The Van Aalst Group, a third-generation family business founded in 1954, faced the challenge of growing and professionalizing their administrative processes. They were looking for a solution that would improve efficiency and save costs. Scan Sys offered them the right tools with the which significantly reduced the administrative workload.
From makeshift to efficiency: how Van Aalst Group embraced automation
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Van Aalst Group B.V. is a family business specialized in the loading and unloading of dry bulk cargoes, mainly within the maritime and offshore sector. Since its establishment by the grandfather of the current DGA, Wijnand van Aalst, the company has expanded with new products and enjoys a global market share of more than 25% in the offshore sector.
Annual invoice processing
Years active
The challenge
Cees Zuur, Group Finance Manager, says: “When I came on board at Van Aalst in 2010, the administration was almost completely outsourced. The Finance department consisted of one lady and in addition someone from an accounting firm came by once a week to code the invoices. Actually, you could say that the administration at that time was still a bit of a woodwork.
With the global growth of the Van Aalst Group and an increasing demand for accurate, detailed administration, the need for a more efficient invoice processing system arose. Cees says, “In the years since, a lot has changed, with the administration being done completely in-house. One of my main focuses when I joined was to professionalize and provide insight into liabilities and performance.’ Traditional, manual invoice processing was beginning to slow down the growing organization. ‘At one point we started tracking how much time we were spending each week scanning, coding and approving purchase invoices.’
Actually, it’s fair to say that at that time the administration was still a bit wooden.
The process/method
The choice to automate invoice processing was made after thorough research, during which Van Aalst Group compared various software providers, Scan Sys emerged as the best. ‘The software is also very user-friendly. In addition, cost played a part in the selection process; I’m not a finance guy for nothing, it’s in my system,’ Zuur explained.
The implementation went smoothly, These automated processes eliminate the need to manually approve invoices that meet the set criteria, further increasing efficiency.
The result
Save time
Automation has already saved a man-month of work, giving the team more space to perform other tasks.
Cost savings
Thanks to automated invoice processing, the Van Aalst Group has saved a full man-month of administrative work.
Reliability
The integration with AFAS ensures accurate matching of invoices, minimizing manual errors.
Enhanced Control
With the digital exception approval round, there is now better insight into commitments and performance.
Cees Zuur
Van Aalst Group, Group Finance Manager
What's next?
Further digitization and optimization of administrative processes can help the organization ensure continuity, even in times of growth. By adding additional automations and smart controls, they can further reduce manual operations, further reducing the risk of errors and allowing the team to fully focus on strategic tasks.
Solutions used
Invoice processing
Booking, checking, filing and approving purchase invoices is a process that requires a lot of time and attention. Not only is manually processing invoices time-consuming, it is also very error-prone.
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