DocuWare > Case Studies > AVANCE Digitizes Purchase Orders and Funds Tracking

AVANCE Digitizes Purchase Orders and Funds Tracking

Company Size

200-1,000

Region

America

Country

United States

Product

DocuWare

Tech Stack

Cloud Computing

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Cost Savings
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing

Applicable Industries

Education

Applicable Functions

Human Resources

Use Cases

Inventory Management
Supply Chain Visibility

Services

Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services

About The Customer

AVANCE is a non-profit organization that operates about 30 early childhood education facilities for children under the age of five in San Antonio and beyond. The organization enables parents to learn infant care and other parenting skills, earn their high school diplomas, attend professional training, or attain employment. As a non-profit, AVANCE relies on a variety of head start grants to purchase childcare supplies and other necessities. The organization's operations generate many purchase orders, which were previously managed through a paper-based system.

The Challenge

AVANCE, a non-profit organization operating about 30 early childhood education facilities, was facing challenges with its purchasing and funds tracking processes. The organization relied on paper purchase orders, which made the approval and acquisition process slow and cumbersome. The paper-based system also made it difficult to track and match ongoing purchase orders with the corresponding grants in real time. This was a significant issue as AVANCE relies on a variety of head start grants to purchase childcare supplies and other necessities. The lack of real-time data meant that the organization did not have an accurate and up-to-date idea of what was left in the grants to spend.

The Solution

AVANCE decided to digitize its purchasing and funds tracking processes by implementing DocuWare. This move sped up purchasing approvals and reduced manual data input, saving time. Requestors could now fill out electronic purchase order forms via a web link and these were submitted instantly. The implementation of DocuWare also allowed AVANCE to automate the task of tracking and matching ongoing purchase orders with the corresponding grants. A script was used to tally up outstanding purchases and produce a report, providing real-time data on the remaining available balance of the grants. The report also showed which vendors had been paid and which were still pending.

Operational Impact

Digitizing the purchasing process sped up approvals and reduced manual data input, saving time.
Automation provided real-time data on outstanding purchases and the remaining balance of the grants.
The digital system allowed for better tracking of which vendors had been paid and which were still pending.
The transition from paper files to digital ones freed up physical space in the office, which was used to build and update more cubicles for social distancing during the pandemic.
The organization was able to recycle old paper stock for use in children's programs.