Business Process Automation – why???

Here at PacSol, our mission is to improve the quality of company business processes through automating the mundane (data extraction/storage/integration) and accelerating the time to complete many repetitive tasks. As a consequence of companies implementing a well-designed process solution including capture, content management and business process (workflow), businesses start to see a reduction in resource usage – time, materials and equipment.

Where and how does automation provide these efficiencies and savings?

TIME is fairly straightforward, it is one of the main reasons for implementing an ECM platform with workflow:

• Streamline many document or task driven processes within the company
• Remove many manual repetitive entry tasks across the departments
• Free up employee time to concentrate on ‘real’ tasks – the ones that actually contribute to the business’s bottom line!
• Automate matching of incoming documents / data (invoice / payments / orders / delivery notes)
• Reduce historical document retrieval time with the ability to instantly share

MATERIALS usage reduction (mainly paper) has been the bedrock of the document management mantra for businesses to adopt ECM platforms – go paperless! With workflow / task management processes applied to a well implemented document management platform, once content is created (not just via a scanner – word processing, spreadsheets, data import, email), that content can be securely shared to anyone, anytime and anywhere instantaneously. New documentation for customers can be generated from the content platform and emailed directly, customer surveys gather data automatically via online forms and the duplicated delivery / order notifications requiring multi-departmental approvals are now sent via the task manager and not just left on the desk. It is not just the paper saving, don’t forget all the associated costs related to that document lifecycle:  

• copier / printing ink & envelopes
• Marketing printing charges
• postal charges
• duplicate management / internal delivery
• power, storage…

EQUIPMENT reductions / consolidation to handle the vast document content generated by business are an ‘unsung’ advantage to streamlining business processes. Advances in mobile technology and the implementation of networking in nearly every device means a business no longer needs a printer / scanner in every office, department, room or home office. Once your business is processing in the digital realm, the reduction in usage requirements mean a single device for the overall department / company could be enough.

With the addition of automated recognition and data extraction technologies as part of the business document process workflow, document capture can be centralised and performed by any employee from any device.

Need to scan something whilst working from home or on the move? There is a phone app for that (and very good it is too – see link below).

Need to print something? Are you sure about that? Really sure? With the right ECM platform, there should never be a need to print any document ever again*. Everything is accessible and shareable directly from the platform. Ok, occasionally there will be a requirement to print something but with the rise of digital signatures and their acceptance within UK law, even the traditional wet signature is on the way out.

If you take a moment to think about your current business processes, can you think of just one area where either a simple function can be automated, a duplication removed or a process centralised through digital transformation? Yes? Then get in touch with PacSol and start making those savings a reality!

Why not try the free DocuWare Mobile Applications for scanning on the go as well!

_{*we get it, some people really like to print a copy of all 33 presentation slides for each attendee just in case technology fails. (I used them as desk notepads for years…)}

Toby Gilbertson, Customer Services Manager. September 2022

(originally published Sept ’20)

 

#PacSolUK #BusinessProcessAutomation #DigitalTransformation #Workflow #DocumentManagement