A wholly owned division of Intelliscan, Inc.

American Automobile Association

Application: Order Entry

Synopsis: The California State Automobile Association needed a way to streamline its internal order and delivery system to improve inventory control. Turning to TeleForm to resolve this problem, information is now organized in a way that works with CSAA’s mainframe computer. The result has been better inventory control, a more profitable organization, and improved supply ordering. CSAA saved $305,000 within the last year from eliminating overstocking and improving inventory control. Employees better understand the simplified ordering process and are able to spend more time serving the customer. Ordering maps and travel brochures is now more efficient.

Providing travelers with maps and travel brochures is a valuable service of the California State Automobile Association (CSAA), one of 98 motor clubs within the American Automobile Association (AAA). The second largest AAA club, CSAA has over 3.8 million members who use the association’s Emergency Road, Travel Planning, Insurance, Financial, Automotive, and Education Services throughout Northern California, Nevada, and Utah.

As part of CSAA’s Travel Planning Service, each of the association’s 116 district offices regularly orders maps and travel brochures for customer distribution. Maintaining a constant flow of these supplies to the district offices has been a huge challenge for the association’s distribution center in Brisbane, California. Although most supply orders are transacted correctly through CSAA’s automated mainframe computer system, there were frequent emergency orders phoned in and constant inventory control problems.

Resolving to eliminate errors and reduce costs, in 1996 CSAA’s purchasing and inventory department underwent a complete evaluation. Stone said the association discovered excessive overstocking of maps and travel brochures in all the district offices. The extent of overstocking was expensive. Over a quarter million dollars a year was wasted printing travel information that was never distributed to association members. Looking deeper, CSAA’s evaluation revealed why.

Mainframe computers are not known for being user-friendly, but CSAA discovered its order entry clerks at the district offices had a lot of trouble using the computer to order maps and brochures. The mainframe system was designed for accounting purposes, not for field rep interface. It required the knowledge of a complicated coding system to order maps and brochures in proper quantities. The computer only allowed ordering five items within each screen, making larger orders quite time-consuming. Typical orders were between 100 and 110 items. CSAA said employees disliked ordering supplies and often delegated this task to the most junior clerical person. Errors and complaints were common.

“We couldn’t get orders out fast enough,” said Kathy Stone, CSAA’s supervisor of inventory, “we needed to help the district offices operate better without adding staff.”

In January of 1997, CSAA changed from the previous mainframe-only system to one incorporating Verity, Inc.’s TeleForm solution. The association wanted to eliminate the complexity of using the mainframe computer while still allowing clerks to order supplies. Said Don Tanaka, CSAA’s departmental systems analyst, TeleForm enabled CSAA to do just that. As an automated data collection forms processing solution, TeleForm reads, interprets, and transfers information from faxed and scanned forms directly into a database. By using the fax equipment the district offices already had to fax in supply orders, no additional hardware had to be purchased.

Adding TeleForm has completely changed the way clerks order supplies. District offices stock the pre-printed 8 ½ by 14-inch forms. Each form lists 300 maps and travel brochures. Each item has a description (i.e. Bay area), inventory code, and fill-in bubble. Clerks fill in the bubbles and fax in the form to CSAA’s distribution center. Quantities are automatically entered. No more operating a mainframe computer, no more complex codes to remember, and far fewer mistakes.

Once the form is faxed to a dedicated PC at the distribution center, CSAA’s multi-user TeleForm solution receives the information, interprets, and verifies it automatically. Creating a data set with the order numbers and items, additional software transfers the information from a PC-based ASCII format to the mainframe computer. Said Tanaka, it “actually simulates someone logging onto the mainframe network and entering data – as if someone was keying in the information.” Orders are filled and shipped from the distribution center to the requesting office.

“By using TeleForm, there are now fewer mistakes made and orders are filled faster,” said Tanaka. In the last year, he said, “TeleForm has reduced stock levels at each district office and allowed us to redirect staff assignments, saving over 1,800 personnel hours annually.”

“We’ve received rave reviews from the district offices,” said Stone. She explained that not only has this improved the inventory ordering process, virtually eliminating overstocking at the district offices, but that employees’ time has been freed up for other projects. “It’s worked very well for us. Within the last twelve months, orders for the California/Nevada Tour Book decreased by 6% - saving the company $85,000 on just this one item.”

The new system has been so successful she said that ordering errors have decreased by 95%, resulting in a total annual saving of $305,000. Said Stone of the project’s $78,000 cost, “Within only a few months, it has more than paid for itself!”

“Before, we had bulging stockrooms at the district offices and a high volume of emergency orders,” said Stone, “we’ve nearly eliminated all stock returns, there are almost no emergency orders, and our offices are able to maintain staff. We’ve improved operational efficiency and increased service. We’re very proud of it.”

In addition to improving inventory control and processing of maps and travel brochures, Verity, Inc.’s TeleForm has given CSAA the chance to further improve. The association’s next step is to change its PC operating system from Windows 3.11 for Workgroups to Windows NT and upgrade to Cardiff’s new TeleForm 6.0 version. TripTiks, a travel-planning feature, will be added to CSAA’s TeleForm system.

The TripTiks form, with an amazing 700 fields within an 8 ½ by 14-inch area, was completed in mid-July by Digital Documents. A number and bubble represent each item on the form. Tanaka said TripTiks should be automated before the end of 1998. Excited about automating this travel feature, Stone and Tanaka said it is expected to improve inventory control and thus reducing costs and improving customer relations for thousands of association members who use this service every year.

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