Berlex’s Accounts Payable staff was spending an inordinate amount of time satisfying requests for documentation. The process was paper-based and labor-intensive, requiring manual searches and re-filing. Compounding the problem, all documents were filed alphabetically by vendor per year, which required a dedicated part-time employee.

After evaluating ways to overhaul and streamline its work process, the A/P department determined that document imaging would play a significant role. However, staff members were concerned that managing it in-house would actually create more work and they didn't want to be left purchasing and maintaining hardware and software in order to accomplish their goals. They also knew that buying a conventional, in-house solution would be expensive, require costly upgrades, and place additional strain on the company's already overburdened IT staff. In short, Berlex needed to unload the headaches but keep tight control over costs, security, and user access.

There was only one source that met all criteria: ASPEN 360™. By using ASPEN 360, Berlex gained instant Web-based access to its paper-intensive accounts payable documentation and eliminated the need for Berlex IT staff involvement. Using its hosted imaging technology, Archive Systems converted paper-based information into electronic images that Berlex employees can easily access via a Web browser. In addition, Archive Systems enabled Berlex to easily make the transition to a completely outsourced solution by successfully converting its in-house imaging system to ASPEN 360. This comprehensive solution requires no software to install, no disks to load, and no internal support. All Berlex information now resides securely in Archive Systems' redundant storage area network, and Berlex benefits from 24x7 access and support. Archive Systems receives and converts weekly volumes of documents, which are batched by posting date. This eliminates the need to sort alphabetically by vendor as well as the need to carry extra help dedicated to filing. And, misfiling is now a thing of the past.

By properly planning and converting Berlex's data well in advance of the project's targeted completion date, Archive Systems facilitated a seamless transition. As a result, Berlex was able to immediately extend access to its documentation to 50 users in multiple locations across the country. Berlex end-users can work faster and more efficiently by searching the image repository by multiple fields. Because all computing is performed in the Archive Systems data centers, Berlex doesn't have to worry about or pay for future upgrades. Berlex system administrators can easily manage user access through a Web browser and maintain quality control through a customized on-line reporting system.

"We became corporate filing clerks," recalled Holly Marcello, the Accounts Payable Manager for Berlex, Inc., headquartered in Montville, NJ. "We wanted an imaging solution that would ensure that Berlex would remain on the cutting edge of technology. We knew what we needed was a hosted, Web-based imaging solution." After taking advantage of Archive Systems' services, Marcello concluded, "Work that was completed over a span of a few days is now completed in a few hours."