The annual profit is a few tens of thousands of euros because we save many hours each month.
The result was a customized solution that was implemented within budget and on schedule. “We are pleased with our collaboration with Alistar and Exact,”, says Philip Ghysels, CFO of Libeco.
About Libeco
Libeco is It is the largest flax weaving mill in Belgium and ranks among the top three linen producers in Europe. Under the name Libeco Fabrics, the company produces fabrics for industrial use, such as upholstery, curtain, and apparel fabrics, as well as technical textiles. Libeco Home manufactures finished linen products, such as bedding, table linens, kitchen linens, and home décor. High quality and local, sustainable production are central to Libeco’s mission. Since 2006 The family-owned business from Meulebeke holds the title Purveyor to the Royal Household; in 2014, the weaving mill received the CO2-neutral certification.
In short: Libeco is committed to quality. So when the company needed a new financial software package in 2015, they took a thorough approach to the matter.
Detailed Specifications
Philip Ghysels, CFO at Libeco, outlines the path to a new financial software package. “When we received word from our software partner that they would be phasing out our financial software package—which we had been using for ten years—within three years, we had to start looking for an alternative.”. We didn't want to go looking for one ourselves. So we turned to TriFinance. TriFinance's MIS team specializes in this.”
TriFinance, that specializes in financial consulting and seeks solutions to its clients' challenges, drafted a comprehensive RFP (request for proposal) for Libeco. Those specifications outlined the requirements that both the new software partner and the new financial software package had to meet. Specifically, the company wanted a reliable partner it could count on in the future, a software package that would make paper invoices a thing of the past, and a tool for more efficient and thorough financial reporting.
A Reliable Partner
“Thanks to the RFP and TriFinance’s assistance, we were able to narrow down our options more quickly. References were important in this regard. We took a detailed look at other companies’ experiences with Exact and Alistar. The best way to collaborate is with a partner you feel comfortable with. We had that connection with Alistar. Alistar’s employees made a very good impression on us and on the people at Trifinance. ”We unanimously selected them as our new supplier.".
Conversion
Alistar has Exact Synergy and Exact Globe implemented at Libeco. Exact Globe, as an integrated information system, had to be linked to the existing ERP package Ritm. The implementation went smoothly, according to Philip Ghysels. “Alistar worked closely with our Ritm vendor on the data interface, in both directions. The conversion went smoothly and professionally—exactly as we had requested in the specifications.”
Another new addition to Libeco since its partnership with Alistar is ScanSys, a solution for automated invoice processing.
With the intelligent scanning and recognition software ScanSys saves Libeco time, ensures that the right employees always have access to invoices, and provides a complete overview of costs and control over the status of all invoices. “We no longer have paper invoices. Everything is now digitized and the approval process is fully underway electronically ”via ScanSys,“ says Philip Ghysels. ”Archiving invoices is a thing of the past. We can now also generate reports directly from our financial software. The Business Intelligence capabilities we’ve been familiar with for ten years through Rhythm Ritm are now also available in our new financial software. We have a data warehouse for management reporting.”
We no longer have paper invoices. Everything has been digitized, and the approval process is now handled entirely electronically through ScanSys.
Philip Ghysel
Satisfied with the new software
At Libeco, they are very satisfied with Exact and ScanSys. “The annual profit is a few tens of thousands of euros because we save many hours each month. In addition, we now have a additional tool for detailed reporting and that's also very valuable. Monthly financial reporting is faster than it used to be, and is now more analytically thorough. We extract data from Exact for our monthly analytical P&L and balance sheets. That used to be time-consuming.”, says Philip Ghysels.
Good collaboration with Alistar
The CFO at Libeco is also positive about the collaboration with Alistar. “Alistar has They completed what we asked for within the specified timeframe. When the Alistar team was here with us to implement everything, we met regularly, and we also maintained good communication via email and phone for specific questions. Many issues had already been resolved thanks to the RFP, which included many of our requirements. The few new issues that still came up or needed fine-tuning were resolved very quickly by the Alistar team.
We highly recommend working with Alistar. Absolutely. Their responsiveness, their commitment to keeping their promises, their professional approach, and the skills of the employees they’ve hired… all scored highly with us. And they still do. ”If we have any questions, we get a specific answer very quickly. The after-sales service is good," Philip Ghysels now says.
Tips from Libeco
Finally, Libeco has a few tips for companies looking for a new software provider and a new software package.
- It's important to choose the right things and the right people. That's why we sought guidance at the start of this process.
- Thoroughly mapping out the approach and strict planning It depends on the date you go live—that's important.
- Choose a software partner you feel comfortable with.
- We also have contacted references. That's important. We checked to see if others were satisfied with the package and with Alistar.
That's something I'd like to share with other companies.
