Reduce your paper stress thanks to the TiNK technology

July 11, 2012 - PRLog -- The Ahlers success story by Marc de Pelsmaeker, Benjamin Wijmeersch and Sofie Van Den Bossche

Ahlers, an international logistics and maritime service provider saves time and manages its documents independently with TiNK DMS/ECM

Ahlers is an international logistics and maritime service provider which manages all transport documents and files world-wide. The company’s business can be divided into 4 pillars: Ahlers Forwarding, Ahlers Agencies, Ahlers Logistics and Ahlers Maritime. IT plays a very important role in creating added value for their customers. According to Marc the Pelsmaeker, the CIO of Ahlers, IT gives them a competitive edge and is an important differentiator against their competitors. Being strong in communication is very important to the company. The company’s activities must go as smoothly as possible. Most importantly, they want to be seen as specialists in what they do. Last year, Ahlers chose TiNK DMS/ECM to support them in this throughout the company and they are currently migrating to ThinkingTeam.


Business needs
Last year, Ahlers was looking for the most optimal solution for document management. “We had become stuck with documents in the traditional way,” says Marc de Pelsmaeker. “Everything was stored in a folder, then in a subfolder, then in yet another subfolder. Finding the correct and most recent document became a big problem. We needed to save time and search for documents in more structured way. We needed a different way to deal with documents and ICMS’ scope was much broader. Project leader Benjamin Wijmeersch adds: “While people personally could still find documents, at an organisational level it had become a big problem.”

For a company such as Ahlers, it is very important that information can be updated quickly. They often work with documents such as certificates which must be replaced on time. For the manuals of their quality system and the shipping system, it is very important to work with the most recent version. Not finding the correct document has a big impact. “We spent too much time searching for the correct documents, composing the correct documents,” says Benjamin Wijmeersch. “The main reason was ensuring that we could find the correct, the most recent and the most important documents without wasting too much time. Thanks to TiNK DMS/ECM that is now possible.”

Make or buy decision
Ahlers has also considered the option of developing its own solution. They even asked their IT department in Latvia to make a few designs but the result turned out to be below the level of ICMS’ solutions. Marc the Pelsmaeker: “Maybe we would have succeeded eventually, but why wait another 3 or 4 years? And then there is the issue of maintenance and adapting it to the market situation. In the end, it was an obvious decision. We needed to buy a system and we found that system with ICMS.”

Benefits
Today, ICMS’ system is used by the entire organisation. In the initial phase, we started with one department within Ahlers, but the project was subsequently extended to other departments. According to Marc de Pelsmaeker, ICMS provides the best approach. For Ahlers, this means a big step forward compared to their existing mix-and-match solutions. They had no uniform approach whatsoever. “We told them our needs. And we were heard. The solution is very organic and similar to the way in which we deal with and think about document management and knowledge management.”

From his point of view, Benjamin Wijmeersch sees the modular set-up as an important advantage. “We can choose which piece we take first and what we will add later. It remains compatible. Especially important is the fact that we have many possibilities now and that we still can manage everything independently. ICMS makes empowerment of own staff possible.”

When we asked Sofie Van Den Bossche, Benjamin Wijmeersch’ assistant, about her experience with ICMS’ products, she told us: “DM from ICMS? I find it very easy to use and more user-friendly than any other, even for someone who has no training in IT.”

ICMS is different
Ahlers is a company where words such as practical, fast, simple are often used when its employees are talking about IT solutions.

ICMS offers more than just software for document management. Users can enjoy time savings and efficiency in the true meaning of the word. This offers great advantages to an organisation such as Ahlers. “We had become stuck with documents in the traditional way,” says Marc de Pelsmaeker. “Everything was stored in a folder, then in a subfolder, then in yet another subfolder. Change management has cost a lot of energy, making people think differently,” continues Marc de Pelsmaeker. “Plus we, as a project team, had to give due attention to the new way of handling documents and all aspects and properties that come with it. Because of this, we have spent more time on the project than initially estimated. That is the acceptance process. Today, we have completed an extensive process of appreciation. Now we are up to the point where we ask ourselves why we have not always worked this way.”

Thanks to this different way of handling documents, people can easily and without effort find documents in one central location, even in an unstructured environment.  

When we asked about the decisive factor in the decision, we received the following answer: “The approach and the logic of how to practice document management was convincing enough. When I give training to other people, I see that this does not scare people off. Sometimes they ask themselves how is it possible to find a document that has not been put in a folder. But the moment they try it themselves, they see how easy it is!”

What distinguishes ICMS from the others, according to the project leader, is the involvement and accuracy of their services. “A personalised approach, smooth cooperation, product service and quality are the characteristics of our IT provider.”  

Obviously, there is the question of quality. For Ahlers, the quality of service is broader than the quality of the mere product. There are also product-related services. According to the project leader, ICMS’ score in this regard is rather high. Sofie Van Den Bossche focuses on the accessibility of ICMS: “Their services are really aimed at guiding and helping us. Even if it is about something minor.”

Another important added value of ICMS is the offer of training and consultancy with regard to knowledge management. “One of the positive and beautiful sides of this collaboration is that we can get training in mutual agreement and on very short notice. Also, when a problem needs to be solved, this can be done very quickly. That is also an advantage of working with ICMS,” says Benjamin Wijmeersch.

Together to the future
Ahlers still has a couple of other ambitious projects in the pipeline. And ICMS has its place in this story.  Hand in hand, we will put together the complete document management environment. “We look for a supplier with whom we can build a partnership, a supplier who helps us to grow strategically. ICMS can help us with that. Automation yes, when it is possible and useful. But we will think together about the possibilities. ICMS has project managers, intermediates who are able to translate Ahlers’ needs. ICMS is a knowledge supplier with regard to knowledge management. That is something about which we still have a lot to learn. I see very competent people who have built a very intuitive system and who can help us to create added value for our customers.”

Current status
At this moment, Ahlers is migrating from TiNK DMS/ECM to ThinkingTeam, as this will allow them to use the newest features and the latest user-friendly user interface. Easy upload, auto-classification, being informed, smart search & find, sharing and discussions: that is what ThinkingTeam stands for. This platform actively enhances the company’s operational efficiency.

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