DUO-Collection, through digitization to more transparency and efficiency

DUO Collection Import Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH was founded in 2003. With a partnership approach, long-standing trade and supplier relationships and the highest reliability in terms of quality and service, the company has since developed into a pan-European wholesale company for takeaway furniture. Customers include chain furniture retailers as well as companies from the online and food retail sectors. The core range includes office swivel chairs, recliners and TV chairs, desks, dining room furniture as well as gaming furniture and accessories. Depending on customer requirements, DUO Collection imports the furniture to Germany and neighboring European countries.

ERP from Microsoft

Since 2015, DUO Collection has been supported in the area of ERP systems by the experts from the business system integrator TSO-DATA. At the very beginning of the cooperation, the solution Microsoft Dynamics NAV was used, which was successfully upgraded to its successor Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in 2022. This business management system is particularly suitable for small and medium-sized companies that want to automate and optimize business processes while transparently managing business areas.

Modern document management with M-Files

With the implementation of the update, DUO Collection decided to further expand digitization in the company and, among other things, to introduce the modern and intelligent document management system M-Files.

There were several reasons for this. Manual processing of incoming invoices was time-consuming and there was a lack of ability to work efficiently with important documents across departments on a workflow or process basis. Additional communication efforts due to a lack of transparency in workflow processing were the result.

Furthermore, the existing file server system was no longer able to meet the demands for flexibility and speed, and the large folder structures were increasingly slowing down the smooth exchange of information. The desire for different filing structures for the various departments and employees could also not be satisfactorily solved with the existing technology.

After a detailed analysis of the requirements and a proof of concept by TSO-DATA's specialists, M-Files came into play with all its advantages to solve the two core requirements.

Always the right information with M-Files

M-Files dissolves the usual work in traditional folder structures. The decisive factor is no longer where to look for a document, but which one. This means that the required information can be found much more quickly and accurately for further processing. M-Files links each document with keywords based on metadata and assigns it to specific classes (e.g., offer, order, invoice). This makes it possible to find the document you are looking for in a variety of ways, and you no longer get lost in complicated folder systems.

Duplicate files or duplicates are automatically avoided and all participants always work with the most current version of a document, changes can be transparently tracked. And if desired, the system can be accessed from any location and at any time. A flexible authorization concept determines who can and may access which documents.

The fact that we seized the opportunity to drive the digitalization of the company with the support of TSO-DATA after updating our ERP system was exactly the right decision. Smooth processes, better collaboration and higher efficiency already show us that we are using the right tools with the right partner. Implementation in other areas of the company is already planned ahead of this success.

Susanne Tolle, IT & Process Management DUO Collection

Automatic document processing provides security and saves time

In order to take advantage of further benefits of digitization as part of the project, DUO Collection decided to digitally map the invoice receipt process. Documents were no longer to be sent back and forth between employees in a time-consuming manner that was potentially error-prone due to manual entry, but were to be processed automatically in a defined process in the ERP system.

TSO-DATA solved this requirement with an extension for the ERP system Business Central and used the Document Capture add-on. Document Capture recognizes the relevant fields in the document files, reads them using OCR and forwards the contents to the appropriate places in Business Central. Documents that are already received digitally, for example as PDF or XML, are processed quickly and automatically. Paper documents can be added directly to this process by scanning. This means that the documents only need to be checked in Business Central or M-Files, which also helps to avoid process errors.

DMS Connector - the smooth interaction of ERP and DMS

Another bonus is the smooth interaction between the ERP system Business Central and the DMS M-Files. This is realized by means of a TSO-DATA proprietary development, the DMS Connector. The DMS Connector is an add-on for Business Central that seamlessly integrates M-Files into Business Central. This makes it possible to quickly and easily add scanned incoming documents directly to M-Files using drag & drop within the Business Central interface. It is just as easy to access existing documents from Business Central that are already linked to the contact/master data. This eliminates the need for the processor to switch between multiple programs or interfaces. This saves time while increasing efficiency and satisfaction.

In short, the DMS Connector ensures that you not only have the correct file folder for each transaction in the ERP system, but also that the correct page is opened directly and the necessary documents are ready for access or can be sorted quickly and accurately using drag & drop. This creates additional transparency and reliability for everyone involved when working with business data.