the ultimate guide to automating inbound documents … · automating inbound documents the ultimate...

15

Upload: ngoxuyen

Post on 11-May-2019

239 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

AUTOMATING INBOUND

DOCUMENTS

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO

(For anyone eager to add some honest-to-goodness value to

their business)

I’M SHAREABLE!

CRAFTING YOUR DREAM DOCUMENT PROCESSSo your current method for processing inbound documents could use a makeover, huh? Nothing a little elbow grease and automation can’t fix.

Increasing value is what it’s about, after all. That’s why today’s companies — the smart ones at least — are rolling up their sleeves to find areas of their organization with potential for transformation.

The focus on inbound documents makes sense. Their processing is directly tied to profitability, and manual methods aren’t cutting it anymore. Too expensive, too inefficient and too much value lost.

But this isn’t reality TV. And you’re not Bob Vila (we hope). Constructing your dream document process can’t happen overnight, so what makes the payoff actually worthwhile?

Those with document process automation solutions in place know the answer. Now, through this how-to guide, you can, too.

THIS OLD OPERATIONAh yes, traditional document processing. Where paper runs rampant, human error is unavoidable and important analytics rarely see the light of day. Let’s explore the outdated framework of a typical manual operation.

A document arrives — so far, so good! However, it’s often received via fax, email or paper, which drags out collection, sorting and routing. There goes your smile for the day.

Oofta. This could take a while. Trusty Judy might be a pro at verifying data and resolving exceptions, but any manual tasks performed by your staff is added time to your process.

Next up, relevant data from the received document is inputted into the ERP/business system. By hand. By a person. We’re not saying errors are inevitable … we’re just saying.

Lastly, documents are archived in a black hole of no return (otherwise known as file cabinets). In the event a file needs to be retrieved, search parties may be necessary.

DOCUMENT ARRIVAL VERIFY & MANAGE

MANUAL DATA ENTRY DOCUMENT ARCHIVALWHAT DO WE MEAN BY INBOUND DOCUMENTS?Orders, invoices, claims, prescriptions, lab reports, admission documents, referrals, radiology reports, confirmations, proposals, contracts, purchase requisitions and quotes … just to name a few. You get the idea.

PROCESS SPECIALISTS “I enjoy sorting through paper and manually entering data.” Uh, said no one ever. In a manual setting, low-value tasks are the norm for those on the front lines of document processing.

C-SUITE MEMBERSIf it affects profitability, you can bet the c-suite will take notice. Not only is manual processing a drain on expenses, the limited visibility deprives execs of useful data and analytics.

CUSTOMERS & SUPPLIERSMaintaining relationships with customers and suppliers is hard enough. But when every inbound correspondence is bungled by delays, errors and poor responsiveness, it’s close to impossible.

WHAT’S THE DAMAGE?To truly grasp the destructive impact manual document processing can have on a business, let’s examine the big picture.

That picture includes many different people and working parts that have influence on your company’s success. Therefore, each stage of document processing is an opportunity to either add value or … gulp … lose it.

Left unchecked, the cumulative wear-and-tear of manual methods not only leave you behind the times, but behind your competition.

PROCESS OWNERS Prioritizing tasks, allocating resources, shoring up shortfalls … business process owners have a lot of fires to put out. Unfortunately, manual methods only serve to fan the flames.

CHOOSING A VENDORThere’s no Angie’s List for automation solution providers. And not everyone knows a guy who knows a girl who’s got the inside scoop. When vendor hunting, beware of these four red flags:

There’s a reason software as a service (SaaS) has made a name as arguably the most value-added model for document automation. If you come across a vendor that’s cagey about their cloud capabilities, don’t waste your time.

THEY DON’T OFFER A TRUE SAAS SOLUTION.

Come on, now. Any vendor that hooks you up with a shiny new inbound solution should also offer outbound tools via the same platform. Otherwise, when it’s time to expand, a lot of added costs and complexities will be waiting.

THEY CAN’T AUTOMATE OTHER BUSINESS PROCESSES.

