BIO (Belgium) is an Investment Company that supports private businesses in developing countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. At its inception in 2001, the Company's initial capital amounted to €5 million, provided by the State. Additional investment capital was raised from the Federal Public Service – FPS Development Cooperation. As of the end of 2022, together with undistributed profits, BIO manages €1.1 billion in assets.

BIO invests in Entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprise funds, microfinance institutions, and other financial organizations, as well as in renewable energy and various infrastructure projects. This allows Investors to foster sustainable entrepreneurship, create jobs, and promote economic prosperity in their communities.

The Company’s main mission is to provide Businesses with opportunities for growth and sustainable development. The Company’s main goal is to achieve dignified living conditions for everyone on the planet.

Lizard Soft's collaboration with BIO began in 2022 with the implementation of a unified, cyber-resilient digital ecosystem for collaboration and communication – LS Intranet Internal Corporate Portal.

The task

Six months after the deployment of LS Intranet Internal Corporate Portal, the portal Administrator from the Client's side reached out with a request to help automate the procurement request processing. It turned out that the Accounting Department needed a convenient tool for automatically managing internal workflows. At the time of this conversation, request approvals were handled manually, leading to lengthy finalization times and errors in the approval process.

The solution

Further analysis revealed that the Client required not just a mechanism for automating procurement request processing. The need for automatic display of data from different cards related to these requests was essential. We were already working on our in-house development – LS Docs Document Management System, which we initially considered for the task. However, after a deeper assessment of requirements, our Team opted for SafeDox Adaptive Case Management, a new product at the time, which covered most of the Client’s needs. Any additional needs were worked out through customization.

How it works

SafeDox ACM streamlined the submission and approval process for procurements in just a few clicks, exactly what the Client was missing. During the creation stage of a request, Users input procurement details into a Purchases card. The card is then passed to the Manager for approval or rejection. Upon approval, the request proceeds to the Accounting Department, where a related Invoices card is created for final approval.

The complexity lay in the Client’s insistence on displaying connections between cards from different lists (e.g., showing data from one card in another and vice versa). To ensure flexible integration without losing functionality, we proposed utilizing Microsoft 365 Power Automate.

The result

It took the Client’s Employees a pretty short time to master SafeDox ACM. The product got to be in use almost immediately. As of now, dozens of procurement requests amounting to tens of thousands of euros are created daily in the system. Some processes are directly regulated by the Top Management. The Accounting Department now has a convenient tool for swift and error-free procurement approvals, while Management enjoys complete transparency of processes.

In short, the implementation of SafeDox Adaptive Case Management significantly simplified the Client's workflows. Automation of the procurement request processing eliminated the «human factor» in request formation and greatly accelerated task completion. Control over procurements became maximum, and approval times shortened dramatically. The Сlient is satisfied with both the product and the flexibility of our Team, which is always available for both implementation and support of SafeDox ACM.