Larson Manages 15,466,499 Documents Efficiently & Effectively

Larson Manufacturing - Brookings, SD

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For more than 40 years, Larson has crafted doors and windows of the highest performance and quality.

When Oscar Larson started a small door, window, and awning company in his hometown in Albert Lea, Minnesota in 1954, he had little idea in terms of what it would grow into in 52 years.  Larson Manufacturing now has production centers in Brookings, South Dakota and Lake Mills, Iowa, as well as an affiliated manufacturing facility in North Carolina.  In addition to over 1,400 employees, Larson maintains a solid distribution network with operations and distribution centers throughout the United States.

 

Juke Box Storage Unit at Larson Manufacturing used to store many of the 15,466,499 documents in their system.

What started in Oscar’s garage, with deliveries being made by use of a converted beer truck, has grown into the largest manufacturer of storm doors in the nation, and it generates the paper work to prove it.  Since 1991, it is estimated that the document volume at Larson’s has increased ten-fold.  “We put over 11,000 documents into our system every day,” says Erick Weber, Network Administrator for Larson Doors.  Larson currently has 15,466,499 documents stored in their system.  Conservatively estimating, more than 1,950 four-drawer file cabinets and nearly 20,000 square feet of room would be required to store that many paper documents.  Documents included in their system are proofs of delivery (PoDs), orders, payables, summary sheets, checks, invoices, warranty cards, sales tax forms, credits, and other miscellaneous items.

 

“A solution that fits the way we do business”

 

In 1991, Larson decided they needed to do something about the amount of paper documents they were generating and filing on a regular basis.  Each department had its own filing cabinets, and they were taking up an ever increasing amount of

Todd Mahoney Director of Development Active Data Systems

space.  At that time, they chose Active Data Systems as their provider of their software.  Today, Larson is using FileDirector® to manage their documents.  Says Weber, “A lot of times, with bigger firms, you have to adjust your business with the way their software works.”  They feel that FileDirector® offers affordable flexibility in integrating into their base product.  He added, “Active Data Systems has always been able to come up with a solution that fits the way we do business.”   Says ADS's Development Director, Todd Mahoney, "Larson's quest for automation and proficiency has made working for them rewarding and extremely exciting."

 

Even the finest suit of clothes needs alterations to allow it to look its best.  Not unlike off-the-rack

apparel, out-of-the-box  technology has modification needs, as well.  Special software features and functionality to fit a particular application may require additional enhancements.  Says Mark McClung, President of Active Data Systems, “We work hard to train our support staff to understand the issues businesses face, and then, provide them with customization services and a wide range of document imaging software and hardware products to meet those needs head on.”

 

Nearly all ADS support staff are CDIA certified.  This is an industry recognized seal-of-approval that assures our clients that they will be dealing with  highly qualified individuals who are aligned with industry standards and best practices. The Certified Document Imaging Architect (CDIA) certification program is the global standard of competency and professionalism in the document imaging and document management industry.

 

Larson initially just wanted to get rid of paper, but then it discovered that great cost benefits could be derived from automating their document imaging processes.  “In 92 or 93, ADS wrote us a software program that allowed us to duct tape a bar code reader on top of our scanner that could read each piece of paper and file it automatically,” said Weber.  Though crude by today’s technology, this innovative thinking has kept Larson on the cutting edge in terms of combining bar coding, scanning, and auto-filing.  The benefits have been truly remarkable.

 

“Our system has paid for itself several times over.”

 

According to Jean Osthus, Larson’s Accounting Manager, “Our system has paid for itself several times over by just being able to track down orders that haven’t been invoiced, or by quickly finding invoices that customers may bring into dispute.”   Osthus pointed out another cost benefit, saying that, at one time, Larson had four people filing Proofs of Deliveries (PoDs), plus another person at the front desk helping with orders.  “Now we have just one or two people scanning, and almost no manual processing of the PoDs.”

 

“Everything goes in automatically…it’s wonderful!”

 

On an average day, one thousand orders may be faxed to Larson.  ADS wrote a

Larson is the largest manufacturer of storm doors in the nation.

program to cue up the fax orders.

We may get up to 1,800 fax orders a day,” pointed out Judy Sebring, a Larson billing and FileDirector  specialist. “Everything goes in automatically…it’s wonderful!” she added.

This and other automated processes have reduced or eliminated work and help to assure Larson’s ongoing growth.  Added Mary Jensen from Larson Customer Service, “We have a lot less customer frustration because we can access their records immediately.  Less call backs means happier customers, happy customers continue to do business with us in the future.”

 

Disaster recovery in less than two hours.

 

Since 9/11, organizations have become more concerned with the devastating effects that disasters can have on them, whether they are natural or man-made.   “Data is the key to any organization,” said Erick Weber. “If you lose it, you are sunk.”  Disaster recovery has always been in the forefront of Larson’s planning and growth processes.  Larson maintains daily offsite back up of its system. “At one time, complete recovery of our system would take about a week’s time.  Now we are working to get our time down to one or two hours to have the entire system back on line somewhere in the system,” Weber added.

 

Larson Manufacturing attributes its success as a company to unsurpassed customer service, innovative design and technologies, quality products, and a dedicated workforce.  It’s these qualities that will ensure the company’s success and amply describe its ongoing management of all of its documents today and in the future.