Introduction of e-invoicing, document management and digital mailroom at EAST Grain
EAST Grain was founded in 2007 by three professionals with extensive experience in the agriculture and food industry. In the early years, the company focused mainly on trading quality wheat to mills, geographically covering the grain markets in Romania and Hungary. Since 2012, the range of products in the company’s portfolio has grown considerably. In addition to staple grains (wheat, maize, barley), EAST Grain started trading oilseeds (sunflower, rapeseed, soya) and a wide range of other raw materials for the feed industry (soya bran, sunflower bran, rapeseed bran, feed meal, wheat bran, maize meal). In 2017 EAST Grain Hungary KFT was established. The company, which initially offered only brokerage services, quickly became known both in Hungary and internationally. Today, the company trades in grains and oilseeds, as well as distributing feed raw materials. The increasing number and different types of documents (invoices, contracts, transport documents, etc.) in the company generated a very high workload at EAST Grain. At the same time, the company had very limited human resources. With the introduction of electronic invoicing to fulfil the legal requirements for electronic invoices, document management and a digital mailroom based on Konica Minolta’s M-Files, Document Navigator and DocuSign solutions, the company has automated and simplified its workflows, reduced the time spent on document processing and increased its efficiency. At the same time, it has reduced its costs and resource consumption associated with excessive printing.
With a diversified business and an increasing daily transaction volume, we were faced with a significant challenge in managing document workflows. Aware of the vital importance of time in business, we sought to become more agile and efficient in document management. Implementing Konica Minolta’s document management solution proved to be a very good decision. By automating and simplifying different workflows with contracts, invoices, notices and transport related documents, we have been able to significantly increase the efficiency and transparency in document management. Not only have we reduced the time required for document processing, but also reduced the costs and resource consumption associated with excessive printing. In addition to the obvious operational benefits, implementing Konica Minolta’s solution has allowed us to focus more on improving the relationships with our partners and providing a faster and more efficient service to our customers.
Ana Neamțu
Chief Operations Officer, EAST Grain, Romania
The initial aim of the project was to implement an IT solution to improve the contract and invoice management process within EAST Grain, to manage more efficiently the information needed in dealing with business partners and to cover the needs of an electronic register. Subsequently, once with the change in the legislative framework and the introduction of the mandatory e-Invoice in 2024, the need for electronic invoice management and integration between the company’s own ERP system, the National Tax Administration Agency system, and the document management solution became a necessity.
Generated by the activity area
Complex processes, driven by a high number and variety of documents
Operating in a highly competitive market requiring low reaction time and high adaptability
Generated by internal activities
Large number of invoices and commercial documents
Necessity of a digital mailroom solution
Interdependence of departments and their role in the relationship with business partner
The main requirements can be divided into 3 different categories:
Document management and storage
Cybersecurity (restricted access to information, based on well-defined roles for employees)
Approval of documents and workflows
A large number of documents automatically gener ates a high volume of work. When there is also a varied typology of documents (various invoices and contracts, quality certificates, transport related documents, annexes, notices, notifications), numerous workflows also mean a large number of working hours. With limited human resources, the only viable option to increase efficiency was to implement a state-of-the-art IT solution. Key departments in the company were involved, including finance, purchasing, logistics, sales and administrative office.
M-Files document management solution makes it easy to manage any type of electronic file, offering advanced storage, search and retrieval capabilities. All documents related to a client are interconnected, thus having an overview of all documents. Document Navigator is a capture, processing and distribution solution for both paper and electronic documents. Digital mailroom solutionbased on M-Files, is integrated via Document Navigator with Konica Minolta’s multifunctional equipment. Documents are automatically assigned a registration number, circulate through pre-defined workflows and users are notified of their tasks. The DocuSign e-signature solution is integrated into the document management application to electronically sign documents with business partners. Users have the ability to use predefined signature templates, names and initials, as well as the ability to upload and customise their own signatures to the platform and save different signature variants. By integrating e-signatures into the document management platform, users can perform all the necessary operations within the same solution, from storing a document, modifying it when necessary, sending it to approval workflows and e-signing. e-Invoice is a module developed by Konica Minolta that provides the link between the ERP application, the National Tax Administration Agency system and the M-Files document management solution. Benefits of e-Invoice for Konica Minolta users:
Download invoices in .XML format and convert them to .PDF format
Send invoices in .XML format to ANAF and download ANAF confirmation
Generate the .XML file based on metadata from the document management application
Store invoices (.XML with ANAF signature and .PDF) in the document management application
Implementation of a functional system based on e-Invoice and integration of own ERP system with document management solution
Improve the invoicing process and identify missing documents
Quick access to information by integrating M-Files application with the ERP system
Increased traceability of orders and product deliveries
Store electronic documents in a secure, efficient and user-friendly environment
Access based on access rights and clearly defined rules
Streamline the processing time of information needed for product deliveries
Efficient tools for searching, editing, classifying, sharing, organising and retrieving information
Implementation of: