EDMS - Electronic Document Management Software

 

Examples of how EDMS helps our clients:

All organisations have a wide range of document types depending on the nature of their business and the customers they trade with - being able to access and control them all from a single interface with a document management system can save vast amounts of time, as well as give better customer service. For example, all of the following document types are managed by our document management systems:

• ERP documents such as Invoice, Statements and Purchase Orders
• Delivery Notes and Pick Lists
• Quality, Safety and Operating Procedures
• Faxes and printed customer correspondence
• Technical Manuals, Plans and CAD Drawings
• HR Documents
• Emails and Microsoft Office documents
• Photos, images

Customer Example: Hendrickson Europe - Hendrickson Europe are part of Hendrickson International, which is the world's leading supplier of truck, tractor, and trailer air suspension systems. http://www.hendrickson-intl.com

Ian Gutteridge (IT Manager), "Like many long-established manufacturing companies, the majority of our systems and processes have evolved over a number of years and we needed to take a fresh look at how we managed documents within our business. We had previously looked at document management systems but been put off by the overall cost and in particular, the expense of integrating software products into our existing AS/400 i-Series based ERP system. Document Genetics were the first company to provide a cost-effective solution, which we could grow organically throughout the organisation, with each phase providing the cost saving to fund the next."S400 iser

Scanning - Data Capture from Paper Documents

As well as electronic documents, most organisations also have a variety of paper documents and extracting the information from these documents allows for electronic processing as well as the ability to be stored alongside the electronic documents. For example, electronic document management software can:

• Extract information from supplier invoices and automatically update the ERP system
• Read the information contained in barcodes (e.g. delivery notes)
• Read the handwriting on order forms and convert them to electronic orders

Customer Example: PV Solutions - PV Solutions provide a full range of PharmacoVigilance (PV) services that offers a cost-effective solution to maintain the PV function without the cost of in-house staff and resources.

 

Grant Mccormack (Operations Manager), "We routinely process hundreds of adverse drug reaction reports (ASPR) which, using the old keying from the paper procedure, can take one person nearly one hour for each report. Using the new Document Genetics scanning and intelligent OCR process, we've reduced this time to 5 minutes per report, which is a saving of over 90%. By introducing this document management system, we have reduced our processing time, eliminated a backlog and saved us hundreds of man hours."

Managing Electronic Documents

We've all been there - you've been working on an important document for several weeks, only to discover a colleague has accidentally overwritten an old version of the document over yours and lost all of your valuable work.

Our electronic document management systems allow you to maintain version control through a simple check-in and check-out procedure. If you're editing a document, other people can view it, but you're the only one who can make changes until you check the document back in. We also keep an audit trail of all the versions, so if you need to go back to an old version, we can do this easily.

Version control is ideal for:

• HR documents, procedures or quality documents
• CAD drawings
• Price lists and specification documents
• Contracts and Legal documents
• Any type of electronic file which needs updating and maintaining

Customer Example: Doncasters Group Ltd is a leading international engineering group that manufactures precision components.http://www.doncasters.com

Vernon Halsey (IT consultant at Doncasters Chard) "Our production controls require the operative to be issued with very detailed documentation (sometimes 20 pages) at each stage of the production process to provide them with a reference for technical and quality standards for the product. We wanted to replace this manual procedure with a document management system that could provide the same information electronically, delivered to everyone in the factory via the intranet. We are delighted with the success of our infoRouter document management software at Doncasters Chard, so much so that we are equipping a new Doncasters production site with it. We like it because it has a very intuitive interface which makes it easy for the staff at all levels to use. It has an intranet-based delivery, and it's extremely reliable. In my view, Document Genetics' document management solutions are unparalleled for the price".

Workflow and Notification

All companies have business process rules which require documents to be passed between individuals or departments. Using electronic document management solutions, we can create electronic workflows, which allow us to seamlessly process documents (electronic or paper) in a fraction of the time. The benefits of workflow are:

• Create a business process electronically - e.g. Supplier Invoice Approval or Change Requests
• Notify users by email if a new document needs their attention
• Automatically send reminders if documents aren't processed quickly enough
• Discover instantly where documents are within a workflow process
• Maintain an audit trail of who did what and when
  
  

Legal Compliance

Every organisation must operate within the law (e.g. HMRC compliance); in addition, they may have to comply with a number of other industry-specific regulations.

Electronic document management software lets you build a secure framework for storing all types of documents, data or information, safe in the knowledge your data is protected and you comply with the law.

