GP Optimizer Winter 2013: Stop Drowning in Paper and Get an Edge with a Transactional Content Management Solution

Written By Holly Condon, VP of Sales and Marketing
at PaperSavePro  for The GP Optimizer Winter 2013
Edition By Rockton Software

What if these two separate, disparate operations could be completed using a single program? Wouldn't that make life easier? If ERP and Document Management systems converged to provide a single, unified system for individuals to perform practically any task, companies would likely be able to enhance efficiency throughout departments, giving them a competitive advantage over firms that have yet to embrace such a strategy.

Companies have relied on individual processes for decades. After all, it was the only thing they knew, as unified systems were not introduced to the private sector until only a few years ago. Today is different, however, and business can no longer waste time by performing singular tasks. The current private sector is incredibly fast paced and if an organization cannot keep up—it will face extinction.

For this reason, decision-makers are looking toward combining ERP and ECM systems into a single business management software solution.

ENTER TRANSACTIONAL CONTENT MANAGEMENT!

Transactional Content is defined by Forrester Research, an independent technology and market research company, as “content [that usually] originates outside an organization from external parties — customers or partners — and relies on workflow or business process management (BPM) to drive transactional, back-office business processes. In some cases, the content not only triggers internal processes, but is the basis for the transaction itself.”

By leveraging a transactional content management solution, organizations can capture, analyze, store, and retrieve a wide variety of mission-critical paper and electronic documents through a single, unified platform. As a result, companies can streamline operations, reduce IT expenses, and enhance productivity in the workplace by eliminating the need to use multiple programs simultaneously.

There are a number of benefits associated with combining processes, including the ability to improve customer satisfaction and responsiveness. When operations are converged under a single roof, employees have easier access to client information, enabling them to make decisions more efficiently and precisely. As a result, organizations can more accurately manage customer queries, making clients happier with the firm's services.

Leveraging a unified solution also reduces the risk of jeopardizing sensitive data, which is becoming increasingly dangerous in today's fast-paced and highly digital business landscape. In the past, knowledge workers had to use separate applications for each task, which would increase the risk of exposing confidential information when taking it from one application and putting it into another. A single platform minimizes this possibility, as employees only need to open a single tool.

As the speed of doing business increases, paper documents and manual processes become burdensome, often creating bottlenecks.  Productivity is slowed since only one person can handle a paper document at a time, unless the document is copied, thus, requiring more resources and negatively affecting efficiency.

Further, with regulatory compliance on the rise, paper can often pose a legal risk.  Not being able to produce a document in response to a legal demand often bears financial penalties.  In addition, the effort to reproduce a missing or lost document can be costly, both in time and resources.

Startling Facts about Paper Documents

1. Companies spend $20 in labor to file a document.
2. It costs $120 in labor to find a misfiled document.
3. 7.5 percent of all documents get lost. 
4. The cost to reproduce a lost document is $220

Source: AIIM – a non-profit community that provides education, 
research and best practices on information management.


Successful organizations are avoiding those pitfalls by streamlining and automating manual, time-consuming processes with Transactional Content Management (TCM).  TCM leverages the power of a document management software solution, like PaperSavePro, and addresses the following important phases of a transactional system:

Capture - Incoming documents like electronic forms, paper (faxes and print streams which are then digitized), and emails are indexed and stored in a central repository.  The more information that can be captured and stored electronically, the easier it is to automate business processes.

Process - Manual, paper-based processes are automated with Business Process Management (BPM).

Secure – With the appropriate controls, designated employees have on-demand access to content.  Documents can be searched for, viewed and annotated as needed.

Archive – Generally there is a point in a transaction when a document is no longer active and should be locked or deleted.

To some, implementing a Transactional Content Management solution may seem complicated especially when trying to build a tight integration yourself!  However, with experienced professionals helping you transform the way your organization captures, processes, provides access and archives transactional content while providing a seamlessly integrated solution, your organization can be on the forefront of realizing benefits, such as:

• Eliminating the inefficiency, cost, and risk associated with paper documents
• Improving customer service with faster and more complete responses
• Providing control for business processes and information throughout your organization
• Allowing a 360-degree view of customer data and business transactions
• Speed Monthly Close Cycles

Just like peanut butter and jelly, Dynamics GP and PaperSave are better when paired together to help you gain the competitive advantage over rival firms while reducing costs and increasing efficiency in yours.

Download The Winter 2013 Edition of The GP Optimizer Magazine: http://www.rocktonsoftware.com/gpOptimizer/Winter2013/!