American Tire Distributors is a $1.4 billion tire, wheel, automotive equipment and services company with 74 distribution centers nationwide. But with success and growth came a problem: Invoices and proofs of delivery were stored haphazardly at each center, creating headaches and delays when a particular document was needed.

AnyDoc Software’s OCR for AnyDoc, the leading software for automated document and data capture, was the solution. Today, OCR for AnyDoc automatically captures data and images from 32,000 documents per day—with only two employees needed to scan pages and operate the system. Now, over 300 remote users have instant access to captured data which is stored electronically in American Tire’s Hyland OnBase solution. When a customer at an American Tire distribution center has a question, answers are provided—fast.

Better productivity, better service and ROI in only nine months. With those kinds of results, American Tire is leaving competitors in the dust.

Business Situation

Since 1935, American Tire Distributors has supported tire dealers, service centers and automotive performance shops with prompt and convenient delivery of automotive supplies and services. The company offers tires, custom wheels, service equipment, shop supplies and related services to help retailers succeed.

Based in Huntersville, N.C., American Tire is the nation’s largest tire, wheel and automotive equipment distributor. The company has 74 distribution centers nationwide and annual revenues near $1.4 billion.

Prior to installing the company’s first data capture and imaging system, each American Tire distribution center housed accounts receivable invoices locally. Across the country, invoices sat in dusty, poorly organized boxes. Finding specific proof of delivery documents and invoices was time consuming and difficult. “With the company growing as fast as it was … it was not a good idea to have proofs of delivery just stacked in a warehouse when they could be needed at any given time,” recalls Kathy Beaver, imaging manager at American Tire.

In 1999, American Tire purchased a company that was using an antiquated imaging system to capture and index proof of delivery receipts. But the system required six operators and often broke down—with replacement parts hard to find. With a need to automate and without a viable solution in-house, Steve Peppard, now American Tire’s vice president and chief information officer, decided to forge a new direction. In automotive terms, the company’s document processing had a flat.

Solution

American Tire installed OCR for AnyDoc to extract and process document data, and Hyland Software’s OnBase for storage and retrieval.

As documents are scanned, OCR for AnyDoc finds two fields for indexing—invoice number and company name.

Next, OCR for AnyDoc automatically captures relevant data and creates the images and indices for the Hyland OnBase system. The front end capture and automated data collection solution filled a necessary time and cost savings need often felt in the front end of workflow and imaging solutions.

Timely online access to documents has created far greater efficiency at American Tire’s distribution centers, where users have nearly instant access to key customer data. Finding documents no longer requires rummaging through boxes of old forms.

“We have probably 300 remote users who think that OCR for AnyDoc and OnBase are wonderful because they don’t have to waste time,” said Beaver. “Within a matter of seconds, they can have an invoice in front of them. When a customer is disputing (an invoice), the user can print it out and give it to him while he’s there. They just think it’s wonderful.”

But American Tire didn’t stop with invoices and proof of delivery. Today, with just two full-time employees, the company scans nearly 32,000 pages daily. The forms are as diverse as IRS W-9 forms, customer credit applications, accounts payable checks and more.

“Since everyone found out about imaging, I’m swamped with requests,” says Beaver. “Nearly every department has some form of imaging they send to us now.” Beaver anticipates additional growth as other American Tire departments discover the convenience and efficiency of the OCR for AnyDoc solution.

Clearly, by expanding the use of OCR for AnyDoc, American Tire is on the road to even greater cost savings and business productivity.

Benefits

• Fast ROI
  Because faster invoice processing reduced aged receivables, OCR for AnyDoc delivered ROI in just nine months.
• Easy access to document images and data
  Business now moves faster at American Tire. Document data is accessible sooner and can be viewed from any of the company’s 74 distribution centers, improving efficiency. The days of rummaging through box after box to find documents are over.
• Improved customer service
  If a customer has an issue, employees at American Tire distribution centers can instantly access processed invoices to get answers fast.

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