Digital transformation specialists, Cypher IQ, have revolutionised business operations for Hunter Valley business, Sweetman’s Timber, by digitally automating their sales order processes.

Using a fully scalable and customised solution, Sweetman’s Timber has been able to introduce processes and systems to help them minimise the potential for errors, as well as file and retrieve documents at the touch of a button.

Operating since 1921, and based in the Hunter Valley, the fourth-generation family-owned business supplies thousands of products and made-to-measure cut timber to a range of clients.

Sweetman’s Timber produces quality Australian hardwood products for a variety of fencing, engineered products and timber landscaping supplies.

Sweetman’s Timber General Manager, Luke Crump, said their business caters to a variety of customer requirements.

“We’re nimble enough to handle the needs of our smaller DIY customers, and yet we’re big enough to be able to customise, scale up and adapt to the requirements of any size job – even large commercial projects,” he said.

That adaptability, however, comes at a cost.

With so many different types of jobs going through at one time, good communication between multiple staff members became a vital requirement for ensuring the smooth processing of each order.

“We can be running with anything up to 200 orders in the system at one time,” Luke explained.

“We’d been relying on pen and paper to relay information – but with the hand-written system, there were up to five different places where inaccuracies could creep in.

“The new system has transformed our day-to-day efficiencies in a number of key areas.”

Luke said the first area to be impacted by the new system was the mill itself.

“Until the introduction of this technology, we’d never actually done product coding in the mill – but the new process has radically improved our ability to more easily search for and source products,” he said.

Not only that, but the link between the mill and office were also enhanced with the new systems.

“With the digital system, everyone works with the same information, using the same system, which minimises errors and improved efficiencies,” Luke said.

“Because updates are now in real time, we have eliminated any lag involved in relaying information between different employees, as everyone is working off the same data.

“And we can also clearly see the status of every order and keep tabs on where it’s at, and relay that to the customer.”

Order process transparency and tracking has also been fine-tuned using the new solution.

“With this system, orders can be completed a lot more quickly – and we’ve also been able to dramatically reduce the number of errors made, minimising incorrect order details before products reach a client, saving us a lot of additional processing costs.”

According to Luke, the reduced time spent on paperwork and the improved overall quality of the company’s documentation has been invaluable.

“We just load everything into the system, along with all drawings, purchase orders or other relevant docs. That enables everything to be fully visible to everybody at any time. Nothing gets lost or misplaced, and there’s no longer any need for complicated filing systems or time-consuming admin,” she said.

Going forward, Luke sees the company’s B2B links becoming increasingly important.

“We’re already noticing companies either providing portals for us to input information or wanting to be able to do that for ours. Tighter integration with both customers and suppliers is something we’re looking forward to achieving with these types of automation solutions,” he said.

“We’re already talking to Cypher IQ about automating more of our processes, as they also have the systems and technology to integrate customer communications into our workflows.

Luke said that the team are also doing a lot more with SMS connections.

Business to consumer SMS communications can provide updates on order process, delivery of order, as well as links to documents for signing and marketing opportunities.

“Plus, we are also looking at linking our quoting in with that system, so that customers can digitally sign and accept our quotes without needing to print or scan them first,” Luke concluded.

IMAGE | Sweetman’s Timber employee using new Cypher IQ system.