FileBound assists lumber company in restructuring an out-of-date credit process

Award-wining lumber company encounters limitations during growth due to the slow and inefficient credit application process. FileBound innovative applications modernize paper flow into integrated electronic forms streamlining company organization.

Profile

This successful Ohio based lumber company has used its motto of providing builders and do-it-yourself enthusiasts with a broad range of quality materials and exceptional customer service to propel the company into nationwide distribution. With over 3,000 employees in 200 stores across the country, this lumber giant grosses $250 million in annual sales. Their achievement was only further recognized when they recently received the Pro Dealer of the Year Award by an industry leading publication.

Challenge

At the onset of 2006 the success experienced through rapid growth had left a strain on the company’s credit department. As the lifeline of the company, the credit department received hundreds of new credit applications, credit increase requests and job-based credit line applications everyday. They depended on a manual paper-flow process that, with increased requests, allowed files to be misplaced, improperly approved or improperly declined. Though the staff worked diligently to handle the increase, the process had become time consuming and costly. A lost application or improper decline could cost the company thousands of dollars in revenue. In order for the lumber company to continue growing with success, they needed a central
mechanism to process credit applications. They needed an electronic method to receive, prioritize, and approve or decline both electronic and paper applications efficiently and accurately.

Solution

After careful research the company overwhelmingly agreed that industry leader FileBound Document Management Solutions was the answer. Using multiple applications such as Workflow and EForms, FileBound set up automated credit application processes for each of the lumber company brands. Through an on-site processor and scanner, all applications could be received in an orderly fashion. Once directed to the appropriate file the staff was able to use application Master Sheet to make permanent changes and notes on applications. This created amore formal system of review for applications and allowed management to track accountability of staff.

Within two weeks from the time of purchase, FileBound software was fully configured and operational. In addition to Workflow options, FileBound also provided the credit department with a repository to store electronic credit applications that had previously been long and costly to print. These solutions combined to provide the company with an automated, more efficient processing mechanism that greatly improved the turn around time on credit applications.

Benefits

With FileBound, the lumber company’s credit department has seen significant reduction in the time required to process a credit application from start to finish. Using an electronic management system given them the ability to track and audit pending applications and approvals. It has drastically reduced the amount of paper waste generated by the old system. Files are no longer lost or misplaced and to approve or decline an application is now a systematic process. In short, FileBound helped the lumber company:

• Increase speed and efficiency of application process
• Promote environmental awareness by reducing paper waste
• Increase revenues through departmental organization
• Unite national stores through one standardized credit process

The FileBound solution also provided the company with many no-quantifiable benefits in regards to staff. Credit Department staff now has the ability to focus primarily on reviewing applications instead of manual paper transfer from various offices. Morale and confidence have increased as mistakes and inconsistencies were virtually eliminated. Overall, the lumber company is now running in top-condition and is again, properly placing itself as a prime contestant for the upcoming yearly awards.

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