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V&S Transportation Success Story

"The invoice processing to our customers is much less labor intensive. The entire process of printing invoices and attachments is handled in one operation," Jack Workman, a manager at the California-based V & S Transportation, says.

Any company that enjoys the kind of success that expands its customer base from statewide to nationwide (and even international) is obviously doing some things right. V & S Transportation is that kind of company. In the past 63 years, V & S has grown its daily delivery schedule throughout Southern California and now offers service to every major metropolitan area across the U.S. and into Canada. Corporate giants such as Honeywell, JVC and Sony Electronics are clients who have come to depend on V & S for with their transportation needs.

Growth Demands Adaptation

"We're staffed with knowledgeable, professional transportation specialists who care about our clients and their customers," Jack says. "We see ourselves as a positive extension of a client's company whenever we are dealing with their customers. Our service does not end until the client's product has been delivered safely and on time."

Implementing this philosophy required an ever-increasing array of tools. Customers expect rapid confirmation of rates, clear delineation of routes and instant identification of transport status. V & S was able to offer all of the above, and did so through a well-tuned synergy of electronic and human resources. "Our fleet is equipped with Teletrac to provide instant tracing and delivery information," Jack says. "A customer satisfaction specialist is assigned to each client to assist with all rating, tracing or expediting needs."

Specialists assure all special handling instructions on shipping orders are followed, including on-time delivery, proof of delivery, delivery appointments and other requests.

As V & S has grown, the company has acquired the tools needed to keep its various deliveries in focus. But even those tools' efficiency was compromised as the paper trail of an ever-widening circle of clients took its toll.

Linking Resources

Jack and his staff wanted to expand the capabilities of the FreightDATA System they had come to rely on. FreightDATA, an industry-wide recognized management system for all types of transportation companies, was a tried-and-true means for creating rate confirmations to be sent to carriers. But those documents formed just the front end of a transportation transaction. By the time freight had successfully moved from point A to point B, the intervening steps created a series of documents that were cumbersome to store and difficult to locate quickly when needed.

The solution provided by PaperWise ASP offered V & S a secure, central Internet site for storage and one-touch retrieval. V & S personnel can now serve their clients' needs in one phone call. Clients also have the ability to access key documents on the Web.

"With PaperWise ASP, our records are stored in a secure location," Jack says. PaperWise has created a way for V & S employees to better complete their duties without distraction. "This lets our people focus on our business," Jack says.

A standard transaction illustrates the power of the PaperWise/FreightDATA partnership. When FreightDATA creates a rate confirmation, PaperWise sends the confirmation electronically. When clients return the forms by fax, PaperWise automatically indexes them without staff assistance. With PaperWise, V & S specialists quickly print invoices with back-up copies, e-mail and fax invoices to customers, retrieve documents without leaving the desk, and store management reports without needless paper copies.

Moving Faster in the World of Transportation

"PaperWise is the tool that scans, stores and provides instant access to documents," Jack says. "With our old system working alone, it could take all day to look through file boxes and cabinets for one document. Our productivity has been greatly improved."

Jack reports that implementing PaperWise has resulted in no lost documents and billing time has been reduced by five to 10 days. The entire process of printing invoices and attachments is handled in one operation.

"We've got better cash flow," Jack says, "and our working environment certainly benefits from the stress relief to our employees."

63 Years of Growth and Counting

As V & S moves ever deeper into the uncharted territory of 21st Century transportation, PaperWise ASP is freeing employees from countless hours of document handling. Those hours can be directed toward increased personal customer service, increased customer satisfaction and — most critically — meeting the transportation needs of an ever-growing customer base.