- Investment provides additional scanning capacity to meet the demand for scanning services
May 6, 2014 — Kodak Alaris announces today that Storetec, an award winning document scanning bureau based in Hull, has significantly increased its capacity by installing a high performance ibml ImageTrac document scanning solution to cater for substantial demand for its services.
Supplied by Kodak Alaris, the purchase is part of a forward thinking investment strategy which will allow Storetec to easily double its monthly production capacity with no additional manpower required. Kodak Alaris is also providing a comprehensive service and support package[1] and thorough operator training.
By utilising the performance of the ibml equipment and reorganising the physical layout of its bureau, Storetec expects to avoid employing an additional seven staff as services ramp up. This equates to a cost saving of around £11,000 per month or 1,122 man-hours.
Today Storetec processes around 4 million documents per month and expects this to rise to 8 million within the next 12 months given the pipeline of confirmed work, current lead generation activities, and recruitment of additional sales staff.
In 2013, Storetec saw a 1200% increase in sales from existing customers, 267% growth in new clients and 856% rise in web-based sales enquiries. Located in a new £450,000 production facility totaling 7,000 sq. feet, the business employs 73 staff and is rapidly growing with profits increasing 138% last year. Storetec works with a range of large enterprise customers such as Brewin Dolphin, Lloyd’s, Shell, Rolls Royce, along with Northumbrian Water and the NHS. It is ISO 9001 and 27001 certified.
Neil Robson, Storetec’s founder and managing director, says, “Quality scanning and customer service is fundamental to respond to our clients’ document processing needs which has led us to invest in new scanner technology. At the time of purchase, we didn’t strictly need the capacity, but we’ve got money to invest in our business so we decided to buy the ibml scanner early, learn how to use it properly so we’re ready to get the best from it as sales ramp up this year and beyond.”
Robson adds, “The bureau has been reorganised so paper flowing through is more efficient. When boxes come in to be scanned, they run seamlessly through the bureau in one run from preparation to scanning and then on to the post scanning team who do our database work. This means we avoid re-handling paper and boxes which just slows our whole operation down.”
Storetec has had a long-term partnership with Kodak Alaris and also uses a fleet of its production scanners within the business. Robson says, “Working with Kodak Alaris is excellent and we really value their sales, support and service offering. We trust them and needed more performance hence the ibml purchase. It would be hard to find someone else who responds as well as Kodak Alaris does, such that we wouldn’t want to be without them.”
To cater for larger customers and to keep operational costs down given the throughput required, Storetec decided to install an ibml ImageTrac scanner along with DocNetics suite of imaging software. It purchased the equipment through Kodak Alaris based on lengthy and successful commercial relationship.
A truly powerful machine, the ibml scanner provides duplex scanning at 300 dpi and is able to process up to 438 pages per minute [A4 size]. In addition to providing high quality, efficient processing at exceptional speeds, it also reduces document preparation costs by allowing documents of multiple sizes and thicknesses to be scanned in a single pass. The scanner can cope with rice paper right up to card stock, in other words, 45 g/m2 to 200 g/m2, and its 1,500 sheet feeder can be refilled while the scanner is actually working.
Once paperwork is digitised, customers either access the information using Storetec’s Freedocs portal or the images are securely transferred to populate clients’ electronic document management systems. As part of the project, Storetec also refreshed its HP servers and network to ensure the processing performance of the new scanner is maximized and resilience ensured.
Robson concludes, “The combination of ibml technology and Kodak Alaris service and support means we’ve put in place the best scanning solution available to underpin our business in the long term. Customers actually expect this level of equipment. We can ensure faster turnaround, reduce rates for certain type of work, and really excel in the marketplace.”
This has already been recognised publicly. In 2013, Storetec won Outsourcing/Bureau business of the year at Document Manager Awards along with Overall Business of the Year at the Business Excellence Awards, a scheme run by Action Coach.
Ashley Keil, ibml’s sales director, commented, “Both ibml and Kodak Alaris have recognised the significant success of Storetec over the last few years. It’s great to see them grow capacity with the selection of ibml ImageTrac. Kodak Alaris has now placed over one hundred ImageTrac scanners, many in the BPO sector, which just goes to endorse the confidence we have in Kodak Alaris as a partner.”
Neil Murphy, Kodak Alaris’ UK sales manager says, “The investment in ibml and Kodak Alaris represent a major step forward for Storetec. The ibml scanner provides headroom for growth, enables Storetec to meet the needs of all clients within stringent timescales, with a Kodak Alaris service engineer team in place to ensure availability.”
[1] A four hour response and four hour break-fix service level agreement is in place– ENDS –
About Kodak Alaris
On September 3, 2013, the U.K. Kodak Pension Plan (KPP) completed its acquisition of the KODAK Document Imaging and Personalized Imaging businesses from Eastman Kodak Company and created a new company known as Kodak Alaris. The new company and its name preserve the heritage and legacy of the Kodak brand, while embodying the speed and agility to meet market needs and changes. Kodak Alaris, which is licensed to use the Kodak brand, will focus on strategic, ongoing investments for these businesses to ensure long-term growth and success. The Kodak trademark and trade dress are used under license from Eastman Kodak Company.
About Kodak Alaris’ Document Imaging Division
Kodak Alaris’ Document Imaging solutions enable customers to capture and consolidate data from digital and paper sources, understand and extract valuable insight from the contents, and deliver the right information to the right people at the right time. Our offerings include award-winning scanners, capture and information management software, an expanding range of professional services and industry leading service and support. With customers ranging from small offices to global operations, Kodak Alaris delivers superior systems and solutions to automate business processes, enhance customer interactions and enable better business decisions.
For more information, please visit kodakalaris.com/go/dinews. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/kodakdi and visit our blog at infooverdrive.com/
Media Contact
Tom Herbst
Kodak Alaris EAMER PR lead
+44 (0)7768 145571 or +44(0)207 274 9937
tom@tomherbstpr.co.uk
Source: RealWire
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