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Download “Velosio Prescribes Successful Solution for BioStorage Technolgies”INDUSTRY: Biopharma Services
LOCATION: Indianapolis, IN, Frankfurt, Germany
NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: Two
SYSTEM: Microsoft Dynamics GP
BioStorage Technologies is the worldwide leader in short-term and long-term biomaterials storage, sample management, and cold chain logistics. The company’s customers include global pharmaceutical and biotechnology developers and manufacturers, clinical research facilities, laboratories, and academic institutions. Over the last six years, the company has had great success and is growing rapidly.
BioStorage Technologies’ rapid growth rate made its largely manual system of invoicing unmanageable.Additional staff was needed just to keep up.
Velosio implemented Microsoft Dynamics GP and designed an import routine to create invoices automatically.
No additional administrative staff was needed, despite 100 percent growth over the prior year. Cash flow was improved as a result of faster invoicing.
BioStorage Technologies used a proprietary software package to track the samples it stores, however the company had no automated billing system. “We relied on an entry-level accounting package and spreadsheets — lots of spreadsheets,” recalls Mike Reffeitt, Vice President of Global Finance and Human Resources. “We would do a data dump from our tracking software each month and spend days massaging that data to get the data in the format we needed for billing. It was inefficient and impossible to maintain at our rate of growth,” says Reffeitt.The company recognized it would either have to increase its administrative staff significantly or invest in smart technology to streamline the billing process.
Invest In TechnologyReffeitt says the company began looking for a full-featured ERP solution that was robust enough to handle the company’s expected growth and flexible enough to support integration with its existing software. “We certainly were aware of the reputation of Microsoft Business Solutions,” recalls Reffeitt. “And as we evaluated the Microsoft Dynamics GP product, we knew it would work well for us.”A staff member at BioStorage Technologies had worked with Velosio in a previous position and recommended the company consult with them. “Velosio responded to our RFP,” Reffeitt explains. “We quickly developed a high level of confidence in their abilities. They are a results- oriented group, and they quickly understood the intricacies of our business and how they could design a solution to meet our unique needs.”
Velosio worked with BioStorage Technologies to develop an integration routine between the sample-tracking software and Microsoft Dynamics GP. Velosio also customized Microsoft Dynamics GP to support the complex pricing structure unique to the company. Each month, details including customer, project, container size, and quantity are imported into the Sales Order Processing module where the program calculates pricing and produces the invoices. Velosio built flexibility into the import routine, using triggers set for each customer to control the format of each invoice. “Some of our international customers want a separate invoice for each country, for example. Others want a consolidated invoice listing all projects rather than a separate invoice for each project,” Reffeitt explains. “A goal of the project was to ensure that our customers received accurate, timely invoicing supported by a transparent, secure, and easily maintainable database. We’ve achieved that goal — our customers are pleased.”
The time savings were immediate and significant. “We now have one person preparing our invoices. From start to finish it takes about a week,” explains Reffeitt. “Without Microsoft Dynamics GP, it would easily take four to five people all month to complete the process.”
Faster, more accurate invoicing has led to an efficient, auditable system that gives BioStorage Technologies confidence in the security and accuracy of its data. “Our A/R cycle is shorter now. And we’ve undergone a couple of external audits since the conversion and passed with flying colors,” notes Reffeitt.
“Large implementation projects like this typically come in late and over budget,” concludes Reffeitt. “Not ours, though. Together, Velosio and our staff brought the project in on budget and within our time line. We went live right on schedule.”