Leading economic indicators, re­ports from the Fed­eral Reserve and major media coverage all signal a continued global economic slowdown into next year. Some com­panies are imp­le­men­ting strategies to better meet business challenges posed by the slowdown and even gain a competitive edge in the eventual recovery.

One strategy that can help organizations meet their business goals during the downturn is to more effectively manage documents throughout their life­cycles by creation through disposal. There are numerous opportunities to im­p­lement document lifecycle management best practices throughout the org­anization in such areas as office print/copy operations, mail and shipping and document imaging.
 
Leveraging New Approaches
Successful companies tend to not only fo­cus on realizing such gains in document process management and other areas of the enterprise, they also leverage new approaches. Document perfor­mance management, for instance, has ev­olved dramatically over the past few years. New systems offer in-depth, near-real-time insight that can transform doc­u­ment process efficiency and drive posi­tive return on investment. Addi­tionally, com­panies are realizing solid cost savings and other benefits through an in­creased emphasis on document im­ag­ing solutions.

First, new research has shed some light on the current thinking among executives regarding the advantages of effective document management. Find­ings in a recent survey report issued by Océ Business Services spotlight how org­anizations are leveraging five advanced document management pro­cesses – in­cluding enterprise-wide print/copy, mail and shipping, records management, document imaging and legal discovery –  to reduce costs, improve cash flow and gain other important business benefits.  

Whether managing document activities on an internal or outsourced basis; deploying specific solutions such as document imaging to streamline operations and records management to enhance com­pliance; or implementing new app­roaches to measure document performance, the survey report makes one thing clear: an increasing number of enterprises definitely see the potential for document management best practices to help them survive and thrive in the days ahead.

The Outsourcing Scenario
One area of considerable opportunity is the outsourcing of document management activities. Seventy-four percent of survey respondents indicated their companies are taking this approach with at least one of the five document activities list above. The top three document activities companies are outsourcing are mail and shipping, print/copy center management and document imaging. The top overall business benefits the respondents reported gaining from these outsourced document activities in­cluded lowering costs, improving operational performance and enabling a greater focus on core business.

However, a significant number of executives reported that their organizations are not outsourcing any of the five document activities. This finding indicates that many organizations are simply not realizing the potential benefits of document process outsourcing.

The outsourcing scenario may change somewhat in the next 12 to 24 months as a significant number of companies are planning to outsource additional document processing functions, particularly doc­ument imaging. The top business goals driving their outsourcing plans are cost reduction, the desire to concentrate more on their core business and the de­sire to improve operational performance.

Executives also specified those document activities their companies are managing internally and what benefits they are realizing. Ninety-five percent indicated that their companies are internally man­aging at least one of the five document activities listed above. The top three document activities companies are internally managing include document imaging, records management and enter­prise-wide print copy.

Electronic Document Management
Earlier I mentioned document imaging, which many executives see as having the strongest effect across a broad range of business goals and plans. Survey respondents reported that document imaging has the greatest impact on lowering costs and improving operational performance.

Additionally, executives re­ported that their organizations have implemented document imaging in key functional areas such as general administrative and core business processes.

Document imaging is a key element of the broader practice of electronic document management, which includes storing, organizing, indexing and retrieving image files. There are a number of compelling reasons for companies large and small to take a closer look at electronic document management. One of these reasons is improved document control.

When distributing hardcopy documents between locations, organizations often maintain multiple copies and filing systems, incur transportation costs and create monitoring systems to insure that information has been appropriately exchan­ged. An electronic document man­agement solution offers superior doc­ument control by eliminating the number of possible “failure points” within these activities that can cause documents to be lost or misplaced. For example, an Océ client has offices across the country that receive and approve invoices prior to sending them to headquarters. The invoices often arrived late, causing the organization to forfeit early pay discounts. After redesigning the workflow process, all invoices are now re­ceived initially at corporate headquarters where they are immediately scanned. The electronic image files of the invoices are then routed for approval, and re­minders are sent to insure the invoices are paid as soon as possible. This has im­proved efficiency and saved the company money.

Measuring Document Performance
An increasing number of organizations are measuring document process perfor­mance, particularly such elements as user activity and document processing time­liness and accuracy. Many of these ente­r­prises specify that their metrics for document performance are aligned with their business objectives, such as increasing customer satisfaction and lowering costs.

One way document performance management systems help is by providing an enterprise view. This may take the form of an interactive dashboard, which companies can use as a tool to analyze their outsourced document man­agement activities and work more effectively with their service providers to identify ways to lower costs. Organizations can also use document performance management systems as a way to strive for continuous improvement. This includes measuring a document process in order to quantify a problem (such as spiraling costs); determining its cause; and using data to make fact-based decisions on how to improve.

Meeting the Challenges Ahead
According to industry estimates, if your organization is like many others, it spends about 1 to 3 percent of its revenue on activities related to printing, copy­ing, scanning and faxing. Because these document processes are a central component of your organization’s success, managing them smartly can position your company to not only meet, but exceed the inevitable challenges ahead.