With an impressive scale of 27 branches, 6,500 employees and an annual processing of 200 million kilos of sustainable poultry meat, Plukon Food Group is at the forefront of the European food industry. Plukon supplies major retail partners throughout Europe on a daily basis and continuously translates changing consumer demands into innovative products and concepts.

To support their ambitious goals, Plukon launched a large-scale digitization project for their invoice processing in 2018. This project began with a pilot at their Belgian site and quickly expanded to all six countries in which Plukon operates.

Philip Faes, CFO Belgium / France / Spain at Plukon, explains how ImageCapture not only made invoice processing fully digital, but also created a consistent, transparent and efficient process that aligns with Plukon’s vision of innovation and growth.

The challenge

With a network of branches in six countries and complex invoicing requirements from leading food partners, Plukon found that manual invoice processing was inefficient and error-prone. The old process created clutter and was time-consuming, leading to invoice processing bottlenecks, especially when administering large customers with specific invoicing requirements. In addition, the paper process brought limitations to international collaboration and digital accessibility.

Plukon realized that a digital, automated system was necessary to control costs, process invoices in a timely manner and have real-time visibility into invoice status. So in 2018, the company turned to Scan Sys and started a pilot with ImageCapture.

The process/method

Plukon worked closely with Scan Sys and AB Software to implement ImageCapture, with a focus on seamless integration with Exact Globe and the CSB ERP module for purchasing management. The workflow began in the Belgian facility and expanded to all other countries where Plukon operates, including a link to the CSB ERP system at headquarters.

The digitization went beyond simply scanning and approving invoices; the new workflow covers the entire procurement process, from orders to goods receipt and invoice approval. All procurement invoices are now processed in Exact Globe and the entire workflow is integrated with the CSB system, giving Plukon full visibility into both the status of each invoice and the approval processes.

During the implementation, it was important for Plukon to be able to operate as independently as possible. Scan Sys provided the initial link with Exact, after which Plukon’s own IT department became responsible for setting up the workflows and training users. Thanks to ImageCapture’s intuitive interface and user-friendly set-up, Plukon was able to manage and customize the entire workflow independently, which reduced dependence on external support.

What's next?

Now that ImageCapture has been successfully rolled out at all sites, Plukon is exploring opportunities for further digitization and process improvement in other business areas, such as sales and transportation documentation. The company expects that additional automation will further increase efficiency, and looks forward to an ongoing partnership with Scan Sys to achieve its goals of innovative and sustainable operations.