Innovation

Seeing as how the business is focused on solving inefficiencies inside the management departments of their clients, GSE created the GSE Reader. This innovation project consists of an app that enables the automation of automatic invoice accounting. Their reasoning for this style of app is that within management areas, the invoices are always printed out on paper; thus, the quantity of paper being used is extensive. Once the invoices are accounted for, their archives have to be kept for 5 years due to legal requirements. GSE thought that this represented a vastly inefficient procedure that also included an especially high economic cost. Hence, the GSE Reader works as a processing app that uses AI for accounting invoices and turning them into PDFs. The procedure is executed automatically without the need for people to intervene. Afterwards, the PDFs are archived in a digital file, where there is no need for physical records. The app serves as a breakthrough in the companies where it has been implemented. These results are satisfying for the business since it represented a large technological challenge and it was a crucial success to have achieved its creation.

The business contributes to 3 of the SDGs:

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

The reader helps companies reduce their economic costs for the accounting and storing of invoices. With its automation, GSE not only saves its clients money but also causes their operations to be more efficient due to them not losing time with invoices in the management department.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

The app means that companies can start revamping their own operations with the goal of having a more technological infrastructure that takes advantage of AI for their more repetitive and costly tasks.

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

The solution proposed by the company helps to move their clients towards a more environmentally friendly way to account for their invoices because the use of paper is no longer needed, which in the long run could motivate more and more companies to move towards this route and start decreasing the quantity of trees deforested for the making of paper.

Inspiration

Before, it was stated that the founders of the company were people who had a strong vocation in improving processes. They soon found that all of the paper handling previously described was a problem with their customers. The company did a great job of researching about the topic, spoke with clients, observed what technology was within their reach, and with all this the project was defined. The GSE founder said it did not last long after the completion of the project for them to realize the merit in what they had created, a successful software with huge potential in helping small businesses.

“It is very difficult for me to explain what was the specific inspiration for the launch of this project. It was a combination of circumstances and hard work for a long time that led us to the definition of the project.”

“ When we created it, we were not aware of the success that this project could have among our clients.”

The interviewee made it clear that the main inspiration for this project mainly was his (and his partners’) willingness to ease the already complicated process of maintaining and sorting information using technology in companies that don't have access to said technology. This was not the concrete reason at the beginning of the business, but the idea came to fruition as GSE started growing.

Overall impact

This innovation has streamlined the process of posting invoices in the administration departments of our clients. This automation has meant that fewer people are able to carry out the work, that large amounts of paper are not wasted for this work, and that the filing and storage of this documentation does not involve the use of large amounts of physical space in companies. Long term effects may be very close to the short term effects, since the results of the GSEReader are seen almost immediately as you start to implement this software on your company long term effects become more of a “reality” to the businesses. In the short term we see a decrease in employees used for certain tasks of the company as well as the flexibility in the movement of information within the company can be seen.

In addition, the company solves the problem of subsequently locating these documents. By using the digital archive, the locating of the documents can be carried out in an extremely agile way. Therefore, increasing effectiveness when doing specific tasks eliminates “bottlenecks” inside the company, since the assortment of documents can be a time consuming task when working with only paper. GSE continues to help small businesses with their technology to this day and will continue to do so in the following years upgrading GSEReader, as well as concluding their already developing projects.

Business benefit

This innovation has allowed the business two main things. The first is to retain their customers. This is always a premise within the company. They want customers to be as satisfied as possible with their products and services. The launch of GSEReader has made their customers very satisfied with them. This makes it significantly easier for the company to expand, since their customers will refer them to other small businesses that may need this sort of help. By having good customer service, support, and charismatic employees the business smoothens the process of gaining the trust of clients since that company will feel safe working and spending money on GSE.

Another thing that the launch of this application has allowed the company to do is to differentiate themselves from the competition. There are many software development companies that do not have a tool like theirs. This makes GSE stand out from them and companies see them as a highly technological and trustworthy supplier. Having this competitive advantage helps with retention of customers and increasing revenues, since it appears that raising the prices would not affect the relationship with customers.

Having a product of this sort opens a handful of opportunities when it comes to upgrading the product, creating a new one, and expanding the business. This will, of course, mean more employees, continue opening the market for this sort of product, and provide a new array of investment opportunities in this industry.

Social and environmental benefit

The GSE Reader benefits the environment essentially through its efforts in converting traditional businesses into what GSE calls a “paperless office” with the explicit goal of reducing the use of paper as much as possible. The long-term effects of this objective could result in great advances for the environment, as in the case of reducing deforestation because of the diminishing need for paper. This is probably the most important area where the paperless office could help, because 14% of global deforestation is caused by our paper-related necessities (Insightful Accountant, 2022). If less trees are cut down, then there is a greater chance for large forests to help absorb greenhouse gases that influence global warming, especially in the case of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Additionally, another aspect where reducing the use of paper helps is by saving water, seeing that water is crucial to the process of creating paper; it is present in every aspect of the procedure like pulp making, processing, and the manufacturing activity. According to a blog by WeBuyBooks in the UK, “an A4 paper can use up to 20 litres of water in its production, whilst the same quantity could be used to keep a person hydrated for ten days”. Reducing water consumption by a large margin could be extremely beneficial for the environment and society, as water could be used more efficiently to help other communities or countries that lack clean water. Finally, the concept of the paperless office also helps with the reduction of recycled paper, which in theory is a solution to global warming; however, the procedure of making it can sometimes cause leakage of chemicals and wastewater into the environment, generating more pollution.

Interview

Miguel Ángel Iriarte Iribarren, CEO