Electronic evolution of financial and accounting document flow of Nokian Tyres

Nokian Tyres — the only producer of buses in the world which pays special attention to products and services for traffic safety in difficult climatic conditions. Nokian Tyres makes the innovation passenger buses, buses for commercial and cargo transport and also industrial buses for heavy machinery. The key markets for the company are regions with difficult climatic conditions which impose increased requirements to buses because of snow winter, unstable temperatures, a large amount of rainfall, whimsical and changeable weather. The net volume of sales of concern in 2016 was 1391.2 million euros, the staff of the company totals 4433 persons.

Prerequisites of the Project

In 2010 in the company implementing solution on contract management based on DIRECTUM began. The Avis Expert company, the certified partner of vendor was engaged in project implementation. Specialists of the partner automated a contracted work using the electronic signature and also function of barcoding of documents. Integration of DIRECTUM with the ERP system of Oracle E-Business Suite, synchronization of an organization structure and data on employees with 1C was performed.

Within development of a system the staff of Avis Expert developed the module "Approval of Powers of Attorney" implementing procedures of preparation, approval and maintaining the register of powers of attorney. Then claim and claim work and other tasks was automated. In total about 90 processes are transferred to an electronic form. Thus, creation and processing of all documents of the company passed into an ECM system, and a system was closely integrated into a common information space.

New stage

Transition to legally significant electronic document management with partners using the operator of e-document flow was the following task which rose before Nokian Tyres. In 2013 in the company as a pilot project legally significant e-document flow between child legal entities was partially implemented.

In 2015 the management of Nokian Tyres set the object to completely exclude paper copies from delivery processes quicker to perform shipments of products, to get rid of difficulties with adjustments and waiting of documents. Within the project the following tasks were set:

• pass to exchange of primary documents in electronic form with partners and between subsidiary companies;
• ensure functioning with electronic original invoices, laid on TORG-12 and adjustment invoices, having completely excluded their printing on all process steps of delivery of goods;
• create uniform electronic archive of documents with ensuring their legal importance;
• implement a multioperatornost — a possibility of simultaneous operation with several operators of e-document flow for providing wider scope of partners.

As a result of tender the solution of Avis Expert company on the DIRECTUM platform integrated with two services of exchange — Synerdocs and the Diadoc was selected.

The project was conditionally separated into three parts:

• automation of processing of incoming correspondence from partners;
• automation of sending outgoing correspondence to partners;
• document flow between legal entities of concern (Intercompany).

Processing of incoming documents

Processing of the entering documentation from partners is deeply integrated into process of purchases. Within the block were implemented:

• synchronization of orders for acquisition from Oracle in DIRECTUM with a binding to users for fixing of the amounts, dates and partners;
• the reference book allowing to configure responsible accountants, storekeepers, signers by default by a business unit (legal entity), category and the amount of purchase and also features of the partner;
• automatic comparison of finance documents to purchases;
• creation of a route of approval;
• verification of presence of available means in the budget;
• automatic formation of creditor transaction in ERP and updating of the amount of a remaining balance by orders for acquisition.

Sending outgoing documents

On this block in a system are implemented:

• synchronization of the statuses on processing stages in a card of the document and in transaction of ERP;
• a possibility of replacement of the signer in the formalized documents already created in Oracle but not sent to the partner (the full compliance of data on the signer in xml body with actually appended electronic signature (ES) on the document is important for the legal importance);
• instruments of piece or "package" signing of documents;
• a possibility of the instruction as the addressee of specific employees and divisions that after passing of service of exchange the document was brought to the addressee by a task to DIRECTUM;
• check on combination of positions — a system does not allow to sign documents from different legal persons using the same EDS certificate of the employee who is the signer in both companies. For signing in this case different certificates for each legal person are used;
• the expanded statuses on the sent outgoing: DIRECTUM is accepted, expects sending, is sent to the partner, received by the partner, signed by the partner, is refused, document flow is complete;
• verification of presence of successfully sent initial invoice when sending exchange, adjustment through a system. It allows to avoid sending adjustment to yet not sent document, for example, to the detainee on approval;
• the setup in the reference book by subscribers allowing to manage flexibly formation of the name when sending the unformalized document to the system of exchange. Function eliminates errors when opening objects with the long name.

