S&J European Haulage

**Document Management** Logistics

Case Study | S&J European Haulage

UK logistics firm transforms
high-volume manual paperwork into fast, agile digitised process

S&J European Haulage, a UK road haulage firm, is using its Document Management solution to advance its digital transformation strategy, increase productivity and business agility, and make customer service more efficient and responsive.

Executive Summary

Name	S&J European Haulage
Location	Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire
Size	90 staff
Activity	Logistics

Challenges

Road haulage significantly reliant
on paperwork
High volume of complex,
transport documents
Existing processes slow and manual

Solution

Ricoh Document Management Service
DocuWare
Ricoh Managed Print Service

Benefits

Helps advance digital transformation strategy
Increases employee productivity
and effectiveness
Reduces operating costs through
greater efficiency and agility
Automates and improves business
workflows and business processes
Improves customer service efficiency
and responsiveness
Makes it easier to manage high-volume, complex paperwork

Case Study | S&J European Haulage

Challenges

With a single van, husband-and-wife team Steve and Jane Haines
launched their logistics and haulage company, S&J European Haulage, in 1980. Today it has a fleet of 40 vehicles serving the UK, Ireland and parts
of continental Europe.

The company provides logistics services including UK haulage and distribution, nationwide pallet deliveries via its Palletline membership, storage facilities and training. The company is growing and has recently increased its warehousing space by 30,000sq feet.

S&J European Haulage has built a strong reputation for providing a fast, efficient and personalised service to customers. Key to that is continually implementing the latest advances in technology driven by the company’s Finance and IT Director, Carl Musson.

For instance, the company uses handheld signature capture devices for real time proof of delivery, automatic estimated time of delivery and a web portal for consignment booking. The company has also invested in technologies like the Microsoft Office 365 suite of office tools and applications.

Musson says, “Everyone at home is used to tracking parcels online and providing digital receipt signatures. Now we are starting to see similar advances in haulage and pallet logistics. Digitisation is a key strategy for S&J European Haulage and we want to ensure we’re in a position to keep on pushing forward as technology changes with things like documents in the cloud and mobile working.”

The haulage industry, however, continues to rely on paper documents to manage and process consignments and distribution. Besides general office and business documents, S&J European Haulage also needs a raft of other specialist documents. These include delivery paperwork, vehicle and trailer registration, licencing and insurance documents and special vehicle or consignment approvals. Some vehicle consignments need up to 50 different paper documents. As a road haulage training centre, the company also needs documents such as training manuals and course material. The company produces and processes up to 25,000 pages of documents a month.

In line with its strategy to digitise business operations, Musson was keen to find a way
to make document handling more efficient
and streamlined.

Ricoh is a highly recognised brand and we’ve had a great experience with its print products, services and support. When Ricoh introduced us to its document management solution, it was a natural step to work with it to solve our document challenges. Partnering with Ricoh is about reliability, peace of mind and future proofing our digital transformation.

Carl Musson, Finance and IT Director,
S&J European Haulage

Case Study | S&J European Haulage

The company was already a user of Ricoh managed print services to improve its print operations and it decided to work with Ricoh to find a more efficient method of managing documents.

Case Study | S&J European Haulage

Solution

S&J European Haulage has implemented a Ricoh Document Management Service comprising the DocuWare document processing application and upgrading its print and document handling function with 11 Ricoh IM (intelligent management) Multifunction Products (MFPs).

DocuWare is hosted in the cloud on Microsoft Azure and Ricoh is working with the company to migrate business data to a UK datacentre to take advantage of the latest Microsoft OS platform and enhance GDPR compliance.

DocuWare is being connected to existing business applications such as ERP, accounting and traffic management to create an integrated working environment where documents and processes can move seamlessly between different functions. As the business ramps up its use of Microsoft Office 365, it plans to link applications like SharePoint and OneDrive
with DocuWare.

“We are looking to leverage DocuWare and the Ricoh solution to improve the way the business manages its high volume and complex portfolio of road haulage documents and business processes. But the critical thing is not just processing documents better, it is how DocuWare can help us operate more efficiently and productively as people.

Carl Musson, Finance and IT Director,
S&J European Haulage

An app on Ricoh MFPs links them to DocuWare so staff can scan documents for archive or forwarding to relevant departments. Brexit, for instance, has meant more customer invoices need to be scanned, stored and sent to Customs & Excise. The MFPs also scan paperwork that has been signed by a customer at point of delivery.

One of the key requirements for the company was the flexibility to customise DocuWare and develop its own applications to meet future business demand. Ricoh provided full application and development training as well as incorporating a test environment to build and trial new features and functions and make changes without risk to the live system.

Case Study | S&J European Haulage

Benefits

S&J European Haulage is deploying the digital Document Management solution to manage all its business documents, help increase staff productivity and advance the company’s digital transformation strategy. This will cover standard office operations such as managing finance, HR and legal documents to make them easy to access and process in the cloud.

But it is with the company’s more specialised logistics documents where the solution is likely to have the biggest impact. Here it will enable the company to manage its documents more efficiently by automating workflows so they

can be collated and forwarded for further action, reference and auditing. As the solution becomes embedded in the business, Musson expects it to help reduce operating costs through greater efficiency and increased agility and productivity.

Musson says, “We are looking to leverage DocuWare and the Ricoh solution to improve the way the business manages its high volume and complex portfolio of road haulage documents and business processes. But the critical thing is not just processing documents better, it is how DocuWare can help us operate more efficiently and productively as people.”

Currently, the business manually scans a customer invoice and emails it to the relevant individual who then forwards it on to the customs division for processing. Musson says,
“I can easily set up a workflow in DocuWare that says this is a customs piece of paperwork and the rule for this is file it under this section and send it to the customs agent.”

Having the flexibility and consultancy support from Ricoh to develop its own apps and workflows was one of the main reasons the company chose the Ricoh solution. Musson says, “As we bring on new customers and demand increases, I now have the tools, knowhow and confidence that we have the wherewithal to develop solutions to meet business needs. For instance, if a customer came along and asked for all their proofs of delivery to be automatically uploaded to SharePoint, I am in a much better position to deliver that capability quickly and effectively,”

Ricoh Solution/Products

DocuWare

Ricoh document management consultancy

Ricoh IM Multifunction Products

Equitrac

@Remote

One process illustrates how the system supports people efficiency and productivity. The company is bringing customer data into DocuWare and, using document barcodes, linking every relevant item to each customer automatically. This means that when a customer contacts the office, staff have instant access to all documents related to that customer and can respond quickly and efficiently.

For S&J European Haulage some documents are time critical. Everyday around 400 pallets come in and out of the warehouse and often only have a two-hour turnaround window. A forklift vehicle driver needs the load manifest as soon as possible in order to know which pallets go on which delivery lorry. By integrating DocuWare with the Ricoh MFPs and placing them close to operatives, documents can be processed and printed quickly and accurately.

In the haulage industry, I think there will always be a requirement for paper documents, so the Ricoh print service remains a key asset for the business. But as we adopt more digital technologies what is critical is how you marry the need for paper documentation with digital applications to improve business operations.

Carl Musson, Finance and IT Director,
S&J European Haulage

Case Study | S&J European Haulage

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