HOGAST is a purchasing cooperative which, in addition to the overall procurement of goods, also deals with the areas of electricity, fuel, telephony and many other topics, and always ensures that its member companies enjoy the best conditions and optimized processes, as well as being able to expect significant advantages in all relevant purchasing and service areas.
Over 45 years ago, HOGAST was founded with the basic idea of creating price advantages through inter-company volume bundling and relieving individual companies of routine tasks.
Today, HOGAST counts as the largest company for the hotel and catering industry in Austria and has more than 3,200 member establishments with a turnover of 415 million euros. For the care of the south German area thereby the subsidiary in Munich is responsible. In addition, the HOGAST Group also includes HOTEL GASTRO POOL for smaller hotel and catering establishments and HANDOVER for facilities in the social sector.
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Company name: HOGAST
Short description of the project: "... due to short-time work and home office, we inevitably had to rethink, because without a new digital system we would not have been able to sign contracts, invoices and orders at all."
Why sproof sign: "What we particularly like about sproof sign is its user-friendliness. After all, not only can you find the uploaded documents quickly, but thanks to the new feature, you can also already specify at which point in the document you need to sign. This makes us realize that there is always something happening at sproof sign, i.e. that we are working on enhancements and updates, which is super important to us"
Peter Sigmond, Senior Goods Manager
How did the decision to introduce the digital signature come about?
Sigmond: "For us as a company, two aspects were decisive in choosing a digital signature solution. One of them was the Corona pandemic, because short-time work and home offices meant that we inevitably had to rethink, because without a new digital system we would no longer have been able to sign contracts, invoices and orders at all.
The second aspect, which I'm sure had already been a topic of discussion with the management for some time, is that we as a company have placed a parallel focus on digitalization and sustainability for ourselves.
With the focus on this, the point had finally come where we decided to now sign everything digitally and where it is possible to do away with all paper invoices and contracts."
For which use cases is the digital signature used?
Sigmond: "Basically, we are the link between our suppliers and customers or members. But that also means that all invoices and orders go through HOGAST and we then also have to sign and countersign them in some cases. You can think of the signature chain as a triangle between supplier, member and HOGAST.
One example where the digital signature is used and totally helps is with the admission of new suppliers. There are contracts that have to be signed somehow. Before we decided to use an eSignature solution, we had to send everything in paper form by mail first and wait. Because the entire company is actually made up of four companies, in this application the delivery partner has to sign once and HOGAST four times. It could take two to three weeks for everything to arrive back at our company. With the digital solution from sproof sign, everything happens much faster.
But we also use the eSignature when receiving deliveries. Because all order confirmations over 7,500 euros must be countersigned by us after the customer and the supplier have already signed. This is a liability issue! Indeed, HOGAST is also liable for its customers if they go bankrupt or become insolvent. Then we pay the invoices for our members, but only if the order confirmation or the order has been countersigned by us beforehand. This is a really important aspect for our members and suppliers."
What standards regarding data security & compliance must a software solution meet in your company?
Sigmond: "Data protection is just a present topic and meanwhile simply a basic requirement. There everything must be right. For us, however, the user-friendliness was also important, that the software is easy to use and you can save time with it."
"That's why we recommend sproof to our 7,000 customers with a clear conscience."
Peter SigmondSenior goods manager
What do you like most about sproof sign?
Sigmond: "What we particularly like about sproof sign is its user-friendliness. Not only do you find the uploaded documents quickly, but thanks to the new feature, you can also already specify at which point in the document you need to sign. This makes us realize that there is always something happening at sproof sign, i.e. that we are working on extensions and updates, which is super important to us. But even if a question arises from our side on the subject of eSignature or a new function, then we always have a great and fast support, to which we can turn."
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Are there any special advantages of sproof sign that are of particular benefit in your industry?
Sigmond: "For the future, we would like to see sproof sign embedded in third-party systems. An own app would of course also be exciting. Right now, after all, it's still a web-based platform, where it can take a bit of time to upload with large amounts of data.
The nice thing about sproof sign, however, is that thanks to our close contact, we already know that we are in exactly the right place with sproof. Because even if something doesn't fit, they will work on a further development and integrate the new features into the software. That's why we recommend sproof to our 7,000 customers with a clear conscience."
More blog entries
The best of both worlds. Linde & sproof.Hendrickson: The locations in France and Austria are digitizing their signature processesDigital sustainability in the hotel and catering industry: HOGAST saves measurable resources with sproof sign10 criteria you have to consider when choosing a provider for (qualified) electronic signaturesKyocera & sproof. A little digitization fairy tale.
