OLA Bamboo Saves 5 Hours Per Week With New, Scalable EDI System

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Company Bio

Ola Bamboo is a 100% Canadian company that manufactures a wide range of eco-friendly consumer products made from bamboo, including toothbrushes, utensils, straws, makeup removers, cotton swabs, plates, and more. 

 

Overview

Automated business processes can improve efficiency, reduce operational expenses, and increase a company’s bottom line by streamlining high-frequency processes. However, these benefits are theoretical as automation does not always work in practice. 

It is essential to assess businesses on a case-by-case basis to determine which processes are best optimized through automation for realizing useful benefits. Invoice management is a high-frequency process that is often automated to help businesses achieve the advantages of automation in a significant way. 

Problem

OLA Bamboo relied on redundant and time-consuming manual processing for each purchase order and invoice before adopting DSD invoicing through Tangentia Gateway. The company’s invoicing system took significant time because it failed to properly integrate with other systems as the company was dealing with a large number of invoices from major retail accounts. 

The company needed a solution that would significantly minimize the time needed to process invoices, but they did not have the necessary in-house technical automation and integration capabilities.

The company knew about Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). However, they needed a partner that could help them overcome the following challenges:

  • Integrating EDI with other systems such as Xero and QB
  • Developing a customized solution for managing new partners
  • Obtaining feedback from new partners
  • Eliminating the need to manually input the invoice information manually through multiple systems
  • Receiving fast and useful support on queries for the existing system
  • Ensuring the EDI system was flexible and capable of scaling

 

Solution

OLA Bamboo partnered with Tangentia to help them streamline purchase order and invoice processing by introducing DC Warehouse PO, invoicing, and DSD invoicing directly through a centralized EDI platform. The company was aiming to save time and expenses through invoice automation and system integration.

DC Warehouse PO & Invoicing and DSD Invoicing were new options — not possible with the previous provider — presented to the company by Tangentia. These upgraded invoicing systems heavily involve Tangentia in the invoicing process.

Tangentia’s entire solution included quick and seamless installation, complete integration with existing invoice systems, full invoice automation, and ongoing, fast support. The company also wanted a solution that was supportive of growth and affordable given the fact that the company was small and growing. 

Tangentia was selected because it is an affordable and reliable choice for building an EDI system for the future with integration in mind. The company relied on Tangentia to create an intuitive and flexible system that could automate the invoicing process and integrate EDI with existing invoice systems for the bidirectional flow of information.

“With Tangentia, we know we can rely on them to build the EDI system we need in the future, one that’s built with integration in mind.”

 

Jean Phillippe Bergeron

President, OLA Bamboo

Outcome

The company managed to fully automate and integrate its invoice process and saves 5 hours per week on purchase order and invoice processing. The company now has a powerful system in place that is capable of keeping up with its explosive growth. To date, OLA Bamboo has experienced 730% growth in annual sales since implementing Tangentia’s solution.

“It’s easy to use, reliable, and it allows us to focus on growing our company. We know that everything can be done with the platform, meaning one less thing for us to worry about as we think about our future.” — Simon-Pier Ouellet, Co-Founder, OLA Bamboo

Tangentia worked with the company to automate, integrate, and establish separate databases for each of the company’s partners. Tangentia provides ongoing support to the company on an as-needed basis eliminating the need for an internal expert. 

The company did not experience any problems with Tangentia’s implementation process. The company was satisfied with Tangentia’s ability to fully integrate all its partners in two months and complete thorough testing and verification of the system’s functions. The company also found Tangentia’s system solution to be intuitive, easy-to-use, and simple to teach to new employees. The company trusts Tangentia and is confident in its ability to solve any future needs. 



Download the Full Case Study to See How We Optimized OLA Bamboo's Business Efficiency Through EDI.

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