Maines Paper and Food Service, Inc. Picks ACOM for Blended Accounts Payable Solution; Thousands of Vendors are Involved
Conklin, NY (PRWEB) August 29, 2006 -- Maines Paper and Food Service, Inc., a leading independent multidivisional distributor serving a diverse customer base comprised of multi-unit restaurant chains, cruise ships, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, among others, has completed implementation of a comprehensive back office process optimization solution from ACOM Solutions, Inc, it was announced today by Business Systems Analyst Charles Gilmore and ACOM Senior Vice President James R. Scott.
Maines operates specialized divisions for its market sectors, with distribution centers in upstate New York, New York City, Massachusetts, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, and Tennessee.
The company’s ACOM back office solution is comprised of the EZPayManager/400 payment management system with MICR laser checks and ACH electronic payments output, and the EZeDocs/400 document output management system, The EZeMail/400, EZeFax/400 and EZPDF/400 modules that serve both the payments and the document solutions. The software runs native on an iSeries Model 825 under OS/400 v. 5.3, with data from Retalix, an enterprise software system for the retail food and fuel industries.
According to Gilmore, acquisition of the new solution was driven by continuing requests for electronic payment from large vendors within the company’s pool of suppliers, which collectively furnish Maines with thousands of products ranging from fresh meats and produce to paper products and janitorial chemicals.
“The ACH requirement was the trigger for change,” Gilmore said. “Our previous provider had a solution that was cost prohibitive. Our team identified several alternatives on the Internet, one of which was EZPayManager/400, and after a thorough evaluation we determined that ACOM offered the best price-performance trade-off.”
Conversion to the new system occurred in June, 2006, with four major vendors implemented for ACH immediately and several dozen more waiting to convert.
“We have not actively promoted ACH,” Gilmore said. “Normally, vendors initiate the conversion and with ACOM’s EZPayManager/400 we can make the change very quickly and easily. It is merely a matter of getting their banking information, setting up the process with their banks and putting the data and rules into the secure ACOM software.”
So far, EZeDocs/400 has been used exclusively for creation, generation and transmission of remittance advice. With checks, the remittance advice statement indicating the invoices covered by the check is laser-printed as part of the check run. ACH payments are part of the broad check run, but electronic payments and notifications are conditionally distributed to separate files: payments to the banking industry’s ACH network, and notifications to the secure fax queue or to EZPDF/400 for creation of the EZeMail/400 attachments.
“The fact that we have multiple distribution centers, each with its own bank accounts and routing numbers, could have made the implementation complicated, but ACOM’s professional services staff handled the task easily,” Gilmore said. “The entire payment process is smooth and seamless and we are moving additional vendors to ACH payments as quickly as we can.
“There are distinct advantages to electronic payments on both sides: elimination of paper checks enhances the security of the process, reduces the number of people required and elevates the efficiency of the overall process. For the payee, there is improved cash flow, since the whole process occurs in a paper-free environment. 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.”
About Maines Paper and Food Service, Inc.
Maines is the nation's second largest independently held systems foodservice distributor. Celebrating over 85 years in the foodservice industry, Maines has more than 1,700 employees and annual sales in excess of $1.7 billion. Maines services restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, and other foodservice customers in 35 contiguous states throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Gulf States and Mid-West from nine distribution centers.
About ACOM Solutions, Inc.
Now in its 23rd year of business, ACOM Solutions, Inc. develops and implements advanced modular software systems for document output management, content management, secure corporate payment management, and B2B EDI/XML e-commerce applications, marketing them domestically and through overseas partners. Corporate headquarters are in Long Beach, California; System i Software Division headquarters are in Duluth, Georgia; and regional offices are located in several major U.S. cities. For more information call 800-603-6768, or visit http://www.acom.com.
CONTACT:
Mark Firmin
562-424-7899
###
Related Articles:
JellyBasket - Order Palmalito guava jelly by the case or gift basket!
Palmetto Canning Co., Inc. - Contract Packaging in glass or plastic for sauces, marinades, and other food products
CareMetix, Inc. - Contract Packaging for tube filling, form fill and seal, wet or dry chemical products including polyvinyl packaging.
How to Cope With Your Inner Food Critic
Every day that I eat EnergyRich™ Food, I get almost instantaneous results.
It's wonderful: I feel good about myself, I am productive in my work, I am available
for my friends and family.
Gastric Bypass – The Nightmare for Food Lovers
While the gastric bypass may seem like the perfect solution to those who are obese, I'd like to explain just how the surgery affects the lifestyle of those who've had gastric bypass surgery.If the lovers of food really know the drastic lifestyle change involved in the months and years after gastric bypass surgery then, unless they we're considering the operations for alleviating an immediate health concern, certainly wouldn't go through with the gastric bypass procedure.
Agromin Donates 300 "Carrots For Kids" Gardening Kits to FOOD Share
Agromin, a Camarillo-based manufacturer of premium soil and consumer gardening products, has donated 300 "Carrots For Kids" gardening kits to FOOD Share, Ventura County’s regional food bank that collects and distributes food to people in need throughout Ventura County.
Natural & Whole-Food Multi Vitamins
Natural multi vitamins are superior to man-made vitamins. Man made vitamins are cheaper, easier to manufacture, and are prominent in the vitamin pills you see on the shelves. These manufactured vitamins are also less potent and are less useful to the body.
Whats Wrong With Dr. Phils Food Plan?
I really like Dr. Phil, so I wanted to like his new book on weight loss.
Pet Food Label Secrets Revealed! Know What You Are Feeding Your Dog And Cat
Reading a pet food label, how difficult can it be? You just pick up your regular brand and look at the variety on the front, right? Not so fast! Reading a pet food label isn't as easy as you may think. It's not just ingredients and feeding suggestions.
Food And Vitamin Loss Over Time
You know the claim on food value from the label that is stuck on it; let's pick a nutritious drink product and on that drink is some nutritional claim that states it has a shelf value of two years. After those two years that product still needs to contain 100% of the vitamin C level.
Food Bank Adds Free Clinic, Job Help, Tutoring to Menu
Every week, 1,500 families in Central Florida can put food on their tables because of Greater Orlando Food Outreach. But its directors saw the need to expand their offerings. So they have opened a Compassion Outreach Center. Medical needs brought 67 children to the outreach's first free clinic last month, which was staffed by three doctors and two nurses, all volunteers.
Nutrition Lab Offers 7 Free Samples of Fun New Green Food Supplements
Lane Lab's new 'My Daily Veggies' drink mix packs 2 complete servings of veggies into a fun portable packet for healthy eating American-style.
Employee Motivation, Take The Horse To The Water... And Make It Drink
Finding ways to motivate employees to do their best and beyond is rewarding for both the employee and the business A successful manager turns reasonable requests asked of their employees into incentives for a job well done