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23. November 2020The logistics company Lensker from Stadtlohn has been a long-time customer of the logistics software developer Weber Data Service from Bielefeld. During this time, they have gone through many modernization steps with the software and can now rely on each other in terms of digitization. Lensker can carry out many steps independently, thus saving some costs.
(Stadtlohn/Bielefeld) The logistics company Lensker has been working with logistics software from Weber Data Service since 1993 and is digitizing its processes in many small steps. The electronic invoicing marks the previous endpoint. They were well prepared for the Corona pandemic: The open-plan office of Lensker provides sufficient space for social distancing, and there are no dramatic declines in revenue. For this reason, none of the six office employees need to stay at home.
50 Individual Tariffs
The stable business situation can be attributed, among other things, to the versatility of the logistics provider based in the Münsterland region. With its own vehicles, they transport partial and full loads as well as general cargo. The customers come, for example, from the steel industry, whose freight is often not system-compatible. This includes twelve-meter-long metal profiles, raw steel in coil troughs, and other bulky goods. “We hardly transport any standard pallets here,” explains Tobias Steinweger, who works at Lensker as both the dispatch manager and IT officer.
As diverse and varied as the customers are, so are their wishes regarding invoicing. “We now have around 50 individual tariffs, and with each new customer, new requests can arise,” notes Steinweger, who can easily map all billing models in his Transport Management System. Lensker has relied on Weber Data Service since 1993. In 2015, the original system “Disponent 2000” was replaced by the modern solution “DISPONENTplus”.
Doing Many Things Independently
“Before the switch, we of course looked at other software houses, but no other provider could offer us such personal and reliable service on an equal footing,” says Steinweger, who has been with the company since 1998. Since then, he has been consistently supported by Andre Uffmann from Weber Data Service, who knows and understands his customer’s needs “down to the last detail.” Specifically regarding the Transport Management System (TMS), they did not want to take any risks. “This is the fundamental building block. It must always work,” Steinweger sums it up.
Once a week, he talks with his contact person at Weber Data Service, usually about resolving user errors and occasionally about implementing updates and system expansions. Just in February, Steinweger introduced electronic invoicing in this way. “With DISPONENTplus, we can do many things ourselves, which is supported by Weber Data Service and saves significant costs,” emphasizes Steinweger, who has solid programming skills.
Accelerated Payment Cycle
The electronic invoicing was requested by some customers who wanted to simplify their internal processes. For Lensker, the new procedure leads to savings in postage and paper, given the up to 800 monthly invoices. Additionally, the invoices reach their destination faster, which also accelerates the payment cycle. Only a portion of the customers do not want to give up paper and insist on delivery in traditional form.
The electronic dispatch is carried out via the Jasper Reports Server installed at Lensker. Jasper Reports is an integral part of DISPONENTplus and an open-source Java reporting tool that allows reports to be exported as PDF, HTML, Word, Excel, and many other formats, displayed on the screen, or printed.
Weber Data Service has developed uniform and clear design templates for the most important logistics and warehouse forms, which can be easily customized by the customers. “I have full access to all forms and can do a lot myself,” confirms Steinweger, who manages and adjusts invoices, pickup orders, waybills, and borderos with the form generator. He taught himself how to use the software.
Graphical Route Planning
The transition to electronic invoicing took a total of three months at Lensker and was managed almost single-handedly by Tobias Steinweger alongside his duties as a dispatcher. In daily operations, he plans 30 to 35 routes together with a colleague, which are mostly driven with their own trucks and partially sold through freight exchanges. This process is also supported by DISPONENTplus. The graphically supported route planning displays all destinations clearly in a map view.
The integrated document management DISPONENT E-File also provides relief here. This allows users to access all documents that were previously processed electronically with the TMS or another system. Any paper classified as relevant can be scanned and assigned to one or more data records in DISPONENTplus. All electronically stored documents, delivery notes, pallet slips, delivery receipts, weight tickets, or transport orders can then be easily and quickly retrieved.
In addition to the two dispatchers, two other colleagues from the accounting and customer service departments work with the TMS from Weber Data Service and create freight offers, for example. If these are accepted, they only need to be called up and converted into transport orders.
Next Expansion Stage
Conclusion: With electronic invoicing, the logistics company Lensker has come a significant step closer to the comprehensive digitization of all processes. In the next expansion stage, delivery receipts will also be transmitted online to customers. After Corona, it will continue.
Background: Alois Lensker GmbH Logistics
The logistics company Lensker is a medium-sized logistics service provider with 55 employees and is based in Stadtlohn in the western Münsterland. The owner-managed company operates its own fleet with twelve tractor units, two articulated lorries, and eleven distribution trucks, with which the majority of transports are carried out in self-entry. The portfolio includes partial and full loads as well as general cargo transports. Additionally, Lensker has around 3,400 square meters of warehouse space, of which 1,600 square meters are covered. A truck wash that can also be used for third-party vehicles rounds off the service offering.
