Shortening Document Workflow by 3.5 Days
We introduced a simple cost verification system in a furniture company, eliminating payment bottlenecks for 12 suppliers.
The Nordic Wood Design furniture factory near Tricity struggled with messy invoices. Documents circulated between the shop floor and office for too long, spoiling relationships with wood suppliers. We implemented clear rules, thanks to which every zloty is now under control.
The challenge
In March 2024, the company had 37 unpaid invoices stuck somewhere between production and accounting. The average cost approval time was 8.2 days, which with short payment terms generated interest penalties. Nordic Wood Design paid about 2,140 PLN monthly just for delays, and suppliers began withholding raw material transports. The owner didn't know how much money was actually in the bank because system data couldn't keep up with reality. We looked for holes in everything and soon found the problem wasn't people, but the lack of a simple path for paperwork.
Our approach
Our team of 3 spent 4 business days directly on the production floor in Tczew. We talked to shift managers and the accountant to see where invoices physically landed after unloading. We noticed that 41% of delays resulted from the fact that warehouse workers didn't know who to give the delivery confirmation to. Concrete instead of theory: we prepared a simple verification scheme that takes an employee less than 3 minutes. We know every screw in the budget, so we focused on eliminating empty information runs.
The solution
Instead of expensive software, we focused on a legible digital register integrated with their current spreadsheet. Every invoice above 4,800 PLN must now pass through a two-stage approval within 4 hours of receipt. We trained 9 administrative employees in the new procedures. Additionally, we introduced a 'clean desk' rule for financial documents, which eliminated the risk of losing originals. Numbers must add up, so we added automatic payment deadline reminders for 12 key suppliers.
Results
After a quarter of cooperation, payment bottlenecks disappeared, and the company regained contractors' trust. Thanks to timely payments, two of the largest timber suppliers granted Nordic Wood Design a 3.2% permanent discount, which significantly lowered production costs.
Timeline
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April 2024Audit of 157 invoices and on-site visit on production.
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May 2024Implementation of new register and training for 9 people.
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June 2024Results monitoring and discount negotiations with suppliers.
"To be honest, I was afraid an audit was just a waste of time. Baltic Synergia Consulting, however, showed us specific errors we hadn't seen for years. I finally have order in my finances."