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Actian > Case Studies > Streamlining Invoicing and Customer Onboarding in Transportation with IoT

Streamlining Invoicing and Customer Onboarding in Transportation with IoT

Technology Category

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Databases
Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms

Applicable Industries

Automotive
Transportation

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation
Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Autonomous Transport Systems
Vehicle-to-Infrastructure

Services

System Integration

The Challenge

ACME Truck Line, a leading transportation company in the United States, was grappling with a labor-intensive and error-prone paper-based invoicing process. The company had to manually enter all invoicing data twice, once in its own accounting system and again in its customer’s invoice system. This double-entry practice not only increased the risk of errors and delays but also complicated the customer onboarding process. The challenge was further compounded by the fact that ACME's customers all had different invoice processing systems. The company was therefore faced with the daunting task of implementing an electronic invoicing solution that could seamlessly connect with all its customers' diverse systems.

About The Customer

ACME Truck Line is a Louisiana-based leader in the field of equipment, material, and supply transport throughout the United States. The employee-owned company operates in fifty service markets across fifteen states. Every week, its fleet of more than 1,700 trucks hauls 8,000 loads of oilfield products, general commodities, and expedited freight. ACME Truck Line has a 60-year history of safety, on-time deliveries, responsiveness, and integrity. The company is in the business of connecting links in the supply chain, hauling freight from one point to another, connecting manufacturer to distributor, downstream supply chain provider, or directly to a customer.

The Solution

To overcome this challenge, ACME selected the cloud-based Actian Business Xchange platform and its Business Xchange SupplierConnect service. This solution enabled ACME to present properly formatted electronic invoices to all its customers, regardless of the systems they were using. The Actian Business Xchange platform is a fully managed and engineered web-based B2B data exchange suite with services for both buyers and suppliers. It empowers organizations to exchange and translate invoices, purchase orders, shipping notices, and other documents with trading partners without regard for specific formats or requirements. The platform is flexible, customizable, cloud-based, and affordable. For ACME, the Actian Bx SupplierConnect offered four key advantages: 'anything to anything' transformation capability, automated invoice formatting, convenient web-based monitoring for high-volume customers, and the ability to scale services and keep pace with a growing and diverse customer base.

Operational Impact

The implementation of the Actian Business Xchange platform and its Business Xchange SupplierConnect service has brought about a significant transformation in ACME's operations. The solution has eliminated duplicate input requirements, automatically validating invoices prior to submission, and reducing the need for invoice revision and resubmission. This has not only streamlined the invoicing process but also minimized opportunities for the introduction of errors. The platform has also made it easier for ACME to onboard new customers, regardless of the invoicing systems they use. The cloud-based platform has effectively eliminated the friction in ACME's invoicing process, enabling the company to focus on its core business of delivering reliable, on-time delivery of important freight to its customers.

Quantitative Benefit