Vendors love touting their so-called certifications. Our advice? If they haven’t had a formal compliance assessment for standards like HIPAA, SSAE 16, etc. move along to someone who takes the whole document security thing more seriously.

THEIR PROCESSES HAVEN’T PASSED A COMPLIANCE REVIEW.

Today’s businesses literally need metrics to drive their success. If a solution provider can’t deliver on full document traceability, packaged KPIs and customizable dashboards, nobody would fault you for telling them to take a walk.

THEIR SOLUTION DOESN’T OFFER DASHBOARD ANALYTICS.

THE BIG REVEAL

DOCUMENT PROCESS AUTOMATION IS ONE HECK OF A BUSINESS TOOL.

TIME TO SEE WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT.

(Uncontrollable tears of joy are optional)

DOCUMENT ARRIVALManual collecting, sorting and routing? Pfft, please. Here, every doc is treatedas an e-transaction, regardless ofhow it arrives, automaticallyrouting to the right person(s)for processing.

DATA EXTRACTIONData off of electronic or scanned semi-structured documents is automatically extracted via OCR technology. Put away the fine tooth comb — the solution does the dirty work for you.

VERIFY & MANAGEInstantly detected exceptions mean your staff only have to verify the data or complete what’s missing. Docs with exceptions are put into an e-workflow so the process can continue without delay.

DOCUMENT ARCHIVALHopefully you’re not attached to those file cabinets. Automation does away with manual storage by integrating data into the ERP system while a copy of the original is available 24/7 when needed.

TRACK & MEASURENever be in the dark again. Customizable dashboards with KPIs provide 100% process visibility throughout, allowing users tomonitor daily tasks, run reports and spot issues before they snowball.

BLUEPRINT OF AN AUTOMATED FRAMEWORKFully paperless, intelligently accurate and shockingly transparent (in a good way). Feast your eyes on the inner workings of an automated document process.

BONA FIDE BENEFITSThey don’t call it getting an upgrade for nothing. With an automation solution, virtually every meaningful aspect of document processing sees improvement.

INTEGRATION & IMPLEMENTATIONNervous about how an automation solution will “fit in” with your unique infrastructure? Don’t be. The technology used by best-in-class solution providers is compatible with a wide range of ERP/business systems.

What’s more, solutions are often implemented using Agile practices so users can get actual hands-on experience with what’s being delivered before it goes live (i.e., greater value upfront, fewer surprises later on).

Processing Speed

RegulatoryCompliance

LeanGrowth

StaffProductivity

Benchmarking& KPIs

DisputeResolution

SupplierRelationships

CustomerSatisfaction

DocumentRetrieval

OperationalCosts

DataAccuracy

BEFORE & AFTERThe differences between automated and manual document processing can be quite striking (think a finely tuned machine vs. a raging dumpster fire). If the previous pages didn’t drive that home, maybe this fancy graphic will do the trick.

MANUAL AUTOMATED

INBOUND WORKFLOW

IMPACT ON PROCESS

LONG-TERM IMPLICATIONS

§ Inbound documents are printed, retrieved, sorted and routed by hand§ Verification and exception handling is

orchestrated manually§ Data is keyed in to ERP/business

application by staff members§ Documents are physically archived in file

cabinets

§ Increased risk of error§ Limited process visibility§ Delays / unmet SLAs§ Higher costs§ Unproductive staff§ Document retrieval difficulties§ Reliance on IT

§ Errors virtually eliminated§ Full process visibility§ Accelerated processing speed§ Lower costs§ Staff performing value-added tasks§ Instant document retrieval§ Fewer IT resources needed

§ Increased headcount to keep up with growing volumes§ Damaged relationships with customers and

suppliers§ Higher staff turnover due to limited

professional development opportunities§ No ability to collaborate with other

departments or business processes

§ Increasing volumes handled without adding headcount (i.e., lean growth)§ Strengthened relationships and more

opportunities for new business§ Greater staff satisfaction and development;

more time spent on value-added tasks§ Ability to extend automation to multiple

business processes via unified platform

§ Docs are automatically routed via an e-workflow regardless of delivery channel§ Exceptions are detected automatically and

can be managed without delay.§ Data is extracted via OCR and used to create

the corresponding e-document.§ Copies are stored electronically and retained

for as long as necessary.

