Layne
A Perceptive Content upgrade serving as a springboard for AP/Finance enhancements
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Layne is a global water management, construction and drilling company, providing responsible solutions for water, mineral and energy resources. Layne’s experts collaborate across divisional, functional and geographic lines to deliver total solutions for the world’s toughest water, mineral and energy challenges. Learn more at www.layne.com
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QUICK FACTS
Client Focus: Construction, Drilling
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Business Location: Worldwide
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Shamrock Services & Solutions:​
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Upgrades
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Intelligent Capture
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System integrations
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Project Focus: Accounts Payable
business
pain points
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Other professional services options are expensive.
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Tracking hundreds of invoices for open POs is a pain.
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Need to find a way to issue remote check approvals.
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Lack of information about equipment registrations.
shamrock's
SOLUTION
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Cost-effective Perceptive Content upgrades/services.
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Open invoice script simplifies AP tasks.
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Remote approval speeds up employee reimbursement.
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eForm updates provide greater insight.
Searching for Answers
Several years ago, Layne needed to find a professional services partner who not only had the technical know-how to customize its Perceptive Content (formerly ImageNow) enterprise content management software, but could also complete projects on time and on budget. After evaluating several options, Layne chose to partner with Shamrock Solutions. After exceeding expectations on this and subsequent projects, Layne is again turning to Shamrock to upgrade both Perceptive Content and Intelligent Capture (Brainware) software.
“I wouldn’t go to anyone other than Shamrock to upgrade our Lexmark software,” said Sherry Hunyadi, Layne’s Applications/BI Manager.
“They’re always on time, bill fairly and exceed our expectations. That’s why I’ve recommended Shamrock many times and will keep doing so.” In addition to providing upgrades and other professional services to Layne, Shamrock has worked with Hunyadi and her team on multiple custom solutions for the Perceptive Content platform.
“Shamrock’s quotes are a lot less than other options we looked at, and they are very fair with their billing so there are never any surprises,” said Hunyadi. “The Shamrock team is very responsive and knows exactly how the pieces of our ECM solution fit together.”
I wouldn't go to anyone other than Shamrock to upgrade our Lexmark software. They're always on time, bill fairly, and exceed our expectations.
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- Sherry Hunyadi, Manager of Applications/Business Intelligence
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Small Custom Solutions = Big Process Improvements
Once Shamrock had proved itself to Layne’s IT Applications team, Hunyadi started thinking of ways the company could enhance its Perceptive Content system. One of these involved enhancing invoice processing. As Layne has many huge jobs that span multiple sites and can take months or years as the company moves through each project phase, there can be 100 or more invoices for each purchase order.
Previously, it was difficult for Layne’s accounts payable team to track the individual and total amounts for every invoice that had been received and processed for a PO, and to know how this impacted the project budget. To solve the issue, Shamrock created an open values script that reconciles Layne’s POs and invoices more proactively so they can see when jobs are closed out without digging around in their ERP system.
“The seemingly small custom solutions that Shamrock engineer for us create big improvements for our users and the business processes they’re involved in daily,” Hunyadi said.
Advancing Accounts Payable
Another financials process that Shamrock has helped Layne improve is invoice review and approval. Many of Layne’s invoices go through multiple levels of approval to individuals across the U.S. and worldwide. Sometimes it could be difficult for approvers to see why their colleagues had approved or disapproved certain invoices, so Shamrock added an interactive comments box that allows each person to enter comments that explain, when necessary, their decision-making process. This helps others to make more informed choices, and eliminates the need for time-consuming follow-up calls and emails. “With Shamrock, I don’t need to know the solution to a problem before contacting them,” Hunyadi said. “They look at the challenge, think about what’s best for efficiency and user experience, and then figure out how to make it happen. They’re problem solvers.”
An additional way in which Shamrock boosted AP efficiency was to automate data entry. Before, AP processors entered hundreds of lines of data for complex POs and invoices. Shamrock wrote and deployed a script that automatically uploads line-item data, closing the gap between Perceptive Content and JD Edwards EnterpriseOne. “The line entry script that Shamrock created for us is saving the AP team a lot of time and has greatly improved the quality of our data, because we’ve taken human error out of the equation,” Hunyadi said.
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With employees dispersed around the world, Layne also needed to efficiently approve and print checks without waiting for physical documents to transfer between sites. Shamrock met this need by modifying an AP invoice e-form. Now, users can request a remote check from a menu and generate this check from their local printer.
It’s not just the financials team at Layne that is benefiting. Staff members often need to check on the availability of certain equipment for their current and forthcoming projects. There was a hard-and-fast “available” or “unavailable” status for each piece of equipment, which didn’t help project managers plan effectively. To improve the process, Shamrock added a comments box to the request e-form that informs users when the equipment they need might be available again.
With Shamrock, I don't need to know the solution to a problem before contacting them. They look at the challenge, think about what's best for efficiency and user experience, and then figure out how to make it happen. They're problem solvers.
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- Sherry Hunyadi, Manager of Applications/Business Intelligence
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Looking to the Future
As Layne continues to extend the capabilities of Lexmark enterprise software, the company finds that Shamrock’s customer-first approach keeps making a positive impact.
“Shamrock’s willingness to collaborate with us is priceless,” Hunyadi said. “They not only create new custom solutions, but also educate us when we need to answer a user’s questions or address their issues.”