MerQbiz develops Orders and Claims Management solution

MerQbiz, El Segundo, California, has released a new Orders and Claims Management solution for recovered paper buyers and sellers. 

According to a news release from MerQbiz, the new Orders and Claims Management solution is powered by the company’s BaleVision quality assessment analytics platform and can be used as a stand-alone service. The solution is designed to help recovered paper buyers and sellers to facilitate clear communications internally at the mill and externally with suppliers. The new technology extends enterprise resource planning functionality with bale quality analysis and supplier performance by integrating various data inputs from purchasing, suppliers, transportation and quality to deliver insights to help drive decision-making. It also triggers integrated process management with supplier performance, quality operations and as a material handling solution, MerQbiz says. 

Recovered paper intake teams can upload order and delivery information, complete with release and order numbers, release date, mill location, paper grade, price per ton, delivered tons, shipping details and supplier information, as well as bale photos.

The Orders Management solution functionality includes the ability to digitally connect material receipt to purchasing, transportation, quality analysis and consumption; and insights on strategic supply, scorecarding and contamination.

MerQbiz also has its Claims Management solution, which the company says enables users to bring together purchasing, quality analysis and supplier master data to equip them with decision-making tools to facilitate claims and downgrades. If recovered paper quality data is entered, the MerQbiz application automatically flags shipments that are outside of industry standards and makes downgrade recommendations.

The Claims Management solution functionality includes:

• the ability to digitally facilitate claims and downgrades via workflow;
• the capability to compare actual quality analysis against a specification;
• a claims calculator to show suggested downgrade amounts based on actual contamination levels; and
• data analysis so that users can have honest conversations with suppliers.

MerQbiz reports that if mills choose to submit a claim, the Claims Management solution platform incorporates a calculator that gives buyers the total shipment price based on the suggested downgrade discount. Buyers automatically can send a claim summary to suppliers from within the platform via a PDF that details the order information, type of claim, suggested downgrade, suggested discount, photos and actual quality data. Buyers can view and share an annual downgrade report on each supplier.

“The Orders and Claims Management tool not only improves communication with suppliers but also greatly improves transparency within the mill,” says John Fox, president and CEO of MerQbiz. “We’ve heard from many papermakers that there is often a communication gap between dockworkers and management teams within the paper mills. With this platform, managers will see claim suggestions, make a decision based on actual data and be able to easily send an explanation back to the receiving team about their decision to reject or submit a claim. This open line of communication between the procurement, finance and materials handling teams enables standardization of the claims process and saves valuable time in the long run.”