Botanic initially chose to use CEO-Vision's GoFAST as a collaborative platform and documentary repository for 2 important software migration projects. These projects involve more than 50 internal and external collaborators (prestigious, international and professional IT services) and thousands of project documents. The use was then extended to contract management (with migration from an old DMS), digitalization directly from copiers, and collaborative management of store budgets.
What problem had to be solved ?
The optimization and security of the store budgets management which were established in files stored on a server. The process of exchanges, corrections and validations of budgets was supported by electronic mail.
More specifically, the store managers established their budget and these heavy files were sent by email to the controlling department, which after corrections and comments, sent it back to the stores (always by email). The operation replicated a number of times for each store before arriving at a final version. Email server was overloaded by large size attachments (over 40MB / file) and documents kept in the mailbox.
Without even mentioning the wasted time, each action had the risk of dealing with an outdated version and the risk of interception (human errors, email hacking, etc.).
File servers and email are still very common in companies today, but more than limited :
- Management of rigid or even non-existent rights, either too open or too closed: consequence of security "holes" and constraints in its work, lack of collaboration.
- No file version history: lost work, impossible to trace the change history.
- Duplicate files linked to "copy and paste": time wasted searching for documents and impossible to know if you have the right version.
- Minimal collaboration based on email: lost email information, too many emails, recipient omissions / errors, quotas exceeded obsolete attachments, etc.
- No management of workflow-type tasks: unprocessed requests, exceeded deadlines, etc.
Why did they choose our solution (GoFAST) ?
A first success :
Before Botanic focused on store budget management requirements, GoFAST was already deployed as a collaborative and content management platform for a strategic IT project: The objective was to successfully complete the upgrade of an ERP involving 60 internal and external people (Sopra) over more than 2 years. General Management had requested "almost zero" internal mail as part of this major project.
In view of the success in this first project and the fact that their “management control” process is slow, Botanic has decided to redesign its budget management around the GoFAST platform.
Open Source Technologies Solution controls costs :
GoFAST is based on the market leader Alfresco Open Source DMS (see Gartner's "magic quadrant"). This provides advanced document management, including: version management, editing locks, multi-location (zero copy - paste), etc.
Beyond the DMS functions, the following functions were required: powerful search engine, comments to documents, forums, PDF preview of files, easy rights management and secure access from outside. All of these requirements have been met with the other Open Source "technology bricks" of GoFAST.
The Open Source technologies, selected by CEO-Vision and which make up GoFAST, are recognized for their durability, efficiency, security (including code audit) and technological openness (technological standards). Open Source allowed limiting GoFAST development costs, making it possible to offer a very competitive and controlled annual subscription.
Ergonomics and easy handling :
Store managers are not always experts in IT applications and their very precious time does not allow them to bother. The application therefore had to be easy to use, with a quick start without extensive training.
Part of the added value of CEO-Vision lies in its ability to integrate the various technologies in detail and to offer an interface that is easy to use.
Result (What did GoFAST bring to Botanic?)
No more version errors or duplicate files, or exceeding email quotas overrun: budgeting on GoFAST has resulted in productivity gains of up to 30% (study within the service). In addition, the availability rate reaches almost 100% 24/7.
Organizational results and significant reduction in emails :
- Each store shares a collaborative space with the head office to process budget documents.
- The budget management space is reserved for the collaborators concerned for optimal security.
- No more need to send an email with the attached budget, so no more quota problems
- "Activity summary" notifications allow monitoring actions taken on documents
- The exchanges that were previously in emails are centralized on GoFAST
- FAQ forum allows you to see / answer the most common questions.
Error limitation and collaboration optimization :
Handling errors (loss of documents, forgetting to save, corrupted file, conflicting modifications, etc.) are rare or even nonexistent. There are no longer email errors. The documents no longer "move" and collaborators access them according to their needs: they are sure to have the right document, the right version with the history of exchanges and modifications. The author and date of the changes are also known. Automatic "activity summary" notifications let you know when a document has been modified (edited, commented, moved, etc.).
Project schedule
- 2012-2013 : initial use by the IT service
- End of 2013 : deployment in the budget management service
- 2014, 2015 and 2016 : extension of use in Legal, Finance and Marketing services, confirming user satisfaction. In 2017,
Botanic switched to GoFAST v3.0 which offers a Collaborative Office Suite (co-editing simultaneously) and allows the release of proprietary and restrictive SaaS solutions such as Office 365 and GoogleDocs.
Key figures related to the project
- 2,300 employees in France and Italy
- 66 points of sale = 66 budgets
- > 100 stakeholders
- 30% productivity gain
Customer Testimonial : Éric Bouchet, CEO of Botanic
"The choice of Open Source was not only a political choice but also an economic one, because the specialized solutions or the portals of the big software publishers are far too expensive when the number of passive users is large, especially the readers. Ultimately, standards smooth out complexity and allow office interoperability. With GoFAST, we have the best of both worlds! "
Botanic is a network of garden centers specializing in ecological gardening. Their main mission is to promote a lifestyle that is more respectful of the environment and more innovative through several segments: garden centers, pet store, the organic market, furniture and decoration. So far, Botanic has more than 2,300 employees across 66 stores located in France.