In the context of an increasingly volatile global economy, cost management Efficiency has become a key factor for businesses to maintain competitiveness and sustainable development. Stow, a global company specializing in providing smart storage solutions for warehouses, has successfully transformed itself by digitizing cost management. Through the application of advanced technology, Stow has not only saved costs but also reduced 97% of time spent on manual data entry.
1. About Stow Group
Stow Group is a global leader in warehouse automation and storage solutions, with over 45 years of experience growing from a family business into an industry leader. Stow currently generates over €1 billion in annual sales and operates in over 60 countries, with a network of 11 manufacturing plants and 20 sales offices, serving a wide range of industries from e-commerce and logistics to food and pharmaceuticals.
Stow’s two main brands are Stow Racking and Movu Robotics. While Stow Racking provides high-quality racking systems that optimize storage space, Movu Robotics is a pioneer in automation, providing flexible and easy-to-deploy robotic solutions that increase efficiency and reduce warehouse operating costs.
Committed to innovation and sustainability, Stow is a trusted partner that helps businesses optimize costs, save time and improve warehouse efficiency, especially in today's digital age.
2. Challenge: Ineffective manual cost management
With a network of 20 branches and nearly 1,900 employees worldwide, Stow faces a process of cost management complex, difficult to control because factories are located in different countries, with separate financial regulations and procedures.
The major problems Stow encountered included:
- Lost paper invoices: Invoices are easily lost and difficult to find when needed, resulting in wasted time and disruption to work.
- High processing costs: Manual data entry is time-consuming and error-prone, affecting the accuracy of financial reporting.
- Difficulty in generating reports: Compiling and analyzing costs from multiple sources makes the process of generating reports complex and time-consuming.
- Compliance with local regulations: Financial requirements and regulations in different countries create complexity in managing costs.
To address these issues, Stow decided to turn to an automated expense management software solution that improved efficiency and reduced costs.
3. Solution: Deploy digital cost management software
Stow decided to implement digital cost management software with the goal of optimizing cost management processes across the entire company. The implementation process was carried out through several important steps:
- Starting with the two largest branches: The initial implementation plan was carried out in Stow's two largest branches in Belgium and France. After these two branches were successfully implemented, the software will be applied to the remaining branches in the company.
- Employee support and training: To ensure every employee can use the software effectively, Stow has invested in extensive onboarding and training packages, including multilingual training courses to serve employees in many different countries.
4. Process of implementing digital cost management
The implementation of cost management software at Stow went smoothly thanks to the following key factors:
- Flexible support: Stow's team received support throughout the implementation process, ensuring the software was applied easily and effectively for all employees.
- Multi-team involvement from day one: Involving teams from different departments from the beginning helped the implementation process go more smoothly. Stow’s IT and finance teams worked closely with the implementation team to prepare data and user accounts for the software.
- Comprehensive training: Stow provided comprehensive training to employees, helping them to familiarize themselves with and use the software effectively, minimizing the difficulty of moving from manual to digital processes.
5. Results: Saved 97% of time and improved cost analysis capabilities
The implementation of cost management software at Stow has resulted in significant changes in financial processes:
- Save 97% in manual data entry time: Before switching to the software, the finance team at Stow spent an entire day entering and checking expense data. After implementing the software, this time was reduced to just 5 minutes. This saved hundreds of hours of labor and improved work efficiency.
- Fast and accurate approval process: Software helps automate the expense approval process, helping to reduce processing time and improve accuracy in approval steps.
- Easy invoice storage and management: Instead of storing paper invoices, Stow uses a digital storage system to create a central repository. This makes it easy to retrieve information when needed, while minimizing the risk of document loss.
- Improved cost analysis: Cost reports are automatically generated and easily analyzed, giving the finance team a clear view of the entire company's spending. This is a huge advantage in managing costs effectively, especially in an uncertain economic climate.
6. Lessons for Vietnamese businesses
To achieve similar results, Vietnamese businesses can refer to modern cost management software solutions, such as Bizzi Expense. Bizzi Expense là một trong những giải pháp phần mềm quản lý chi phí hàng đầu, được các doanh nghiệp lớn như Masan Group, Mondelez International, Pierre Fabre,… tin tưởng lựa chọn nhờ vào sức mạnh tự động hóa và khả năng tích hợp vượt trội.
Outstanding features of Bizzi Expense:
Control costs strictly according to policies and budget
- Complete and valid invoices and documents
- Prepare budgets by department, project and spending category
- Warning when costs and payment requests do not/do exceed the budget
- Hiển thị báo cáo nhanh thông tin chi tiêu, cập nhật về dự chi – thực chi tập trung
- Dashboard for intuitive, multi-dimensional cost management in real time across multiple platforms
Đơn giản hóa quy trình thu thập hóa đơn – tạo lập chi phí
- Rút gọn thời gian nhận và kiểm tra hóa đơn – khởi tạo chi phí chỉ trong 2 chạm
- Proactive mass expense reporting helps streamline processes
- Automatically navigate the browsing flow according to established units, regulations, and decentralization
Approve documents conveniently and transparently
- Approve anytime, anywhere cross-platform
- Approval reminders to keep work from getting delayed
- Understand clearly the status of compliance with regulations and budget before making decisions
- Record approval/rejection history with valid reasons
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7. Conclusion
Digital transformation in cost management not only helps businesses save time and costs but also increases financial control and transparency. To stay competitive in the digital age, your business needs to apply modern technology solutions today.
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