The 15% cost we found hiding in plain sight (and no, it wasn’t salaries or rent).

Most companies do not realise how much money quietly disappears through routine processes like printing, signing, scanning, and reprinting documents that should never have left the system in the first place.

In 2021, we worked with a client in the outdoor advertising industry who was experiencing exactly this. Their approval process was heavily paper-based:

·        Purchase orders printed

·        Payment vouchers physically signed

·        Sales quotations walked across offices

·        Internal authorizations filed manually

It felt “controlled.” Everyone could see the paper trail.

But it came at a cost – both financially and operationally.

We implemented online approval workflows in SAP Business One. Documents that once required printing now move seamlessly through predefined approval stages within the system.

Approvers receive notifications. Review transactions in real time. Approve or reject with full visibility.

No paper. No delays. No duplication.

The result within a few months:

·        15% reduction in printing costs

·        Faster approval cycles across all departments

·        Improved audit trails and accountability

·        Reduced risk of lost or misplaced documents

What seemed like a small operational tweak turned into a meaningful cost-saving initiative without disrupting the business.

While the digital approval system improved efficiency, one challenge remained: user convenience.

Executives and managers are not always at their desks. Logging into an ERP, even a well-designed one, can sometimes slow down decision-making.

So we are going further.

We are discussing with the same client to introduce approval workflows via WhatsApp integration.

What does that mean?

·        Approvers receive real-time requests directly on their phones

·        They can review key details instantly

·        Approvals can be completed on the go without logging into the ERP

This is where efficiency meets practicality: bringing business processes into the tools people already use every day.

Digital transformation is often associated with large, complex projects costing millions over several years. But sometimes, the most impactful changes come from optimizing everyday processes.

Reducing printing costs by 15% isn’t just about saving money.

It’s about:

·        Eliminating unnecessary steps

·        Empowering faster decisions

·        Creating a more agile organization

And with mobile-first approvals, we are hoping to take that efficiency even further.