Case: BIRN – From output chaos to full control

“With InterForm, we have gained a level of flexibility that we didn’t have before. Now we are prepared for future changes in ERP and compliance requirements.”

BIRN was managing 50,000 prints monthly across six branches using an outdated system with limited accessibility and frequent daily output errors—issues that typically required costly external consultants or excessive time from the IT department.

Fast forward to today, where Infor M3 and InterFormNG2 have been implemented, the number of errors has been minimized, the need for external consultants eliminated, and the entire organization has taken ownership of its output and printing.

BIRN is one of Northern Europe’s largest foundries, specializing in high-quality cast iron solutions. With production facilities in six countries, the company supplies design, casting, machining, and surface treatment services to industries such as automotive, commercial vehicles, hydraulics, and defense. David Stampe Grønborg, Group IT Manager @ BIRN, had for a long time been frustrated with the IT setup and its output management solution, which prompted them to look at InterFormNG2.

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Industry:  Manufacturer of cast iron (automotive industry)
Core platform: MS Windows
Main ERP: Infor M3
Setup: On Prem & Cloud
Output solution: InterFormNG2

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The Problem: Outdated and inefficient output management

For years, BIRN relied on an aging and heavily customized document output system that was no longer efficient or sustainable. One of the biggest issues was that output management depended heavily on IT, meaning that even minor changes required a lengthy process.

“Our old system required a lot of work just to get data out in the right format. It wasn’t user-friendly at all, and even small changes took way too much time. It was a very IT-heavy system. If something needed to be changed, it had to go through us in IT. That meant long waiting times and inefficiencies.”

Additionally, the system lacked standardization, meaning every update or new document format required extensive manual adjustments. The lack of standardization combined with the old system meant that BIRN had a cumbersome solution.

“We relied on a single consultant who had built the entire system. When that person left, we were stuck with an outdated, unsupported solution, and it became nearly impossible to make changes. Whenever a customer had a request, whether it was a barcode update, a new label, or an invoice adjustment, it became a complex task. We couldn’t just make changes quickly.” he states and continues.

“We also spent hours troubleshooting errors, and sometimes we didn’t even know whether the problem was in our ERP system or in the old output logic we had built. We concluded we spent too much time managing and delivering the correct output to the organization.”

David also estimates that BIRN produces over 50,000 prints a month, even if only a small percentage of these prints contained errors, fixing, updating, and optimizing them would still require several man-hours. A modern future proof solution, that was not ERP-specific and where minor changes didn’t require external assistance, was therefore crucial for BIRN.

The solution: InterFormNG2

David had already heard of InterForm and was excited about InterFormNG2 being both ERP and platform independent and about the fact that InterForm delivered quality support.

“This is where InterForm came in. We looked at it. It’s a Danish company, so it’s native tongue for us. We also had a very close dialogue with the guys behind the wheels, so it made sense for us to look this way. We knew that if we chose InterForm, we would have a well-supported solution located in the cloud, and we wouldn’t lock ourselves to a specific vendor.”

InterFormNG2 provided BIRN with a scalable and flexible output management system that significantly improved document generation, formatting, and distribution. A solution that could support them both in the cloud, on-premises and during the hybrid-phase. Unlike their previous rigid setup, InterFormNG2 introduced a more intuitive and streamlined approach that allowed them to handle output processes with greater efficiency.

“With InterForm, we suddenly had a tool that was user-friendly and allowed us to make changes much faster. Now when a customer requests an update, we can implement it immediately instead of having to go through a long, complicated process.”

The Results: A modern solution, fewer errors and a more accessible tool

The results for BIRN have been great so far and not just for BIRN, but also for David and his teams – And that’s impressive, when you consider, that InterFormNG2 hasn’t been incorporated within all 6 branches that BIRN consists of. Currently they are “only” halfway, but they are already experiencing significant results.

“I have already saved around 20 hours per month on document handling, which is a significant improvement. The same goes for the rest of my team, troubleshooting is something that takes time away from other more important core tasks.”

There are several reasons why David and his team now have more time. A key factor: The organization taking ownership of document outputs.

“Previously, our IT department had to handle everything related to document outputs. Now, the organization has taken ownership, which has freed up a lot of IT resources. So far it has been a good experience, now that people from sales and other departments can make quick changes on invoices and minor changes on output” tells David.

According to David, one of the reasons that sales and other departments have been able to make these minor changes is because InterFormNG2 is easy to use. He mentions the drag-n-drop builder and the WYSIGYG editor, both of which have made output editing a breeze.

Future Plans: Full transition and Peppol E-Invoicing

What does the future bring for BIRN, when it comes to their output management? Two things: Full implementation of InterFormNG2 and full integration with Peppol.

“Our goal is to have everything fully transitioned by 2025 in all 6 companies, it might be too ambitious, but even now, we can already see a huge improvement in efficiency.”

In response to a market that is increasingly digital and subject to tighter regulations and evolving demands, BIRN has proactively prepared for the future. Several branches have already begun sending e-invoices using the Peppol standard, and they are now focused on full integration across the entire organization

“One of our next steps is full integration with Peppol for e-invoicing, and InterForm will play a key role in making that happen.”

Conclusion: A Future-proof output management solution

By implementing InterFormNG2, BIRN has successfully eliminated inefficiencies, reduced errors, and freed up valuable IT resources. The company now has a modern, scalable solution that meets both internal needs and customer expectations.

“With InterForm, we have gained a level of flexibility that we didn’t have before. Now we are prepared for future changes in ERP and compliance requirements.” concludes David.

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