Project Description
A wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company (GPC), UAP INC. is a Canadian leader in the distribution, merchandising, and remanufacturing of automotive parts and replacement accessories for cars, trucks, and heavy vehicles.
The Challenge
UAP needed the ability to process the 1500 travel requests coming in yearly from their over 5000 employees across Canada. They were relying on a paper form to initiate the travel request, which was sent via internal mail to a manager for approval. This manual process was fraught with inefficiencies. Delays were being incurred using the internal mail system and often forms were getting lost before reaching their destination.
Because there was no ability to track requests, there was the tendency to wait until the last minute to initiate a travel request resulting in higher ticket prices. Without approvals being enforced, some people would bypass the process entirely and call the travel agency directly to book their tickets. UAP was spending extra money and time trying to enforce a process that they had no control over.
The Solution
Working with the consultants at Intellera, UAP completely redesigned and automated their travel request process. The innate flexibility of WorkflowGen BPM enabled UAP to address their particular needs with an easy-to-use and quick to deploy solution that has received company-wide acceptance. Employees are making travel requests in a timelier manner, as the process is forcing two levels of approval before the request can get to the travel agent. Managers are notified by email that requests are waiting for their approval, and escalated when those approvals become past due. Once approved, the system automatically generates an authorization number which must accompany the ticket request to the travel agency.
WorkflowGen BPM has given UAP full visibility into the travel request process, resulting in the control and accountability that the client required.
Benefits
- Built-in service level goals have resulted in far fewer last-minute requests and thousands of dollars being saved, and the entire process can now be tracked through each stage for review and approval.
- Requesters are being more diligent regarding whether they need to travel at all, since they know they now need two levels of approval.
- Overall approval time has greatly decreased because managers know that the system is tracking timings, delays, and bottlenecks.
- It now takes an average of two days from the initial request until it is sent to the travel agency.
- The request form is easy to use and efficient, with all required information being entered before the form goes for approval.