The Blystad Group case study
Chose Eye-share for their focus on innovation and development!
The Blystad Group grew rapidly in shipping, real estate, and other investments, and wanted to move to a paperless environment. A reference visit and Eye-share’s willingness to adapt meant that Blystad chose eye-share Workflow Invoice.
There were several reasons why we chose Eye-share. We found that most shipping customers used eye-share Workflow Invoice and we also found the scanning and interpretation tool much more accurate than other solutions in the market. Another reason was that Eye-share focused on innovation and development whereas competitors said, “this is the system; this is what you get”.
Eye-share wanted to adapt the system to our needs. Eye-share also initiated a reference visit to one of their other clients within the shipping industry to show us that the system worked as promised in a comparable company. This was very beneficial for us. Others in the industry just said it would work without backing up their claim, IT Integration Manager John Murray in the Blystad Group says.
Eye-share focused on innovation and development where competitors said, «this is the system; this is what you get”. Eye-share wanted to adapt the system to our needs.
Electronic handling of invoices
eye-share Workflow Invoice handles 15 000 invoices each year for the Blystad Group. Invoices used to be stored in a shelf and folder system across multiple locations. Now everything happens electronically.
It has without a doubt become an easier process, and we are now also using eye-share General Ledger to make the office completely paperless. We have 58 employees in Oslo and Glasgow – whereof 34 are using eye-share Invoice. In Oslo, most invoices are received via email and sent to SmartSCAN for interpretation, and then to eye-share Workflow Invoice for coding and approval.
The approval process differs in Scotland, where Eye-share has made a very good configuration for purchase invoices. A button in eye-share Invoice makes it possible to open and edit purchase invoices in a new window, which is very convenient. Other adjustments include color scanning in SmartScan to make PDA/Agent documents more readable, as well as additional columns to display the most used accounting dimensions. For example, a separate column for services purchased abroad that have special tax rules, Mr. Murray says.
Everything is online – with tracking functionality – so the whole business process has become easier, and it saves us a lot of time.
Saves a lot of time
The Blystad Group started using eye-share Workflow Invoice in February 2013.
The whole process is now streamlined. We have replaced papers and binders with a searchable archive, and it is much easier to perform an audit. Two people approve each invoice, and reminders ensures that we no longer exceed the due date. Accounting templates and imports from excel automate the accounting routine further, but the best part is that we have immediate access to invoices and vouchers from all our locations in every country without the need of sending papers physically back and forth. Everything is online – with tracking functionality – so the whole business process has become easier, and it saves us a lot of time, Mr. Murray says.
Technological insight and expertise
Mr. Murray, who participated in the implementation process in 2013, is very satisfied with the cooperation with Eye-share.
We wanted to make several adjustments for currency, VAT and for the various countries in which we operate in, and the whole process was perceived as a success. Our impression is that Eye-share has a lot of technological insight and expertise, in addition to their attitude which says, “everything is doable”.
Eye-share recognized our challenges right from the start. Two years after the implementation I can say that the same applies for the service and support in general. It’s nice to talk to people in Eye-share, and if we want to see new modules or need any form of help, it’s just to book a meeting and we will get help right away, Mr. Murray says.
Our impression is that Eye-share has a lot of technological insight and expertise, in addition to their attitude that says, “everything is doable”. Eye-share recognized our challenges right from the start.
The Blystad Group is a group of companies that invest in shipping, offshore, oil and energy-related activities and real estate. The Blystad Group is owned by Arne Blystad and his family, where 50 % of the investments are in shipping, 25 % are in real estate, and 25 % are in other investments. The Shipping activity is a continuation of the company’s long and proud history in international shipping – an activity Arne Blystad Sr. started already in the 1940s.