eDoCat at Sanela: Tens of thousands of documents and automatic website upload

The Czech company SANELA (Sanela) and its sister company SEAL ELECTRONIC s.r.o. (Seal) specialize in the development and manufacturing of sanitary electronics. As part of their core operations, they process tens of thousands of diverse documents, such as price lists, catalogue sheets, contracts, assembly instructions, service records, and product certificates. Managing this volume of documentation with traditional “paper-based processes” or an incomplete digital solution would be highly inefficient. Both companies therefore rely on Onlio’s eDoCat DMS.

Microsoft SharePoint is no longer adequate

Sanela and Seal have been processing documents electronically since 2013, but their original Microsoft SharePoint-based system was unable to keep up with their growing needs. The response when searching and working with documents was extremely slow. Users faced long delays for basic queries, and the system was riddled with errors. These issues were hindering any further functional development of the system.

Finding a new DMS solution: 2 years of preparation and 2 years of implementation

By the end of 2017, management saw that the situation was unsustainable, especially with the anticipated increase in document volume by tens of percent, and decided to choose a new DMS. The aim was to provide a reliable and robust platform for processing of not only all controlled and production documentation, but also documents managed by the sales department (contracts, price lists, catalogue sheets), the technical department (technical specifications, inspection regulations) and the quality and service department (service sheets, spare parts price lists, analyses or statistics). Sanela also emphasised the need for future scalability, high security, and support for continuous development in line with the company’s evolving needs.

“As soon as we started looking for a solution, we outlined the essential features we needed, such as multi-language support and automatic document processing,” says Milan Roller, Head of Production at Sanela, who, along with his colleagues, was responsible for selecting the new platform, adding: “We discussed the available solutions not only within our company and with potential suppliers but also with other companies—we wanted to gather as much practical insights as possible. Among other options, we came across Alfresco, and from there, it was just a simple leap to the eDoCat system, which is based on this platform.”

It took nearly two years from the initial research of available solutions to the launch of the new system, which attests to the diligent efforts we invested in the selection process. eDoCat was the logical outcome of the defined requirements, including its excellent price-to-performance ratio. The contract was signed at the end of 2018, and after thorough testing – including two test migrations – we went live in January 2020. Does that seem like a long time to you? The implementation of the eDoCat DMS was delayed mainly due to the development of new customized functionalities, which we worked on throughout 2019.

Automatic website upload of approved documents with eDoCat DMS

Sanela and Seal now rely on eDoCat for all critical documentation that impacts business operations, covering nearly all areas, including HR and audit. Sanela uses advanced workflows, managing the entire process from document creation and approval to publication and review. Moreover, Sanela often applies a review process, automatically sending documents to the relevant administrators based on the defined eDoCat metadata.

Sanela sees the full automation of processes as a key advantage. This includes the automatic document upload to the company’s website. For example, employees upload catalogue sheets or assembly instructions to eDoCat, and once the workflow is completed, the system automatically uploads them to the website. It is one of the custom extensions developed for the customer, offering significant organizational and time savings, especially given the number of documents involved.

eDoCat manages tens of thousands of documents in 7 languages

The eDoCat DMS at Sanela and Seal Electronic processes documents in seven languages. The system’s “language capabilities” are progressively expanding as the companies enter new markets.

Currently, eDoCat manages over 23,000 documents from both companies, with dozens to hundreds requiring updates each month and additional dozens being added monthly. More than 60 users across both sister companies use the system, a third of whom actively edit or add documents and process tasks within the workflow; most of them access the system via the intranet, and about a quarter of users work remotely.

“The eDoCat system considerably outperforms the previous solution. Users are highly satisfied with the platform and now have much more time to complete their other work duties. Reduced error rate is another major benefit,” adds Milan Roller.

Short-term goals focus on further integrating the eDoCat DMS with the ERP system and developing additional features to optimize and automate other business processes.