PENTAIR’S ROAD TO RENOVATIONYou’re not the only one with makeovers on the mind. Pentair, an industrial manufacturer, got on the automation bandwagon early. Safe to say, they’re digging their new-look document processes.

BEFORE FaxThe old fax infrastructure at Pentair was neither stable nor reliable. As a result, fax queues were getting bogged down and vendors regularly reported partial faxes. As far as the supply chain goes, disruptions and delays were common.

Accounts payablePentair’s shared services model for AP had invoices coming into the center via email, fax and paper mail. With volumes increasing and lots of paper being utilized for approvals, supplier payments were becoming problematic.

Order processingOrders were coming into eight fax machines from 20 different fax numbers, with about one-quarter of the order entry team having to walk around and find orders to answer customer inquiries. Scanning in hard-copy documents for archiving was another time-consuming element.

AFTERPentair’s business and technology leaders got together and settled on a solution to their challenges — document process automation. Integrating the solution directly with its existing SAP® system, Pentair has since seen:

§ Fewer help desk requests related to faxing§ Faster delivery of POs to vendors to help meet customer

fulfillment requirements§ Document images go into the SAP system 24 hours faster§ Elimination of at least two hours of scanning each day§ Better visibility to find orders in the queue§ Reduced AP invoice processing time§ No need to add headcount for processing volumes

"Going from piles of paper to being able to see the volume of open orders is wonderful, for both users and the CS management team."- Director of Customer Advocacy, Pentair

MAKE IT HAPPENYou’d be hard pressed to find a business that wasn’t better off after automating their inbound document processes. It flippin’ works. Simple as that.

The importance of document processing isn’t all of a sudden going to diminish. In fact, its influence on business success is only increasing.

Hopefully, you got some good take-homes from this how-to guide. Even if progress for your company seems far off, a little inspiration and hope can go a long way.

Remember: automated document processing is not pie in the sky (as delicious as that sounds). Any business can do it and any business can benefit from it.

So poke around. Do some more investigating. Your automation makeover will be ready when you are.

HI, WE’RE ESKER.Now that we’re past the awkward introductions, allow us to share a little about our company.

Esker is a worldwide leader in — big surprise — document process automation software. Organizations of all sizes use our solutions to automate order processing, accounts payable, purchasing, accounts receivable and other critical areas of business communication.

We’ve been doing our thing for 30+ years now, helping over 11,000 companies around the world Quit Paper™ and improve operational efficiency. Our headquarters are in Lyon, France, but we’re located just about everywhere paper needs quitting.

SHARE THIS GUIDE OR ELSE ...Just kidding. We’re actually nice people (promise).

Shares are appreciated though!

CHECK US OUTwww.esker.com

FOLLOW US RELIGIOUSLYtwitter.com/eskerinc

STAY IN TOUCHblog.esker.com

Your customers Your company Your vendors

Accounts Receivable Accounts Payable

PurchasingOrder Processing

DocumentDelivery

DocumentDelivery

HERE’S SOME RELATED CONTENT YOU MAY ENJOY:

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE GUIDEBOOK:

There are a lot of fears and falsehoods associated with cloud-based AP automation. This guidebook is a healthy dose of truth serum. § Compare on-premises vs. SaaS § Debunk common cloud myths § Enjoy that “new guidebook” smell

INBOUND WHITE PAPER:A handy resource for learning even more about the transformative benefits of inbound document processing automation solutions. § View how an automation solution works § Review a customer success story § Who says white papers have to be boring?

CUSTOMER SERVICE WORKBOOK:

Not every business can claim excellence in customer service (CS). Then again, not every CS leader has read this workbook. § Get best practices from industry experts § Discover customer engagement strategies § Wave bye-bye to your competition