"In three words — it became much more convenient: quickly documents from our party are signed, the notification comes that the client signed documents" — the coordinator on work with clients of Nokian Tyres shares impressions.

Connection to the systems of exchange of several business units working in one base DIRECTUM and also setup of exchange of legally significant documents between them was one of important features of the project. The standard [1]solution "Intercorporate Financial and Accounting Document Flow" and the module "Integration with the Systems of Exchange" did not consider an opportunity for work of two subscribers from the company in one base DIRECTUM, and this functionality was developed jointly by specialists of Avis Expert and vendor during the project.

Electronic archive scan copies of paper finance documents

For solving of tasks, the documents connected with the organization of uniform storage the scan images relating to business activity input of the paper proceeding and logging-in financial documentation was automated. Migration of archive the scan copies was executed of SharePoint in DIRECTUM and processing more than 30 document types is automated.

Preparation for checks and document retrieval

In a system the possibility of export from DIRECTUM of the documents sent or accepted through services of exchange is implemented. At the same time unloading can be performed in the format required FTS (according to the Order of FTS of 3/21/2012 N MMB-7-6/172 @ (an edition of 2/2/2015) "About the statement of formats of primary accounting documents"), and are suitable for their subsequent loading through GSI service.

Before export the user can configure criteria of selection (by date, types, the organization, a lifecycle stage) and also a format of the unloaded documents and unloading option: separate folders or at once in one. Based on export the register of the unloaded documents forms. At the moment the Nokian Tyres company successfully underwent several testing of FTS using the implemented solution.

For convenience of users the "Document retrieval on archive" allowing to look for financial documentation in DIRECTUM by the set criteria is created. If the user needs to add to search the agreements existing in the same terms to it it is enough to set criterion "Include contractual documents". Function is useful to tax specialists who check primary documents under the terms of the agreement.

In the course of entering of paper copies in archive users need to control completeness and volume of the entered data, including compliance of number of documents in Oracle and DIRECTUM. For the solution of a task "The individual report of reconciliation" using which it is easy for users to make the document register in DIRECTUM on which were not loaded the scan images yet was created.

Results

Project duration was 8 months, its development continues now.

The company almost completely passed to paperless document flow with the main partners. 2 services, electronic archive, ERP, the system of stream scanning and recognition of paper documents are integrated into a single system. Processing of such documents as invoices (including the corrected and adjustment invoices), Bidding-12, invoices for payment, certificates of conformity, acts, the entering acts of MH-1, MH-3 arriving through the systems of exchange from warehouse operators is implemented. It allows to create, approve, sign and store in electronic form all primary documents.

At the moment roaming with the following operators of exchange is configured: Taxcom, GSI, Tensor, Argos, Kaluga Astral.

Business results:

• more than 40,000 documents are processed completely in electronic form;
• duration of process of approval of partners and signings was on average reduced from 5 days to 1 day;
• exchange with 108 partners is performed.

"To implement EDMSs a lot of time and forces was required, and this process still continues — the project manager of e-document flow from Nokian Tyres sums up the result. — But already now it allows us to accelerate many times over document flow, so — to save resources and to simplify work of employees and our clients. Therefore we have no doubts concerning the spent efforts".

Development Plans

At the moment active connection of suppliers and clients to electronic document management continues.

Also it is planned:

• updating on the new version of a system and business solutions for ensuring support of new formats of finance documents;
• processing of other types outgoing (acts of reconciliations, receipt orders, etc.);
• filling of the block of powers of attorney of signers in the formalized documents on the basis of document approval;
• integration of a system of exchange with an existing solution on claim and claim work;
• input in commercial operation of a system of attributive recognition of finance documents.