Go Green with Document Management

Overview

Often firms are acutely aware of the need to reduce the cost of processing internal transactions, yet, they fail to take action.  Usually this is because they just don’t know what action to take.

Even knowing which processes most need improvement, they feel ill-equipped to move forward.  This is not surprising, because for most firms, business process improvement is not part of their core function.  Rather, they are focused on meeting clients’ needs, producing the latest widget, or promoting the latest product, as they should be.

So the question for most firms is “how can we optimize the costs and the service levels associated with processing various internal transactions (also called back-office transactions), while still maintaining our core focus?”

Improve Your Business Processes to Save Money

Is the way you’re doing things costing your business money?  You won’t know for sure unless you analyze and evaluate the way you do things now and identify opportunities for improvement. In fact, process review should be a standard part of your business activities.

Incorporating ongoing process reviews may seem tedious and time-consuming, but the continuous process improvement that results from regularly measuring the efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility of your business processes is well worth it.  In fact, the use of a continuous improvement business strategy will pay for itself over time by improving the products, services or processes of any organization.  Such improvements may be incremental over time or may happen quickly by incorporating breakthrough technology, such as incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) to manage routine, tedious processes.

How People & Processes Work Together for Better Business Outcomes

If you’re a business owner, you and your staff have developed certain activities and tasks that are designed to accomplish your business goals.  These business processes can be visualized as a flow chart of steps and are often included in daily activity details of internal job descriptions. 

 All businesses have business processes, whether they are documented or not.  Some business processes are industry specific, but many business processes are applicable regardless of the industry.  For instance, a manufacturing assembly process is likely to be specific to a product (attach widget A to widget B before tightening screw C), while accounts payable processes are similar across all industries (match the invoice with the appropriate PO, secure authorization, cut the check).

In theory, business processes sound simple – a series of steps that results in a specified outcome.  But in practice, it’s not always that easy.  However, there are challenges...

Are You Confused about Business Processes?

Introduction

There’s a lot of talk today about business processes.  We throw around terms like Business Process Improvement; Business Process Outsourcing; Business Process Management; Business Process Optimization; Business Process Automation, just to name a few.  But, just what are we talking about when we refer to business processes? While a “process” is defined as a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a goal, the definition of a business process is a bit more refined.

How to Manage Paper & People in the Digital Workplace

Introduction

Despite digital technologies that have transformed -- and that continue to transform – the workplace, “traditional” technologies and problems still exist.  Paper and people are still very much a part of the business landscape.  Paper just won’t go away – it’s used to print digital documents; it arrives daily from the postal service; and it lives forever in old files. 

In fact, the merging new digital technologies with traditional ways of doing business exacerbates old problems and creates new ones as enterprises struggle with the best ways to manage both digital documents and paper documents, while staying on top of the processes that people need to carry out.

While some type of document management system is likely to help with the organization and storage of documents, unfortunately, most DMS stop there. What really needs to be accomplished is to manage the intersection of paper and digital with people and processes.  This is accomplished with through Business Process Management (BPM) based in the framework of a robust Electronic Content Management (ECM) System.

Why Even Small Businesses Need Business Process Improvement | 2 Minute Read

Is your small business missing out on opportunities to improve customer satisfaction, reduce costs and improve overall efficiency?  Since there are  more sole proprietors and pass-through companies than there are corporations in the United States, this is an important question. 

Small business owners wear a lot of hats -- they're constantly busy and nearly always mindful of expenses.  These may be  important reasons why they often postpone implementing new technologies that could help them serve more customers better at lower costs.  At the end of the day, it takes a lot of time and energy to implement solutions when old methods still work.

In a recent survey, a little more than 37 percent said they're not adopting any new technology because they don't need anything else, and more than 22 percent said it's simply easier to do things the way they're currently done than to invest in new technology. Additionally, nearly 19 percent said that, when it comes to adding more tech into daily business, "the hassle of buying and implementing it isn't worth it."

It's generally thought that price and lack of tech support are the two primary barriers to tech adoption among the small business set. Yet, according to IDC, 62% of businesses believe slow, manual processes are limiting their revenue.  So, while small businesses are particularly prone to retaining old systems in the mistaken belief that it's too costly to upgrade and improve, this very prudence may be preventing their companies from growing. 

We've found that Business Process Management (BPM), which was once considered a luxury that only large organizations could afford, is now considered a critical part of business operations -- regardless of business size.  In fact, BPM may be even more important for small to medium size organizations if they want to stay competitive. 

How to Maximize Your Business Efficiency (and Improve Your Profits)

If you’re like most business owners, your focus is probably on bringing in revenue.  After all, revenue is the life-blood of your company.  The more revenue coming in – the more profits your company will show, and that’s a good thing.  

But it takes more than an eye to revenue to succeed.  Even if you bring in very high revenues, if the revenues come with high expenditures attached, you’ll find that your business is not sustainable over the long haul.  Remember that PROFIT = REVENUE – EXPENSES.  This means that there are two ways to enhance profits:  (1) increase revenue in cost effective ways; and, (2) decrease expenses.

Go Beyond Document Management to Business Processes Management

Many paper-based processes, while at their core essential to a business’s operation, can be improved when transformed into digital processes.  That’s why it’s important to go beyond your old document management system (or outdated paper system), and look at your business processes to see how they can be better managed using today's AI and automation technologies.  The benefits are amazing!

Document management, whether digital or paper-based, refers to the organization and storage of documents,  in a predetermined system that enables users to find, share and edit documents. Electronic document management systems commonly provide storage, versioning, metadata, security, indexing and retrieval capabilities.  Paper document management systems commonly provide...file cabinets.  

How to Improve Business Processes

If you're a business owner who has decided that it's time for your business to "become more productive," then we have news for you.  It's going to take a lot more than wishful thinking to turn your business into a productivity machine.  

Let's look at what increase productivity really means.  Increased productivity is a broad term meaning that your employees and your departments are putting out more "products" more quickly (and hopefully at lower costs, so the bottom line improves). It doesn't matter whether the "products" are widgets produced on a manufacturing line or financial reports from your accounting department.  Every employee, every department has a mandate to produce.

A desire to increase productivity and reduce costs is a great place to start, but without an end goal and a concrete plan, that's all it is -- just a desire.  It's rather like saying "I'm going to lose weight -- or exercise more.  Without a specific goal and a workable plan to get there it's not going to happen. 

How to Use Cloud Solutions to Accelerate BPI

In the twelve years since the “Cloud” became part of our everyday language, cloud solutions have influenced organizations to consider how best to use information and technology to improve business processes.  As businesses become more driven by information and cloud technology, those that are still using paper-based processes, will lag further and further behind.

For nearly every business, too much paper-based information can be costly, in terms of lost business opportunities, costly errors, dissatisfied employees and customers.  Therefore, organizational leaders should plan for cloud services that are made up of technologies and applications that work together to secure & distribute information, improve processes, accelerate workflow and reduce costs.