CFOtech New Zealand - Technology news for CFOs & financial decision-makers
Story image

FUJIFILM Business Innovation NZ wins Partner of the Year

Tue, 5th Nov 2024

FUJIFILM Business Innovation New Zealand (FBNZ) has been honoured as 'Partner of the Year' at the 2024 Esker Impact Awards, held in Australia earlier this month.

This accolade acknowledges FBNZ's decade-long commitment to assisting New Zealand organisations in enhancing their Source-to-Pay and Order-to-Cash processes using Esker's finance automation solutions.

Irene Direnko-Smith, Head of Process Automation for FBNZ, expressed her pride in the achievement, noting the importance of their collaboration with Esker.

"Our partnership with Esker has always been about delivering best-in-class automation to New Zealand businesses," she said.

"We're proud to have grown our team in New Zealand to support the ever-increasing number of organisations turning to automation. We're grateful for our 10-plus-year partnership with Esker and seeing how many local businesses, both large and small, have embraced these solutions to achieve tangible benefits is truly rewarding."

The FBNZ Process Automation Team's extensive expertise has played a critical role in aiding more than 50 New Zealand organisations in automating their accounts payable processes. This assistance has helped businesses reduce costs, enhance customer service, boost productivity and accuracy, and manage risk more effectively.

Through the deployment of Esker's automation tools, FBNZ has facilitated the processing of millions of invoices each year, significantly reducing time spent on manual, repetitive tasks and enabling businesses to focus on more impactful activities.

In addition to the 'Partner of the Year' recognition, four of FBNZ's clients were also celebrated for their remarkable successes in finance automation during the 2024 awards.

Evergreen Garden Care Group, Gallagher Group, PGG Wrightson Ltd, and Ritchies Transport received accolades for their achievements in leveraging Esker's technology.

Evergreen Garden Care Group was awarded 'Best Results in Order-to-Cash', acknowledging their commitment to optimising customer service and order processing. Shannon Cameron, Business Services Manager at Evergreen Garden Care, commented on the milestone: "This award represents the collective effort, dedication, and hard work of an exceptional team."

"We've relied on Esker's Order Management tool since 2017, and moving to the cloud three years ago allowed us to improve functionality and efficiency. In the past year alone, we've increased the percentage of orders processed through Esker by 5% and optimised our seasonal workforce needs."

Cameron also highlighted FBNZ's role in their success. "The team at FBNZ has been instrumental, from technical support to guiding us in leveraging Esker's streamlined, user-friendly design."

"Thanks to Esker and FUJIFILM Business Innovation New Zealand, we've enhanced our order processing efficiency without adding staff."

Gallagher Group's General Manager of Operations Performance, Nicola McDonald, was named 'Advocate of the Year for Order-to-Cash' for the implementation of Esker's Cash Allocation module.

McDonald acknowledged the collaboration with FBNZ: "This solution has been a fantastic asset for our team. Working alongside FBNZ's dedicated staff on complex customisations has made Esker's Cash App and AP solutions a success at Gallagher. Our teams have worked hard, and this award recognises that commitment."

PGG Wrightson Ltd was celebrated with the 'Best Results in Source-to-Pay' award for its success in transforming accounts payable operations through automation.

Ritchies Transport's Group Financial Controller, Daniel Keys, received 'Advocate of the Year for Source-to-Pay', acknowledging his leadership in rapidly implementing Esker's solution within six weeks.

FBNZ's continued dedication to supporting New Zealand businesses on their path to digitisation underscores its commitment to expanding the use of Esker's automation solutions and delivering long-term benefits to clients.