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Manufacturing firm turns barcoded paper digital with the help of eCopy
Published 14th September 2009
About Pritex Ltd
Based in the UK, Pritex Ltd is a manufacturer of automotive and industrial acoustic insulation products. The company designs, develops, and manufactures components using specialised light materials for a wide variety of vehicles and applications, but also manufactures consumer products such as foam mattresses. Pritex has around 250 employees and is part of the Steinhoff Group, which has a number of manufacturing divisions in the UK and worldwide.
Executive summary
THE PROBLEMS
• A need to convert barcoded paper documents into digital format and index files by pulling together different barcode information
• A need to increase efficiency of scanned document retrieval time
• A need to comply with document archiving standards required for industry-recognised quality systems
THE SOLUTION
• Installed eCopy ShareScan® and Barcode Recognition Service on a multifunction peripheral (MFP) and dedicated scanner
BENEFITS OF THE eCopy SOLUTION
• Simple and accurate process for making, indexing and storing barcoded electronic documents
• Average hit rate for correct indexing 96%
• Accurate document retrieval in seconds
• Reduction in need and cost of storage for production job sheets by scanning and shredding them, saving approximately £5k per annum.
• Simple work flow capabilities integrated successfully with existing Syspro ERP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM systems
• TSI6949 compliance in terms of document archiving
Full details
In search of the simplest solution to scan barcoded production job sheets and index files by pulling different barcode information together, manufacturing company, Pritex, also needed to retrieve scanned files easily from its server and integrate them seamlessly with existing Syspro ERP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM systems.
Alan Chapman, finance director at Pritex, explains, “While we looked at numerous document management systems (DMS), their success rate for optical character recognition (OCR) for reading barcodes was low. Furthermore, our document imaging needs simply didn’t justify the huge cost of a full DMS system. eCopy was recommended as a cost-effective alternative so we got in touch.”
Accurate barcode scanning and indexing
Chapman continues, “Having linked eCopy’s ShareScan document imaging software to our scanner, the company also recommended Barcode Recognition Service for routine document scanning tasks such as naming, batching, splitting and filing. Our initial impression upon reviewing the Barcode Recognition Service was really good, but given our experience with the other systems we’d investigated that delivered poor OCR, testing the eCopy solution was key. The eCopy team suggested a proof-of-concept test with the product to gain a better understanding of exactly how it would work with our tailored barcodes. Training was completed the same day and following a few customisations to our internal documentation, we were able to scan and index files accurately using data from multiple barcodes. The test had been a success.
“Another benefit is TSI6949 compliance in terms of document archiving where we are required to show an audit trail of operator sign-off at each stage of the manufacturing process for traceability, in the event of problems at a later date. In this way, we can track and resolve batch issues quickly and efficiently.”
eCopy ShareScan and Barcode Recognition Service are proving their worth with about 50 Pritex employees across a number of areas including product development, shipping, accounting, HR, sales and customer services. Because the system can be pre-configured, it literally requires just one push of a button for the desired outcome to be achieved every time. Even office workers with no knowledge of image processing can scan documents quickly and accurately.
Improved productivity and accurate document retrieval
“Scanning paper documents into electronic files can involve multiple steps that are labour intensive, time consuming, and error prone – all of which can result in lost information. However, since implementing eCopy’s ShareScan and Barcode Recognition Service, Pritex has experienced significant improvements in productivity, including quicker scanning and archiving of files. Using the level of correct indexing as a measure of success, the average hit rate was 90% during testing, while the average hit rate over the past seventeen months has been 96%,” Chapman adds.
“Thanks to the high rate of accurate indexing, we have now found a solution to a problem that was potentially commercially damaging to us, as a manual process just wasn’t viable with the volumes of documents involved. As job sheets are scanned and then shredded, Pritex has seen a £5k per year saving from the reduction in the need and cost of storage. From the outset, eCopy has been tremendous in terms of ongoing support, exhibiting a keen interest in our work and delivering on their promise of a cost effective and easy-to-use solution.”
“The implementation has provided a rapid return of investment and paid for itself within the first few months. The impact has been so positive that we are looking to roll eCopy ShareScan and Barcode Recognition out across other companies within our Group, confident they can be used in any industry for a variety of applications,” concludes Chapman.