Customer Example: Eazipay Ltd - Eazipay is a BACS-approved Commercial Bureau that collects Direct Debits on behalf of clients.  http://www.eazipay.co.uk

Luisa Grey (MD), "Our most important member of staff is called DocGen. He never complains or argues, he just sits in the corner of the office and chugs away, giving us all the information we need to continue with our day. The Doc Gen document management solutions were introduced to the Eazipay office over a year ago, and manage several chores, counting activity for invoicing and converting data into the format we need to import into our Direct Debit system without the need for manual intervention. Before this was installed all staff were trained to write BACS files... Now we don't even need to think about how - it just happens. We also had to write down all the processed activity that each client produced in order to raise an invoice, now we just put in the date and a report is generated automatically. Recently we started scanning our backlog of Direct Debit mandate forms, releasing valuable office space and saving lots of filing time."

Office Space

Office space is a valuable commodity, especially in large cities. Our document management software lets you back-scan all of your paper archives into an electronic format. Going forward, there's no need to precious waste office space with bulky filing cabinets - scan paper when you receive it and store information electronically at the source.

• Back-Scan your legacy archive into an electronic format
• Scan paper documents instantly
• Bring together all company information into one logical area

Customer Example: Cory Brothers - A shipping agency offering an extensive range of agency services, providing for all the needs of a vessel while in port.  http://www.cory.co.uk

Tony Smith (Business Consultant) - "Integrating the Document Genetics electronic document management system into our ShipTrak system has been a great success. Archiving historical documents and data, negating the need for large areas of storage space for paper, for us and our clients is a further advantage, plus we are ahead of the game in being able to meet any new compliance initiatives as they are introduced".

Customer Service

Customer service separates good companies from bad. Electronic document management software plays an important part in responding to customer enquiries, requests or complaints. Customer portals can allow partners, clients or consultants to share and consume information as needed. Document management systems can:

• Retrieve customer documents (e.g. orders, letters etc) quickly and accurately
• Process customer requests or complaints efficiently using workflow rules
• Create customer-specific portals to deliver the information they need (e.g. invoices, delivery notes, product specification sheets, parts manuals, etc)

Customer Example: Appleby Westward - is the SPAR wholesaler for the West Country.  http://www.swspar.com

Tony Gummow (FD), "I realised we were wasting a considerable amount of time and money simply photo-copying and sorting pieces of paper. We also had a high turnover of staff as people found the job boringly repetitive. I had the idea of scanning all the paper supplier invoices and storing them electronically. This would enable us to run our consolidated invoice report and automatically match and attach an image of the supplier invoice. I also wanted the ability to deliver the report electronically, to stores that were prepared to accept an email with a PDF attachment. I believed it could be done, but didn't know how which is where Document Genetics came in! "We looked at a number of potential electronic document management systems but Document Genetics were the only people who had a solution off the shelf and didn't have to develop a proprietary solution. This meant we got what we needed quickly and with a rapid ROI. The cost saving per annum is over £50,000."

Security and Control

Information and documents are the lifeblood of any organisation. However, many organisations have little or no control over how documents are stored, accessed or passed between individuals. For example, network shared drives are commonly used to store all types of documents - common problems include; little or no security, documents getting deleted by mistake and no backup of important data. Using an electronic document management software product it's simple to control who sees what and even provide customised views of information for each department or user. All documents and information are held securely in one place.

• Remove shared drives and replace them with a web-based information portal
• Control what every employee has access to
• Maintain an audit trail to log all activities
• Maintain version control on all documents and data
• Create departmental portals - show what is relevant to them and nothing else
• In the event of a mistake, documents and data can be recovered
• All documents and data are held in a secure repository which is backed up regularly

Customer Example: Unimer - United Merchants plc (Unimer) is the UK's largest merchant's co-operative, providing invoice clearing to the building products industry.

Steve Hopkins (IT Manager), "The Document Genetics document management systems have been invaluable. We've automated the sorting and distribution of supplier invoices to our members saving significant man-hours every week. We also have the ability to deliver them by email, fax or post."

Human Resources

Skilled staff are a precious commodity - so why do many companies waste their skills on mundane and repetitive administration tasks? Set your employees free to fulfil their potential with electronic document management solutions.

• Utilise your existing staff properly
• Increase their job satisfaction
• Grow your company without the need to add more staff

Customer Example: William Sinclair - a Lincoln-based commercial horticulture business with manufacturing sites in Carlisle and Knottingley, as well as an industrial aggregates production facility in Gainsborough.

 

Simon Heyward (IT consultant), "We have been operating the Document Genetics document management systems for over 5 years now, and although I don't have an exact figure of just how much time and money it has saved us, I can tell you it is a significant value. What most people don't appreciate is that in addition to the efficiency savings we have made, we have significantly reduced our business risk by converting key documents into data that can be backed up and kept off-site."