SCAMAX® 6×1 enables the scanning of demanding delivery bills at the plant of a major German car manufacturer
In a 360° solution for capturing and processing delivery bills in the factory of a large German car manufacturer, the multifunctional devices used for scanning fail due to the condition and nature of the documents – and due to overlooked staples. In order to be able to scan the demanding document material reliably and in the highest image quality, the solution provider Konica Minolta replaced the multifunctional devices with a genuine document scanner: the InoTec SCAMAX® 6×1. This scanner fits seamlessly into the existing system, processes the delivery bills without any problems and increases the efficiency of the downstream processes many times over.
The project at a glance:
Customer/partner: Konica Minolta Business Solutions Deutschland GmbH
Project: Integration of a SCAMAX® 601cd (120 pages / minute) into an existing ECM solution for capturing and processing delivery bills
Scope: one document scanner SCAMAX® 601cd, scan client SCAMAX® scan+
Challenges: Integration into the customer-specific infrastructure; very demanding documents with numerous staples
Project period: 8 weeks from initial contact to final installation (January 2023 – March 2023)
The initial situation:
Delivery bills must be scanned within the same day
The car manufacturer’s plant receives around 600 delivery bills from suppliers every day. These have to be scanned in on the same day so that they are available as searchable PDFs in the digital archive within a day. The scan preparation and scanning process is carried out by plant employees from the goods receiving department. The conversion of the scans into PDFs and their transfer to the digital archive are monitored by an output manager.
The problem:
Damaged delivery bills, thin carbon copy paper and overlooked staples overwhelm the multifunctional devices
The multifunctional devices used for scanning are not up to the task. One reason for this is the condition and nature of the delivery bills: many are crumpled or even damaged, and their grammage varies widely. This leads to frequent malfunctions in the paper feed and paper transport. In addition, there are so many staples in the delivery bills, some of which are hidden, that they cannot be completely unstapled during scan preparation. The result: overlooked staples repeatedly cause protracted machine stoppages and sometimes severely damage the multifunctional devices. Despite a relatively low daily volume, it is not possible to make the delivery bills available digitally on the same day.
“We were facing a well-thought-out 360° solution in which – due to the difficult nature of the documents – the scanning process threatened to become a bottleneck. In order to provide our customer with a highly efficient and trouble-free process, we decided to replace the multifunctional devices with a production scanner. As a genuine one-stop-shop for our clients, it is a matter of course for us to integrate third-party components into our solutions in individual cases if this increases the quality of the solution.”
(Heiko Sehler, Pre-Sales Consultant, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Deutschland GmbH)
The scanner requirement profile:
Reliable paper feed and paper transport, ease of use, early staple detection and top image quality
Konica Minolta sets out in search of a suitable production scanner with a clear requirements profile: the new scanner should …
- reliably and securely feed heterogeneous document stacks (up to A3) and transport them through the scanner, especially fine carbonless paper.
- reliably process even crumpled, damaged and heavily soiled documents.
- detect and stop overlooked staples before they get into the paper path and cause damage.
- provide a freely accessible paper path so that any jammed documents can be easily removed.
- provide excellent user guidance and usability, even for untrained scanning personnel (vs. dedicated scan operators)
The scanner search:
InoTec SCAMAX® or Kodak Alaris?
Konica Minolta proposes two document scanners to the car manufacturer which, according to company specifications, meet the requirements: a cheaper Kodak Alaris device and a higher-priced InoTec SCAMAX® 601. Which document scanner suits better is to be determined in an on-site test: in near-real operation, by plant employees.
The test installation:
The InoTec SCAMAX® 6×1 outclasses its competitors by far
Both devices are integrated into the existing system and extensively tested. The result is clear: only the SCAMAX® meets the requirements in practice and enables error-free scanning. Its metal detector at the feeder recognizes staples before they enter the paper path, while the auditory staple detection of the Kodak Alaris usually only takes effect too late. The SCAMAX® also offers double-sheet detection, a paper-friendly straight paper flow and the processing of long A3plus formats. The SCAMAX® scores particularly well with its user-friendliness, especially the visual menu navigation on the large touch display. This enables employees to not only scan effortlessly after just two hours of training, but also to quickly rectify minor faults such as paper jams.
“The test results were so clear that the customer didn’t hesitate for a second to order the more expensive SCAMAX®. The SCAMAX® 6×1 was convincing in all respects. Of course, the daily volume of only around 600 documents per day somewhat understretches the scanner in terms of throughput. But the customer benefit of a premium scanner lies not only in its throughput, but also and above all in its reliability and user-friendliness.”
(Heiko Sehler, Pre-Sales Consultant, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Deutschland GmbH)
The hardware solution:
About the SCAMAX® 6×1
The SCAMAX® 6×1 is as compact as a desktop device, but scans with the power and performance of a high-performance scanner: faster, more durable and more reliable than any scanner of its size before it. Developed for 24/7 operation and manufactured 100% in Germany, it sets standards in document throughput, scan quality, process efficiency and user-friendliness. It masters recurring or ongoing high-volume scanning projects conveniently at the touch of a button: from incoming mail scanning to archiving and commercial scanning services.
The software solution:
SCAMAX® scan+ is compatible with the existing installation
InoTec’s SCAMAX® scan+ is used as the scan client. The cost-efficient premium scan client in the familiar Office design makes all scanner functions available even at full scanning speed, can be easily integrated into existing document and content management systems and harmonizes perfectly with the Kofax solution used by the car manufacturer.
Commissioning and project completion:
From test installation to live operation in just 10 days
With the SCAMAX® document scanner and the associated scanning software, the final building blocks for a both efficient and qualitative 360° solution for capturing delivery bills have been found and integrated. This means that the scanning line can be put into operation just 10 days after the start of testing. InoTec employees adapt the scan profiles on site for live operation. Thanks to the SCAMAX®’s intuitive user guidance, no further training is required.
The customer’s conclusion:
“Today, highly demanding document material is scanned within a few minutes – reliably and in top quality.”
“By integrating the SCAMAX® hardware and software into our customer’s capture solution, we were not only able to achieve their project goals, but clearly exceed them. The customer now reliably scans highly demanding document material in just a few minutes. Device failures are a thing of the past. Device stoppages – for example due to overlooked paper clips or damaged delivery bills – can be rectified within seconds without damaging documents. The image quality of the scans is now also significantly better, resulting in better recognition rates. The customer’s project manager is highly satisfied and is promoting the Konica Minolta solution with the InoTec SCAMAX® components to colleagues in other departments and plants.”
(Heiko Sehler, Pre-Sales Consultant, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Deutschland GmbH)
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