppliers through an XML document exchange. The new system went live in December and was used as the showcase implementation for Impaq’s launch of xDE. It 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 processing 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 when it comes to e-commerce. 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 now handles Liscombe’s ordering and billing processes and integrates with the company’s Synergy ERP system, and the firm says it’s helped it to grow by around 20%, as well as 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 over the last year.” Among factors he believes have contributed to this growth is the fact that, once customers go down the e-commerce route they no longer work with paper-based suppliers. Thus, by converting customers to e-commerce, Liscombe is staying ahead of the game. The flexibility of the solution also means Liscombe can integrate its processes with those of larger organisations where necessary. Working with a solution flexible enough to be rolled out across multiple customers, based on standard Microsoft platforms gives the firm significant competitive advantage even over larger competitors. Beyond that, xDE also reduces per-document cost compared with traditional methods: one client has realised a saving of some £60 per purchase order. Says Morris: “We now feel in a much better position to service our customer needs in the same way as many of the larger players. The solution is adaptable and so are we, far more so than companies 10 times our size. With the right tools a small business can be far more responsive. This fully electronic system is something people dreamed about in the past and we have now made it a reality in our organisation. “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.”