Water, water, everywhere,
       And not a drop to drink.
The paper piles that I must face,
       If only they would shrink.
- Average Office Worker

Puddles, Potholes, or Pools of Paper?

To summarize, the last time we paddled this pond together, the problems presented with retaining so much business information on paper were:

• Physical Space Requirements – Square footage cost and opportunity cost of using valuable office space for paper.
• Time and Personnel Cost — Filing and retrieving, copying and distributing, finding misplaced documents and recreating lost ones.
• Multi-person and Concurrent Access – Sharing paper documents with others for their review and approval – especially when needed at multiple locations.
• Security and Confidentiality – Restricting access to certain types of documents based on need to know, and still allowing easy access to all else.
• Backup, Archival and Destruction — Preventing accidental loss/destruction of critical papers, and removing the burden and liability of obsolete ones.

Where Are Your Stormy Seas?

While computer-based electronic records are now the norm for most business systems, paper still remains a very common medium for those transactions which typically require humans to physically read, write and share information.   Some of the most common examples of paper-based business transactions are found in the following areas:

• Purchasing – vendor invoices, purchase requisitions, purchase orders, and receiving documents
• Sales – sales orders, specifications/drawings, customer approvals, credit returns, and cash receipts/remittances
• Human Resources – personnel applications, resumes, insurance enrollments, expense reports and receipts
• General – Contracts, correspondence, complaints and claims

Consider your own organization – where do you see piles of paper or dozens of drawers?  Which of the above business processes involve paper-based documents that seem to take forever to file, find, forward, forbid and forgo?  Is your ship in peril of foundering?

Is There a Life Boat Out There Somewhere?                                        

Typically, most document imaging products are suited for specific purposes.  But just as the problems with paper can affect processes, departments, and locations in many different manners, the answer for an entire organization is often best found by using an approach called a “framework”.

In business, a framework is a “conceptual structure that allows uniform handling of different business objectives according to a common management discipline”.

In systems, a framework describes a “re-usable design comprised of related tools, each of which can be customized to a unique purpose, yet still providing a common user experience”.

So how can you best address your specific (or perhaps many) problems with paper?  Next time, we’ll explain how a framework can be used to address a variety of document imaging needs.

Water, water, everywhere,
      And not a drop to drink.
                That file you want – I’m sure it’s here,
              But where?  I just can’t think!
                            – Average Office Worker

 Can you relate…?

• We have way too many file cabinets – and not enough space for people!
• I know I had that document here yesterday, but somehow now it’s gone.
• Review this document, note your approval, and then pass it back to me – asap!
• It’s in the file room downstairs; but don’t look in the bottom drawers – that’s private.
• I don’t need that document now, but if it’s ever tossed, you’re in big trouble!

Taming the “paper dragon” is critical to doing business efficiently and productively.  Even as companies go “paperless”, more paper is generated today than ever before.  Why?  Mostly because there’s so much more information to manage, but also due to operational needs, customer preferences and, in some cases, legal requirements for paper.

Consider the impact and calculate the costs…

• Paper files are doubling every 3.5 years
• 7.5 % of documents are lost; 3% of are misfiled
• The average document is handled 4 to 6 times, by different individuals.
• 90% of these documents are handled without any management review
• 50-70% of documents are kept beyond legal retention requirements

So, what’s a business to do?

Managing your paper documents efficiently requires knowing how to best collect, classify, retain, individually find, and share them.  For documents converted to (or already in) an electronic format, the same needs apply:  capture, index, store, retrieve and document sharing/routing.  Now add to this mix the desire to directly access images from within your business applications, plus OCR (optical character recognition), plus image annotation…

We feel your pain.

Many of our clients have asked how to best address the problems related to paper documents, often from a variety of different perspectives:  departmental needs, document types, workflow requirements and technical environments.  Can one document imaging product do it all?  In my next blog, we’ll address some of these problems more specifically and whether a one-size-fits-all approach can really work.

Want to know/see more? 

On April 13^th from 11:00-1:00, we will hold an Executive Briefing to discuss Document Imaging.  We’ll also show how using a “flexible framework” approach to document imaging can allow customized solutions for variety of different business document problems.   Better yet?  We’ll feed you lunch…. on us.

Where:     Pinnacle, 4100 Edison Lakes Pkwy Ste320, Mishawaka, IN  46545

When:   April 13^th, 11:00-1:00   (Lunch provided)

Cost:  $0

Please RSVP at http://pinnacledev.eventbrite.com  or call us at (574) 235-8100 to register.