EVO Group: Large multi-channel distributor of business supplies

EVO Group is a large multi-channel distributor of business supplies and services with headquarters in Sheffield, UK.

The company employs over 1,700 people and is the largest specialist multi-channel distributor of business supplies and services in the UK. It provides sourcing, delivery, storage and fulfilment services to over 20,000 resellers, corporate organisations and direct customers through its group companies, VOW, Vow Ireland, Banner and Truline.

It also has a fleet of over 350 vehicles, which makes over 1,000,000 deliveries per month. Warehouse staff pick over 100,000 lines per day within a facility that spans over 650,000 square feet.

The data challenge

A manual expense claim process had been the standard protocol for as long as anyone could remember.

There was a growing concern that this paper-based expense claims methodology was wasting the time of employees, line managers and the finance team, as well as causing employee dissatisfaction due to the amount of time taken for expenses to be approved and paid. The solution had to increase efficiency and provide insight into corporate spend.

In moving away from this manual processing method to an automated software-based solution the aim was to remove the need for employees to submit manual and paper expense claims and to reduce the time taken by line managers to approve claims.

Whilst these administration costs alone created a requirement for change, there were also issues around the need to demonstrate an audit trail in order to meet the compliance and legal requirements needed to pass an inspection by HMRC.

In addition, with such a large number of users and expense claims, managing and storing data for the required length of time had become very cumbersome and time consuming, often involved searching through historic emails to identify the status of claims.

A further consideration was the need to ensure data was held in accordance with GDPR regulations. The system must allow employees to access the data they needed, but importantly, ensure that data was only accessed by those with the appropriate access rights, whilst also ensuring that data was always safe and secure.

The system also had to be easy to use and enable accessed by users who may not be familiar with or have day to day access to a personal computer.

The overarching requirement was to become far more time efficient and enable a busy finance department to efficiently and accurately process payments on a timely basis.

Data Clarity worked with EVO Group to implement a phased roll-out which helped to overcome any initial concerns about the transfer to an automated system. This ensured that users gained confidence using the software and were happier due to the speed and accuracy of the new claims process.

Being cloud based means that Clarity365 is quick to implement, and there is no need to install software on user devices, whether these be a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone.

Authorised users simply log on securely and enter or approve their expense claims. The multi browser capabilities of Clarity365 mean that the software is accessible by all employees across all offices and sites.

The Clarity365 mobile app access enabled employees to submit from any device with internet access which is perfect for warehouse workers who do not ordinarily use a PC and for sales people who are required to travel. Managers can access their own departments claims and approve online to speed up the employee claim to payment process.

Overall benefits

The Implementation of Clarity365 was easy and seamless and has delivered many benefits to the EVO Group. They now have a paperless process that has improved payment speed and accuracy as well as the control the finance team has over expense management process.

With cloud access for everyone, anywhere at any time the company now has complete accuracy in its reporting and accounting abilities and is confident of passing a HMRC compliance audit.

Following the successful deployment of the news software, some of the key benefits that EVO Group has since reported included:

• Reimbursement time has been accelerated by nearly 50%
• Significant increase in the efficiency of the overall expense claim process
• Increased level of control and insight into employee spend
• Improved morale and employee satisfaction
• Faster reimbursement options for employees
• A mobile solution that allows expense submissions to be made from anywhere
• Total visibility into company expenditure means other areas of potential cost savings have been identified