De Vries Trappen has been manufacturing stairs since 1908. Whether you need hundreds of stairs for a large construction project or a unique eye-catcher for your home. De Vries Trappen makes wishes come true. In order to do this as efficiently as possible, they have focused on process improvement and digitalisation. An example of this is that they have been using the Scan and Recognise software of TriFact365 since 2016.
“At the beginning of the last century, De Vries Trappen started as a carpentry business and 4 generations of De Vries have built up the company. In the meantime, without a De Vries, De Vries Trappen has grown into an industrial production company for the production of stairs and stair components. We think it’s important to be a building partner in the chain and not just a supplier. We are a small part of the building process. We are briefly embedded in a construction project and bend with it, with all its challenges. We like that and we’re good at it.”, says Jan Middel, financial director, about De Vries Trappen.
Quick Response Manufacturing as philosophy
De Vries Trappen applies the Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) principle in its business operations. QRM is a strategy that is applied company-wide in the production industry to make organisations faster, more flexible and more decisive. With this principle, the responsiveness and flexibility of a company are improved and the lead times in the business processes are shortened. Time is the most important KPI in this and all other KPIs, such as quality, overhead costs and employee satisfaction, are time-dependent.
“One of the principles of Quick Response Manufacturing is: tackle it once and finish it. This means that there are dedicated teams, series and customisation, instead of departments such as calculation, sales and work preparation. These teams are responsible for the entire process, eliminating handover points. For invoice processing, this means that you pick up and handle invoices at digital entry. TriFact365 fits very well into this QRM idea. Invoices are no longer distributed around the company for approval or questions. We have got rid of the mail book.”
TriFact365 and Quick Response Manufacturing
In 2016, De Vries Trappen switched to Exact Online and, as mentioned, wanted to get rid of the mail book and move to digital mail and approval. Based on word-of-mouth advertising and reading reviews in the Exact App Center, Jan has chosen TriFact365. During the 30 day trial period, TriFact365 proved to be the application for the company to achieve the Quick Response Manufacturing goal for
invoice processing. From that moment on, invoices are received digitally, processed directly and without third party intervention in the administration and forwarded for digital approval.
“TriFact365 offered us a barrier-free integration with Exact online. With an implementation time that is almost nil. You can have the scan and recognize solution up and running in an afternoon, without any problems. It is practical software and this, in addition to the available functionalities, made us decide to work with TriFact365.”
De Vries Trappen and TriFact365
With the digitization of the invoice processing, De Vries Trappen uses the full functional range of TriFact365. Invoices are delivered by email, for each administration separately. These are then sent as an automatic booking proposal to the administration for checking and processing. After this, the invoice is presented to the various responsible parties for approval, i.e. confirmation. The TriFact365 mobile app is also in use at De Vries Trappen for the delivery of receipts by employees.
“We have been enthusiastic about and very satisfied with TriFact365 from the start. It is practical, directly applicable and scalable. Users accept TriFact365 immediately, for example by uploading the receipts via the mobile app when they are on the road. Other scan and recognize solutions may offer more extensive setting possibilities, but this results in much more implementation. This is something we do not want. With the functions such as using projects and making an accrual booking, we can make the bookings we want. We are very happy with this!”
