Manufacturer Harfield find solution to enable flexible working with Woodbank

Like so many organisations post-pandemic, Harfield wanted to offer those employees whose role allowed, the opportunity to work from home. As a manufacturer, they didn’t want to go through the expense of changing their whole order, sales, and delivery process, and needed a solution that could be integrated to make hybrid working possible.

After contacting a number of IT companies, they found the answer on their doorstep with Woodbank Office Solutions.

Jo Cooper, finance director at Harfield explains their original dilemma: “We were looking for a way to help our members of staff who could work remotely move to a hybrid role; However, because of the amount of paperwork that moves around the business, the sales and admin team had to be at the office. We wanted a digital solution so that our sales and admin team could have some flexibility.

“Our existing system meant everyone had to be on-location for the orders to process. We needed to find a solution that could scan documents and send them to the sales and admin team wherever they were located. I had heard the name Woodbank, and after finding out that their head offices were local, gave them a call. I explained what we were trying to do, and the reply was: Yes, we’ve got the solution.”

Josh Kinder, Woodbank’s account manager for the Stockport and Greater Manchester region, and Mark Jones, the in-house technical manager, worked alongside Jo and her team during a short trail period, integrating their document management system ‘Filestar.’

The system enabled Harfield to scan and send their documents securely and accurately to the cloud, eliminating the need for the warehouse operatives to carry the documents back and forth.

“We never go into the meeting with any preconceived ideas,” said Josh. “When I spoke to Jo, it was about finding out about Harfield’s particular problem and then presenting her with a few options. From the very first call, I knew that we had the right solution that would help them.”

After only a 2 week trial, and a couple of minor tweaks, the system was in place and Jo is very pleased with the results. “I can’t believe Woodbank solved the problem so quickly. The new system has been fantastic from day one. There was no settle-in period; As soon as it went onto the system and the admin team were using it, they knew it was right.

“Biggest benefit for us is definitely the time-saving. It has improved all-round efficiency, and it gives accurate documents straight back to us. It’s also nice to be working with a local firm. Josh and Mark are very knowledgeable, and it never felt like they were selling me a product, it was always about fixing the problem.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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