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Case StudiesE&P Company Discovers Workflow Efficiencies With Web-Enabled Expense Approval Request Routing SystemStonebridge was selected by one of the largest U.S.-based independent exploration and production companies to create a more efficient business process for routing, tracking, and archiving Approval For Expenditure (AFE) requisition forms for company expenditures, “everything from pencils to oil wells.” Our client’s global expansion and growing employee population had overtaxed its old AFE system. The core problem was an outdated employee database that did not contain up-to-date information on the AFE approval chain and spending authority limits. Requisition forms were based on an Excel format, with several older versions of the form still in use. Routing AFE forms was essentially a manual process, with no procedure for tracking AFEs in process or notifying managers of pending AFEs, which often resulted in lost forms and slow AFE approval time. To archive and storage AFE forms, employees were required to manually place related documentation into an intranet folder. Stonebridge designed and provided custom development for a Web-based workflow and document management solution built on a thrid-party software vendor's collaboration and document management application. The backbone of the AFE system is a master employee database that identifies employees by manager and manager spending authorization. Stonebridge developed a standardized electronic AFE form. When an electronic AFE is submitted for approval, it is run against the master employee database, which kicks off a dynamic workflow for the entire approval process. A custom-developed administration module automatically updates the AFE workflow whenever the master employee database is updated. Once the AFE workflow is initiated, the ECM system automatically notifies AFE approvers and administrators by e-mail of their respective tasks and then tracks and records each step of the approval process. If the AFE form is revised at any point in the process, the system automatically notifies all parties in the approval chain by e-mail and re-routes the revised form back to the original approver. Once approved, the form is forwarded to the accounting department for action, the AFE system automatically archives the AFE form and all supporting documentation, sets access permissions, and assigns searchable attributes based on form-field entries. The client benefits of the Web-enabled AFE routing and storage system include:
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