Case Study: Smithfield Foods reclaims 85 work hours per month and digitizes invoicing with DocuWare

Smithfield Foods - Customer Case Study

Smithfield Foods in Norwich (part of the global Smithfield Group) faced administrative bloat in its accounting department, which handled more than 12,000 invoices a year with paper-based, biweekly payment approvals. Manual filing, repeated document access and an external paper archive created wasted time, high paper volumes and inefficiencies that hindered growth.

By deploying an on-premises DocuWare solution with a local partner, invoices are scanned or saved from Outlook, indexed automatically, compared with open orders and routed through automated, limit-aware approval workflows integrated with their ERP. The digital archive eliminated the paper store, saved about 3,000 pounds of paper annually and recaptured roughly 85 work hours per month—freeing staff to focus on core tasks and streamlining processes for future growth.

Smithfield Foods

Ralph Farrow

IT Manager