Document Imaging System Enables Pentair to Efficiently and Effectively Manage Millions of Documents Electronically
Managing thousands of documents is no easy task. But 3.8 million of them?
It's a task, but it can be done. Just ask Kevin Smith, manager, business applications
at Pentair Water Pool and Spa, Inc.
Pentair uses PICS' DocLib software, an Integrated Document Management System (IDMS) integrated with MFG/PRO, to manage almost 4 million of its business documents electronically. DocLib enables Pentair staff to store things like Customer Purchase Orders, both faxed copies and EDI transmissions, ship order confirmations, invoices, and pick tickets from multiple sources thereby eliminating the tasks traditionally associated with maintaining stacks of paperwork. The information provides an audit trail for the complete order cycle, streamlining customer service tasks.
Because DocLib enables Pentair employees to store documents in a central database, they benefit in a number of ways. For example, any employee at any of the company's multiple locations can access important customer or vendorrelated paperwork. "When one of our employees in North Carolina needs information about something delivered from California, they don't have to call another site and wait for a coworker to find the information in a file cabinet," Smith says. "They can access the information immediately."
Smith adds that the ease with which Pentair employees can save information to DocLib  from MFG/PRO is almost as important as its accessibility. "We can save documents right from our desktops," Smith says. EDI documents automatically "drop" right into the company's DocLib system; anything outside of the system— like a note written on a pick ticket—are scanned into DocLib. MFG/PRO output is "printed" right into Doclib just like it was a printer. Either source of information is categorized and filed together to make retrieving information easier.
Best of all, Pentair employees can find what they need quickly and easily. They can search for any document based on the value in any MFG/PRO field without leaving the MFG/PRO session by navigating the applications document structure.
What does this instant accessibility mean to the customer? "Our service reps can respond to inquiries quickly," Smith says. "And we can resolve issues in a single phone call. It has had a powerful positive impact on customer service." |
