Cookson Hardware
Document Management Case StudyBrief Overview
Cookson Hardware, a wholesaler of architectural ironmongery based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, has been supplying the national construction industry since 1955. With a large amount of orders coming in and documents being passed around their site, Cookson Hardware relied heavily on a manual print and scan function.
The Challenge
Graham Stokes, Admin Manager at Cookson Hardware, contacted Woodbank requesting information on a bespoke scanner and if there was any way of enabling remote working. Their dedicated Corporate Account Manager, Josh Kinder, investigated their needs thoroughly and determined that a new scanner and document management software solution would fit them perfectly.
Following Woodbank’s assessment of their managed print processes, the biggest challenge for Cookson Hardware was that they had in place a very labour-intensive process which meant they had to pass physical documents between departments and then scan individual documents, filing them into digital folders manually.
They had to move from a system that only allowed them a limited volume of documents, organising and storing them both physically and digitally, but was also cumbersome to administer and time-consuming to manage. This also meant that there was no real possibility of remote working. As the business has grown and continues to grow, so has the volume the business needed to print, scan, and sort. Their current set-up definitely needed to upgrade.
The Solution
As part of the solution, Woodbank upgraded their old machine with a much more suitable replacement, the Konica Minolta C250i, which enables the business to scan documents and sort easily, print in colour and black & white from A6 to A3 (even up to a banner format of 1.2 metres in length), has a tablet-like touch panel which is the perfect interface for ease of use, low power consumption, and high security functionalities.
The solution Josh proposed to Graham at Cookson Hardware, which not only provided the benefit of a more efficient way to digitise documents, but also facilitated the ability to work from home, was our document management software Filestar. A demonstration was booked in with Josh and our in-house Solutions Consultant, Lee Cowin.
For Graham, this package was the perfect solution.
The Konica Minolta C250i was delivered in under 4 days. The Filestar installation, integration and testing took less than 3 weeks to be fully operational. During this period, our in-house solutions consultant, Lee working with the Cookson Hardware team to tailor the install to their needs, fine-tuning it along the way.
The Result
This total document management solution has solved all Cookson Hardware’s problems, enabling them to easily and quickly scan readable documents to a digital file system specifically tailored to their needs. These documents are searchable and accessible, making them much easier to retrieve as and when they require, as well as making them available via any approved device with an internet connection. This gives perfect flexibility to members of staff who need it within the business and enables them to work from home.
With our document management software, Woodbank have supported Cookson Hardware in:
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- Enabling remote working by providing staff members and management at Cookson Hardware the ability to access and work from documents remotely
- Increasing their efficiency by allowing them to scan and store readable and searchable documents quickly into a bespoke file system
- Improving their security and reducing waste by digitising sensitive documents on a centralized and secure system
“We were looking for a way of digitising and streamlining our paperwork process, beyond just a scanner, and for a way to enable some of our team to work from home efficiently. We were used to cabinets full of files, and having to pass paperwork around, so it became apparent that we needed to try something new.
Our IT department had looked at document management software with other suppliers before and thought that they were out of our price-range, but Woodbank Office Solutions put together a solution which allowed us to do what we needed to do well within the budget.
Within 3 weeks of being installed, the system has enabled me to work from home, and has given me the flexibility to work when and where I need to.
Both Josh and Lee know their stuff. Can’t fault them. In all cases, the demo and the people I’ve dealt with have been first class. If you’re thinking about going with Woodbank, just go for it. Great company and people to deal with.“
– Graham Stokes (Admin Manager)