DocuWare > Case Studies > SAMSON AG: For more flexibility and customer proximity

SAMSON AG: For more flexibility and customer proximity

Customer Company Size

Large Corporate

Region

Europe

Country

Germany

Product

DocuWare
IFS applications
Job-Router workflow system

Tech Stack

Oracle database
Windows 2003 server

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Productivity Improvements
Cost Savings
Customer Satisfaction

Technology Category

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Analytics & Modeling - Process Analytics

Applicable Industries

Equipment & Machinery

Applicable Functions

Sales & Marketing
Business Operation

Use Cases

Process Control & Optimization
Supply Chain Visibility

Services

System Integration
Software Design & Engineering Services

About The Customer

SAMSON AG is a German company that specializes in heating, air conditioning, and ventilation systems, particularly for large-scale projects for chemical companies like BASF and DEGUSSA. The company develops, manufactures, and markets devices and systems for a wide variety of instrumentation and control systems that are used in industry, heating/air conditioning systems, and process engineering. With an international workforce of 1,500 employees, SAMSON AG prides itself on its customer proximity and flexibility, paired with specialized engineering know-how and efficient production methods. These qualities have allowed the company to enjoy nearly 100 years of success manufacturing custom instrumentation and control systems.

The Challenge

SAMSON AG, a German company specializing in instrumentation and control systems, was facing challenges with its paper-based document management system. The company was generating around 15,000 documents daily in the sales department alone, all of which had to be printed and filed. The central paper filing system was kept in several basement storerooms, and outdated documents were regularly boxed up and stored elsewhere. This led to a lot of work, especially when looking for documents. If one of the sales offices needed information about a transaction, documentation was even sent back and forth through the mail. There was no way to guarantee that the files they received were up-to-date and complete.

The Solution

SAMSON AG implemented DocuWare along with a new ERP system, IFS applications, into its sales department. This led to several internal organizational changes. Now all the documents generated in sales are only printed out once as an original for the customer. At the same time, they are immediately stored in the central document pool. This has enabled the company to reduce its enormous paper consumption by 75 percent in a very short time. The software was easily integrated into the IFS applications ERP system, and staff can now access the central document pool directly from the accounting program. The same is true for the regional offices, which are linked to the network through a VPN connection. All documents produced by the ERP application are archived automatically. Incoming documents from customers and suppliers, such as invoices and order confirmations, are given a barcode, scanned, and also transferred to the document pool.

Operational Impact

Reduced paper consumption by 75 percent in a very short time.
Enabled rapid access to current information and a high level of availability for all documents.
Improved the quality of cross-departmental operation.
Made the flow of information throughout the company much more transparent and considerably faster.
Increased acceptance and satisfaction among staff members.

Quantitative Benefit

Reduced paper consumption from up to 15,000 sheets of paper to less than 4,000 per day.
Around 150,000 documents are archived electronically every month, amounting to some 9 gigabytes of stored data.