Synopsis Of Data Capture Services Provided

The Virtual Document Center® was implemented for intelligent data capture to minimize manual, hard copy management tasks within the accounting department.

WHAT THE COMPANY DOES

Zone Energy specializes in the extraction of natural gas from aging production fields using the latest technology and production techniques. This small cap company seeks less productive fields because of large cap organizations gravitating toward untapped fields that present the ability to add to reserves and support their legacy structures. Zone Energy takes advantage of this migration to maximize margins in the existing fields with a lean and effective cost structure. In two offices and 14 employees, Zone Energy has enjoyed success in this evolving vertical energy industry segment.

THE BUSINESS CHALLENGE

Fracking technology has resulted in a Catch-22 marketplace. While the technique has proved effective in creating huge new sources of natural gas, the increased supply has pushed wholesale and retail prices down to historic levels. Additionally, the older fields require higher maintenance and replacement parts to keep production levels up to profitable volumes. Keeping revenues ahead of expenses requires a high degree of visibility to cash flow and coordination between field and administrative staff. Greater emphasis to maximize administrative workflow to support core operations is imperative.

Thousands of documents are sent to Zone Energy, including an average of 1,000-1,500 vendor invoices each month. Traditional methods would require a small army of clerks to manually process the volume of hard copy documents. The combination of the economics of supply and demand and the higher costs of maintaining three fields, Zone Energy needed to leverage technology in their offices as they had in the gas fields.

The iKAN Virtual Document Solution

The VDC & intelligent data capture solution proved to be a cost-effective solution for Zone Energy, helping them to maximize the productivity of their administrative staff and improve document workflow. The VDC not only minimized manual hard copy methods, the system supported centralized billing and advanced resource planning at their Houston office. The option to integrate with their enterprise resource planning (ERP) system provided a solution to digitally synchronize all incoming and outgoing transaction documents with ERP data. This integration eliminated any need to maintain hard copy files.

Utilizing remote capture and file-it-right modules, the company was able to simplify purchase order and invoice reconciliation by enabling field offices to scan documents into the VDC, which automatically filed into the correct vendor-transaction folder within the system. This synchronization process eliminated the need to manually sort the individual hard copy pages into the rest of the traditional transaction workflow. Finally, once the hard copy documents were scanned, any pages that were once filed into a cabinet were shredded.

RESULTS

The hosted option eliminated the need for capital investment of new equipment or software, allowing funds to be reinvested into core operations. Additionally, the investment to integrate with their ERP system enabled more accurate long-term planning and improved profitability. The company has eliminated delays in processing transactions, building their reputation as a superior business partner and supporting consistent just-in-time equipment deliveries from their suppliers. The VDC has saved the company countless hours of tedious paper handling work and freed them up to spend more time on core business functions. Software from iKAN VDC can be integrated with several third-party software products.