Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
Objectives
Glaser Glass wanted to communicate with insurance companies via EDI (electronic data interchange) to increase efficiency and lower costs. With an eye on their bottom line, the company wanted to reduce paper and postage costs while easing their administrative burden. Glaser Glass wanted the ability to process invoices faster. They wanted an EDI system that would be easy to use and train others to use. Warranty and ongoing tech support would also be important factors in their decision-making process.
EDI Solutions Tailored to Glass Companies
Mike Mclean, Manager of Automotive at Glaser Glass, knew the company needed to upgrade its EDI application. Glaser Glass found an ally in Sierra Bravo, which has created EDI solutions for many businesses and adapted an EDI application suited just for glass companies.
The Cost of Doing Business — Working with Insurance Companies
Glaser Glass and the insurance companies they worked with were similarly burdened by hard copy invoices for reimbursement, which were time consuming and inefficient. Commerce, one of the main insurance companies Glaser Glass worked with, also wanted the benefits of EDI. They wanted to share in the speed and savings that comes from paperless invoicing and billing.
Solutions
An Ear to the Ground
Glaser Glass did their own research prior to making a change by talking to insurance agents and competitors about Electronic Data Interchange solutions. Sierra Bravo has other customers using this proven PICK application to create invoices and maintain their inventory.
Cutting Costs for Paper and Postage
The EDI investment Glaser Glass made effectively replaces snail-mailed paper-based purchase orders with electronic equivalents — an easy, cost-effective, and reliable means of business communication and exchanging business documents in an automated manner.
Reduced Labor and Easy Storage
EDI and other similar technologies save companies money by replacing information flows that rely on human interaction and paper documents. EDI takes advantage of the benefits of storing and manipulating data electronically without the cost of manual entry or scanning.
NAGS Needs
Glaser Glass gets parts and pricing information from National Auto Glass Specifications (NAGS), which sets standardized pricing for auto glass installation parts and associated labor costs for every make and model of car. Glaser Glass relies on NAGS and their catalogs, calculators, and windshield hardware guides. Sierra Bravo applies the quarterly updates from NAGS to Glaser’s EDI application.
Results
After Sierra Bravo created Glaser’s EDI application, the company and its constituents got what they needed faster. Insurance companies shared in the benefits of Glaser Glass’s newfound efficiency. They got a more-streamlined process and the ability to do even more business with a lot less overhead.
“It’s been fantastic,” said Mike Mclean of Glaser Glass. “If I bill something today, there is no delay or lag time — it is processed in real time — with no waiting around. We love it, and the insurance agents we work with love it. There’s less phone tag spent chasing paper trails. The EDI application Sierra Bravo created for us absolutely saves time and money.”
The results: Claims are settled faster and more efficiently through an automated process. Glaser’s staff has more time for personal interaction with their clients. Internally, it’s now easy for Glaser Glass to teach new employees their system.
Glaser Glass reduced costs on postage and paper. Now everything is tracked electronically, easily accessed by both Glaser Glass and insurance companies. Going forward, Glaser Glass can add additional insurance companies to their dynamic EDI application.
“We’ve had great success working with Sierra Bravo,” said Mclean. “Beyond that, we enjoy their personalities and absolutely appreciate their responsiveness to our needs. We’ve been so pleased with Sierra Bravo that we’ve since recommended their services to others.”