Automatic PDF/A archiving and digital signature for the ZFV Group

The 17 Sorell Hotels Switzerland affiliated to the ZFV Group sent their offers and day-end closing figures in printed and signed form to headquarters on a daily basis. The costs in terms of paper, postage and toner were immense. The day-end closing documentation alone comprised 15 six-page reports from each hotel. In addition, each hotel sent 20 to 25 offers per day by post.

The ZFV Group wanted to minimize these costs, reduce the paperwork as much as possible and simplify signature processing and archiving. To do so, the company required a solution that was fast, reliable and simple to operate. After deliberations, it became clear that 3-Heights® Document Converter was the only product that could meet all the group’s requirements.

With the new solution, offers are sent to the 3-Heights® Document Converter via email by a third system. They are returned to the users signed and converted into the long-term archiving format PDF/A. Afterwards, the PDF documents can be conveniently forwarded to the respective customer. This ensures that offers can be read by any PDF reader.

The day-end closing documents have legally valid digital signatures and are forwarded electronically to the headquarters of the ZFV Group. The inventory process is also handled electronically. The 150 companies that report to headquarter also submit their inventory electronically. The signature is used for validation, and conversion into PDF/A format guarantees secure and ISO-compliant long-term archiving.

A noticeable sense of relief can be felt among the staff at headquarter. With the appropriate user rights, everyone has easy access to the relevant documents and there is once again space in the archive rooms. The simple operation and processing has reduced the workload of the ZFV Group and its businesses by some 300 hours a month.

The 3-Heights® Document Converter works as an autonomous agent in the network, where it monitors previously specified folders (watched folders), processes documents and distributes them to the right places. The services are monitored by monitor tools. Since MS Windows functionality was already in place, creation of operating instructions for the end user was straightforward.

The ZFV Group is a traditional Zurich-based group of hotel and catering businesses across Switzerland. The group includes the Sorell Hotels Switzerland, various public restaurants, numerous staff restaurants, school and university cafeterias and Zurich’s Kleiner bakery. The group employs more than 2,500 staff across 150 businesses.

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