Many business are looking for solutions to reduce the amount of paper their organisations use. Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can soon overflow with printed materials; invoices, order forms, delivery notes, reports, employee data, client files, legal documentation - the list goes on.
Apart from the inefficiency, reduced productivity, and environmental drain dealing with such vast amounts of paper can result in, there are several other reasons why clients are seeking innovative ways of handling their company’s data:
- Increased cost of storage, especially in metropolitan areas.
- Loss of data in printed materials.
- High cost of labour to store and retrieve documents.
- Globalisation of processes – international offices needing to access the same data.
- Productivity concerns in today’s economic climate.
- Legal and data protection challenges (especially surrounding medical documentation).
- Incentive schemes from government institutions to reduce amount of paper based data
How will the Digitisation of Documentation Benefit my Organisation?
With a Document Management System (DMS), the digitisation of data is made simple and the process can be customised to meet your organisation’s specific processes and requirements. The major benefits include:
Electronic Document Management
Efficient and intelligent version management and automated reminder functions for date-specific documents.
Fast Retrieval
Sophisticated search and knowledge management functions to ensure your employees locate the right information, at the right time, in the right place.
Workflow
Increased process optimisation, graphical display, and management of process flows provides greater visibility and access to your company’s data as well as process automation, i.e. Accounts Payable.
Email Management
Revision-proof and legally compliant archiving of emails as well as intuitive client- and server-based archiving strategies.
Mobile
Data synchronisation enabling data to be accessed remotely from your laptop or tablet.
Scalability and Migration
DMS software can be customised to grow with your company’s expansion.
Integration
Full integration with your existing business applications, such as an ERP system and the Microsoft Office suite.
Compliance
Automated processes to ensure invoices and other confidential financial documents are analysed and stored to meet international compliance requirements whilst also protecting your company’s intellectual property.
Quick facts about Document Management Systems (DMS)
- Globally, approximately 70% of all information is stored electronically, with the help of a powerful DMS.
- By implementing a DMS, only ¼ of the time and 140 times less archiving capacity is needed, at a third of the cost.
- €150b is saved every year in labour costs in Germany alone, according to expert analysis.
What’s Involved in the Implementation of a DMS?
Your DMS implementation prepares your company for data digitisation, including:
- Confirmation of user requirements – e.g. volume of documents, handling of hand written notes on documents, digitisation and workflow enablement.
- Selection of scanning devices.
- Configuration and implementation.
- User training.
- Support post-implementation.
Select a service provider who can provide your organisation with a suitable document management solution, if you are convinced of the advantages that it will bring.
Image Credit: Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash
A version of this post has been published by me in Blue Ocean Systems' blog