Efficient digital document workflows are a top priority for Howden, a renowned engineering company with over 7,000 employees across 27 countries. The quest for a reliable document solution and responsive vendor proved to be a challenging one.
Across our four-part Q&A series, Martina Wilde, Senior Director of Sales at Nitro, speaks with Aiden Curran, Howden’s IT Service Delivery Manager, to uncover the insights and strategies that accelerated Howden to digital success.
If you’re interested in learning more from Howden, explore additional videos and Q&As from this series here:
- Howden Q&A Part 2: Sustainability Success With Nitro Analytics
- Howden Q&A Part 3: Why Support Matters When Evaluating PDF Solutions
- Howden Q&A Part 4: Tips for PDF Standardization from an IT Expert
Q. Can you share some background on your relationship with Nitro?
A: Eight years ago, we chose Nitro as Howden’s PDF partner. The relationship has grown a lot during that time thanks to the extensive testing we've carried out. The adoption from our end users has been significant. We've gone from a user base of 1,000 users up to nearly 5,000. Now we're seeing more than 80% of them taking advantage of advanced features in their daily workflows.
Q. How did you choose Nitro as your PDF partner?
A: After assessing Howden’s PDF environment, I conducted a Request for Proposal (RFP) and reviewed multiple market-leading PDF solutions. I've worked in the I.T. industry for about 20 years and used many vendors. When I started the RFP, I contacted Nitro through the website and within 2 hours, I got a phone call from the sales team. I received the installation guide to test it and got a phone call two days later to check in and understand our digital workflows. At the same time, I had also contacted other vendors, which I still hadn’t heard back from regarding RFP testing. I even ended up having to download their installations myself!
Q. What bas been the greatest outcomes from your partnership?
A: If there's a question that I have or if there is something I think would be nice to see in the product, I can send an email or pick up the phone and talk to the Nitro team. It’s great to be able to suggest ideas which may end up on the product roadmap.
Q. Since going digital, what are the top productivity gains Howden has experienced?
A: Digitizing our workflows has been huge for our teams. Our payroll process for our hourly rate staff is a great example of that. What was once a paper-heavy process and needed manual signing by five or six managers, is now 100% digital. It has reduced a huge number of hours and made us more efficient. So far this year we've saved about 2.1 million pages from not being printed, which again has a huge environmental impact. Also from a cost perspective it’s really beneficial—you're probably looking at three and a half pence savings per print. The people in our factory can now sign documents and save them automatically to SharePoint using Nitro integrations.
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Go to Q&A Part 2: Sustainability Success With Nitro Analytics