Carmedic Streamlines Field Service Operations With Enterprise Digital Writing Technology From Anoto And Expedata

Joint solution significantly slashes time to process invoices, while also cutting lost paperwork and reducing errors

Anoto Group, the inventors of Digital Pen and Paper technology, and ExpeData, an innovative software company and a global leader in digital writing,recently announced that Carmedic is supplying its 100 field technicians with digital pen and paper technology. The deployment has resulted in vastly improved operations and increased productivity.

Carmedic is one of the largest and most respected paintless dent removal companies in the U.S. with approximately 90 locations operating in more than 25 states. It's a strictly mobile business with field technicians providing services at automotive shops across their assigned territory. Originally, Carmedic was processing 80,000 invoices per year manually, which created a paper log jam and slowed invoice processing and payment. Since deploying digital writing technology, Carmedic has achieved the following results:

• Seamless Work Order Information Flow: Handwritten information captured on paper forms by the field technicians is received by Carmedic headquarters within seconds, eliminating lost paperwork.
• Increased Productivity: The Carmedic has improved productivity by one hour a month per technician, thus enabling more customers to be served each day without adding any additional resources.
• Improved Communication: Field staff now has the ability to answer questions much faster, since all data from the field is downloaded immediately into the central system.

"Paperwork started backing up and we realized we either needed to hire more people to process the invoices or find a digital approach," said Dan Binkley, president of Carmedic. "Digital pen and paper has been the ideal choice for us since we didn't have to change the way we work. The technicians still write on invoices that are very similar to the ones they have always used. This not only enabled us to solve our internal invoice-processing issues without adding any personnel; it also enables technicians to spend more time generating revenue and less time processing paper."

The system works exactly like traditional pen and paper. Carmedic's technicians fill out paper invoice forms and the handwritten information is recorded onto a chip in the digital pen. When the form is completed, the data in the pen is transferred via Bluetooth to a BlackBerry, The handwritten information is received by the digital writing server and converted into electronic data in industry standard formats and sent to Carmedic's downstream systems for immediate use. A duplicate, original image of the handwritten document is stored and retrieved electronically as needed, eliminating the need for long-term storage of paper documents.

The Anoto/ExpeData joint solution includes the following components:

• BlackBerry 8703 or 8830.
• ExpeData EDW Mobile software on the BlackBerry.
• ExpeData EDW Server for processing of handwriting captured by the digital pen.
• ExpeData hosting and training services.
• Verizon Wireless data plan.
• QuickBooks software.
• Anoto Digital Pen and dot pattern technology

"Digital pen and paper technology is enabling a growing number of enterprises like Carmedic to significantly reduce the cost of data acquisition, without being burdened by the implementation of expensive and training-intensive mobile computing technology," said Pietro Parravicini, CEO of Anoto. "Any enterprise with a significant field service operation or with business processes relying on paper-based forms should evaluate digital pen and paper technology. It's as basic as evaluating the use of PCs rather than typewriters."

"ExpeData is solving data capture challenges for businesses in multiple industries through our innovative and easy to implement EDW® digital writing solutions," said Doug Patterson, Vice President-Business Development, ExpeData. "Digital writing is the perfect solution for field service companies like Carmedic that need complete flexibility and tight integration with enterprise applications. Leveraging the Anoto digital pen and paper technology and the ExpeData EDW platform solution provides a way to easily and seamlessly transition from paper to the digital world."

About Anoto Group
Anoto Group is the company behind and world leader in the unique technology for digital pen and paper, which enables fast and reliable conversion of handwritten text into digital format. Anoto operates through a global partner network that focuses on user-friendly forms solutions for efficient capture, transmission and storage of data within different business segments, e.g. healthcare, bank and finance, transport and logistics and education. The Anoto Group has around 110 employees, offices in Lund (head office), Boston and Tokyo. The Anoto share is listed on NASDAQ OMX Nordic small cap list under the ticker ANOT. For more information, visit www.anoto.com.

About ExpeData
ExpeData is an innovative software company and a global leader in digital writing. Our award-winning EDW products provide market-leading solutions for incorporating digital writing into existing business processes. Digital writing delivers significant benefits to organizations of all sizes. ExpeData EDW solutions are used across the globe, delivering value in multiple industries including Healthcare, Financial Services, and Field Services. For more information, visit http://www.expedata.net.

SOURCE: Anoto Group