The Client:
Elderhostel is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing extraordinary learning adventures for people 55 and over. With over 200 employees and over 170,000 program attendees in 2004, Elderhostel is a unique company with diverse software needs.

The Challenges:
Beta Site – Elderhostel had no idea that their tag line, “adventures in lifelong learning” would soon take on a whole new meaning. As the first Lawson/Siebel connector implementation and beta site, our initial engagement was to support the implementation of the Lawson 8.0.2 Accounts Receivable (AR) and Billing (BI) applications.

Existing Interfaces – Elderhostel’s existing billing interface specifications were incorrect and did not meet Lawson Software’s standard functionality. Paradigm was tasked with the review of existing (AR) interfaces, identification of additional interfaces needed and preparing the necessary specifications required for the interface process.

Go Paperless – Paradigm was also charged with helping to develop a streamlined paperless method for processing payments to various goods and service providers.

Improve Conversion Efficiencies – Included in the project was the task to organize and test the overall conversion process resulting in reduced conversion time. The deliverable was to test, verify and support the AR conversion process.
Develop the plan to Upgrade to Lawson 8.0.3 – As an official Lawson Beta site, the team was responsible for creating and documenting the upgrade process for incorporating Siebel connectors.

The Solution:
The initial contract was to organize and support the existing client staff to complete the project as soon as possible. Tasks were completed and actual “go live” occurred within four months of Paradigms arrival. Things went so well during the AR conversion that the client requested assistance with the implementation of Purchase Order (PO) matching associated with their provider purchasing process. During this time a unique system was created to interface activity transactions from the billing system through activities and into PO receipts with ERS invoice and ACH payment processing including emailed remittance information. The process was reduced from several distinct tasks into one automated transaction.

The Benefits:
Paradigm Business Solutions successfully completed the interface specifications from Siebel to Lawson. A provider payment process was created saving time, money and reducing the incidence of user error. Conversion times were reduced at Elderhostel by 40%. In addition Paradigm completed the upgrade plan for AR version 8.0.3

(Paradigm Business Solutions was acquired by ISH, Inc. in 2007)