Reference Story
Wein Wolf simplifies the invoice workflow
About Wein Wolf
“By now, we have said goodbye to paper and paper filing 99.9% of the time. This means that of the 20 to 30 meters of filing per year, there are now perhaps 5 folders with files left that are still filed in paper form.”
The Wein Wolf Group forms the B2B segment of Hawesko Holding SE, which also enjoys great popularity among wine-loving end customers through brands such as Hawesko mail-order wines and Jaques’. Within the Hawesko Group, the Wein-Wolf Group operates as a separate functional business unit from its headquarters in Bonn. The finance function based there has a regular staff of 15, including accounting and controlling. SAP® is used as the ERP system.
Farewell to paper mountains and faxes
Château Lafite-Rothschild, Wehrheim Pinot Noir or Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – the first source of supply for restaurateurs, specialist retailers and food retailers. Founded in 1981, the group now supplies around 12,000 businesses with high-quality wines, champagnes and spirits from more than 40 countries. With 190 employees, the wholesaler generates an annual turnover of around 160 million euros.
Dietmar Wohsmann has been responsible for accounting at the Wein Wolf Group since 2021. When the trained industrial clerk and accountant joined Wein Wolf in 2017, the company had “mountains of paper and meters of filing piled up in the cellar or on pallets in an external warehouse”. With Wohsmann, the idea of archiving all invoices digitally gained momentum at Wein Wolf.
Wohsmann already knew how digital invoice processing works – and the benefits associated with it – from his previous job in the accounting department of a listed company. From the outset, he was therefore not just interested in eliminating paper piles. He also wanted to convert the process to a digital workflow and speed up invoice approval:
“Especially with large invoices, when the management is involved, it should be possible to approve the invoice even if there is physical distance. For example, if the managing directors are traveling. Previously, in this case, the secretary had to send a fax, which was signed, returned and stapled together in the accounts department.”
Short path from easy archive to easy invoice
The path to easy invoice was not far. Wein Wolf has been working with easy archive for SAP® Solutions for years and as this left nothing to be desired, it was a logical step for Wohsmann to obtain a corresponding offer from the customer advisor at easy:
“Once we saw that the solution was right and the price was affordable for us, we didn’t look any further.”
The easy products were set up within a few weeks and the conversion of invoice processing could begin. In addition to an experienced in-house IT specialist, Wohsmann expanded the project team to include two colleagues from the accounting department, who were able to contribute their practical knowledge to the project during the transformation phase.
Wohsmann and his team installed easy invoice for SAP Solutions for invoice processing. This is the central application for the invoice workflow, with which incoming invoices are recorded, checked and released. After going through the approval process, easy invoice stores all invoices in the existing easy archive. For the digitization of receipts, easy Capture for SAP Solutions was set up, with which paper invoices are scanned using powerful OCR technology for text recognition and thus made fit for the digital workflow.
A clear target image facilitates implementation
Wohsmann had a clear vision for the project right from the start: every incoming invoice was to be digitized at the end of the project, run through a digital workflow for approval and be stored in a digital archive. The implementation took around four months. Looking back, Wohsmann sees it as an advantage that he was able to contribute his existing experience from working with digital invoice processing to this project.
The few skeptical voices in the company that initially struggled with this change were quickly silenced:
“Especially for people who are not so IT-savvy, there are always conversion difficulties at the beginning. But it’s important to assert yourself here and make it clear to everyone involved that an electronic approval process, for example, is ultimately easier than if something has to be printed out, signed and filed. After all, picking up a pen is more likely to cause calluses on your fingers than clicking the mouse just once.”
Measurable successes
Especially as easy invoice has measurably increased the efficiency of invoice processing: although the number of incoming invoice documents at Wein Wolf has increased by around 50 percent since the system was introduced, to just under 18,000 documents at present, there has been no need to fill two and a half vacancies in the accounting department. In addition to a few restructuring measures, Wohsmann sees the main reason for this in the digitization of invoice processing.
Wohsmann sees another major advantage in the transparency gained in the approval workflows.
“Most delays are now only caused by those responsible not checking their inbox regularly and then finding 20 to 30 workflows piling up there. Of course, this used to happen before as well, but it wasn’t noticed straight away; only when a reminder arrived or an invoice was searched for. Today, the invoice receipt book makes it very easy to see which invoices or which piles are currently at which point and then you can actively nudge people.”
Finally, easy invoice has also simplified cooperation with auditors. In the event of a tax audit, the relevant persons are given special access to the system and thus have direct access to all the necessary information.
“We no longer have to spend days searching for receipts; the auditors look for everything themselves and can check every receipt independently.”
Even more easy with e-invoices
According to Wohsmann, the only isolated problems that arise after the introduction of the new solution are due to the fact that not all companies have fully understood the benefits of digitalization:
“Some business partners send their invoices once digitally and once in paper form, so they end up in the process twice.”
Fortunately, easy invoice shows duplicate invoices and you can also immediately see whether a transaction has already been posted:
“Then you can simply delete the duplicate.”
However, Wohsmann hopes that such anecdotes are only transitional problems and refers to the German Growth Opportunities Act, which was finally passed in March 2024. It obliges companies in the B2B sector to use e-invoices with effect from 2025. Wein Wolf’s accounting department is already experiencing how well this works in its collaboration with its Italian suppliers, which Wohsmann sees as a pioneer in this area throughout Europe.
“By now, we have said goodbye to paper and paper filing 99.9% of the time. This means that of the 20 to 30 meters of filing per year, there are now perhaps 5 folders with files left that are still filed in paper form.”
Dietmar Wohsmann, Head of Finance & Controlling Wein Wolf GmbH