Samuel, Son & Co. is one of North America’s largest processors and distributors of metal and industrial products, with over 100 facilities across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. For 170+ years, the company has grown through a strong focus on operational excellence and customer relationships. But as the business expanded, pressure on AP increased, and managing supplier communications became cumbersome, disrupting operations.
Background on Samuel, Son & Co.
Benefits of Medius Supplier Conversations
Who is Samuel, Son & Co.?
Founded in 1855, Samuel, Son & Co., Limited, is a family-owned integrated network of metal manufacturing, processing and distribution divisions. Samuel employees provide metals, industrial products and related value-added services from locations across North America. The company leverages its industry expertise, breadth of experience and the passion of its people to help drive success for North American business – one customer at a time.
What was the challenge?
Every day, the AP inbox received more than 100 emails from vendors requesting payment status or invoice confirmation. Each email required logging into systems, validating data, and crafting replies—work that was tedious, time-consuming, and draining team morale.
How did we help?
Samuel, Son & Co., already having leveraged Medius AP Automation for several years, added Supplier Conversations to tackle their overflowing inbox issue. This allows AI to handle vendor inquiries, increasing response rate, generating significant time savings and reinvigorating the AP team’s engagement.
“I thought the biggest benefit would be time savings, but really, it was the team engagement. They were excited, energized, and curious in a way we don’t always see in AP.”
Dana Frape
Manager of Financial Shared Services
Supplier Conversations didn’t just fix a problem. It sparked a broader conversation about AI and digital transformation. The AP team worked with marketing to showcase their success internally as a continuous improvement (CI) story and built on the momentum by piloting Medius Statement Reconciliation which requires Medius Supplier Conversations.
Instead of focusing on a lengthy QA or preloading contact data, the team at Samuel, Son & Co. tested live, fixed root causes and let the AI learn throughout the process.
Inbox volume dropped
From a multi-hour task to under 30 minutes per day
Improved response time
Vendors received AI updates to their inquiries in minutes instead of days
Inbox clutter was gone
Now that AI was handling the basic invoice checks, the AP team focuses on strategic issues
