Maines Paper and Food Taps ACOM for ACH Connectivity

Published: September 5, 2006

by Alex Woodie

Maines Paper and Food Service, a $1.7 billion supplier to restaurants, hospitals, schools, and cruise ships, recently automated some of its paper-based processes with electronic document and payment solutions from ACOM Solutions. While the implementation was triggered by an ACH requirement from some of its suppliers, the company found other benefits along the way.

Maines runs a complex business. The company, which is headquartered in Conklin, New York, operates nine distribution centers (DCs) that support customers in 35 contiguous states throughout the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic, the Gulf States, and the Midwest. These DCs keep Maines' customers stocked with thousands of products ranging from fresh meats and produce to paper products and janitorial chemicals.

The back-office overhaul began when several of the distributor's largest suppliers began requesting that their invoices be paid electronically via the banking industry's ACH (Automated Clearinghouse) network. The company, which relies on an OS/400-based ERP solution from Retalix, considered four document management solutions before selecting ACOM.

The ACOM implementation at Maines included a breadth of products, including the EZPayManager/400 payment management system, which supports MICR laser checks and ACH electronic payments output, and the EZeDocs/400 document output management system, including EZeMail/400, EZeFax/400, and EZPDF/400 modules. ACOM says the software runs on Maines' iSeries Model 825.

Charles Gilmore, a business systems analyst with Maines, says there are several advantages to electronic payments, including the elimination of paper checks, which boosts security, and a reduction of in the number of people required to complete the process.

Everybody comes out a winner with electronic payments, Gilmore says. "For the payee, there is improved cash flow, since the whole process occurs in a paper-free environment," he says. "Vendors know precisely when the funds arrive at their accounts and there is no interim paperwork or runs to the bank. There is an opportunity for considerable cost savings on both ends of the transaction."

The implementation was completed in June 2006, with four major suppliers immediately taking advantage of the ACH connectivity. Several dozen more are waiting to convert to ACH payments, according to ACOM. Gilmore says that, while Maines' has actively promoted its ACH connectivity, it can ramp up the new payment system quickly and easily using the ACOM software.