Document Solutions Case Study for RETAIL

Toshiba Revolutionizes Multinational Manufacturer’s Application Process

Customer: Cookware Manufacturer & Distributor
Country: USA
Industry: Manufacturing

With cost savings and resource conservation at the top of everyone’s mind, businesses are analyzing internal processes like never before. In the case of this multinational manufacturer and distributor of cookware, the process for receiving, logging and routing employment applications had become paper and time intensive—especially in an economy with hundreds of applicants for each job.

Focusing on Resource Conservation

Once Toshiba installed DocuWare, this company’s Human Resources department virtually eliminated paper from the employment application process. With the help of DocuWare and a custom-built web portal for applicants, all applications flow seamlessly into the system. Applications are reviewed online and routed electronically—saving paper, money, and time—while effortlessly building a database for future reference and reporting.Businesses across the country and around the world are focusing on resource conservation and reducing costs.

Managers and business owners are scrutinizing every process to make sure they’re running as efficiently as possible. In the case of this multinational manufacturer and distributor of cookware, the employment application process had become incredibly paper and time intensive.

If you stand back and look at it, they now have every category we have to offer—software, managed print services, and MFPs. This makes us a truly full service partner and provider – which couldn’t make us happier.

– Toshiba, Jason Page

The cookware company, based in northern California, manufactures its wares in Asia. The company’s global affiliates in Hong Kong, Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, and Canada market more than 100 cookware lines distributed in 30 countries. In the United States, headquarters manages operations in seven locations, making the human resource (HR) department responsible for staffing a vast array of positions across departments including distribution, sales, finance, and legal, nationwide.

“Now we have computer stations at our various locations where people can come in and fill out applications online. The information flows electronically into our system.”

– IT Manager, Naveed Ashraf

Jason Page of Toshiba first made contact with the company in 2004, and at the time, they had just signed a five-year contract with Ikon for a full line-up of office equipment. Undeterred, Page continued to get acquainted with the company, and quickly grasped the complexity of the company’s HR operations. It was immediately apparent to himthat DocuWare would be a perfect solution for managing a variety ofthe company’s document processes. Page told his potential client about DocuWare, and they were interested in learning more.

Page worked with the company’s IT Manager Naveed Ashraf.“ Previously, we would post a job through Craig’s List, Monster.com, or through the newspaper or email,” says Ashraf. “Resumes would come in from all those sources—even some faxes and drop-ins. Human resources would have a physical copy in hand of everything that came in; from emails to web submissions, then they would print that copy, put a cover sheet on it, log it into a spreadsheet, and distribute it to the appropriate departments. For example, if our Washington, D.C., office was hiring for its distribution center, HR would put the resumes into the inbox of the D.C. manager, who would go through the resumes, flag those that looked promising, then send them on to the next reviewer—a very paper-cumbersome project.”

“We did a highly customized demo that took actual documentation from their HR department and showed them how to manage it with DocuWare,” says Page. “They were very impressed.” Intrigued by the potential efficiencies DocuWare provided to HR, the company quickly decided to sign on and install. Once the company installed DocuWare, paper was virtually eliminated from the hiring process. And in today’s highly competitive job market, the benefits were immediately apparent.

Intrigued by the potential efficiencies DocuWare provided to HR, the company quickly decided to sign on and install. Once the company installed DocuWare, paper was virtually eliminated from the hiring process. And in today’s highly competitive job market, the benefits were immediately apparent.

Take, for example, a recent job posting for an electrician that drew more than 500 resumes. “In the old way, they would have printed all 500, attached the cover sheet, and circulated them by mail,” says Ashraf. “But instead, the manager reviewed them on the screen, refined his list, interviewed five or ten, and never printed anything.”

At first, only the few resumes that were delivered in-person required a slightly different procedure: they had to be scanned before entering the workflow. But not for long: Toshiba’s Professional Service Project Manager, who worked on-site to configure and implement DocuWare, had become exceedingly familiar with the company’s processes. He suggested a custom-built application that allows walkin applicants to enter information into the system themselves. Says Ashraf, “Now we have computer stations at our various locations where people can come in and fill out applications online. The information flows electronically into our system.” Even the scanning now has been eliminated.

Following the success of DocuWare in HR, the company is planning to implement the software in many other departments. Up next will be shipping and receiving, followed by accounting, and then legal, which plans to use it for all of the company’s patents. Ashraf has also found uses for DocuWare in the IT department. “I oversee many contracts for firewalls, servers and software that I have to renew each year,” he says. “I can put all those contracts in DocuWare, and as their renewal date comes up, it will shoot an email to me.”

The success of DocuWare served to secure the relationship between Toshiba and the cookware manufacturer—so much so that as their Ikon contract neared termination, Toshiba became the natural choice for the company headquarters’ overall imaging business. Page secured a deal for a total of 17 units, including both color, and  black and white multifunction products (MFPs). In addition, the company installed a Follow Me print server, and added e-BRIDGE Fleet Management and Managed Print Services. Today, Toshiba manages approximately 70,000 printer images per month and 180,000 copier images per month for the company. As for the cookware distributor, they also couldn’t be happier. With DocuWare in place, this cookware company is effortlessly building a database for future referencing and reporting while saving paper, time and money.

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