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Documents flow throughout the veins of an enterprise. They exist in multiple locations, formats and media, including electronic and paper. They contain information upon which much of a company’s value is based. Business documents are vital strategic, financial, operational and intellectual assets that play an essential role in business processes. They constitute the lifeblood of an organization. Yet half of organizations rate their document management practices as less than effective. While it’s important to do so, few conduct assessments to analyze, streamline and optimize their document processes.
Recent research by The Conference Board finds that 52% of CEOs say that achieving “steady and sustained top-line growth” is their greatest concern. CEOs almost universally view tight cost control as a top priority, and they emphasize that economic forces make it imperative to achieve even higher cost efficiencies to remain competitive. But while cost control is necessary, they also are concerned about stimulating innovation. About a third say that the question of whether and how to outsource is a top priority. Nearly half of U.S. CEOs indicate that Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is a top priority.
Corporate accountability, regulatory compliance and the need to communicate with customers drive the increased importance of documents. Each day, a company’s knowledge workers create, distribute, print, store, access, share and archive thousands of documents. This proliferation creates a compelling need to ensure that documents are efficiently controlled and managed. Effectively managing document assets throughout the complete lifecycle enhances business performance and proactively insulates against risk. To accomplish this, a well-executed document process management strategy is vital for every organization.
A challenge for experts
The definition of a document has evolved as technology has advanced and legal parameters have expanded. Today, a sound document management strategy must encompass paper and electronic documents as well as unstructured and structured information. Information is recorded, stored and distributed in four basic physical media — paper, film, magnetic and optical. It flows through electronic channels including the Internet, email and instant messaging, as well as traditional postal and package delivery. The information explosion continues. The estimated amount of new information stored on paper, film, magnetic and optical media has approximately doubled in the last three years.
A paperless society? As much as organizations would like to eliminate paper, it’s pervasive. It requires nearly 800 million trees to produce the world’s annual paper supply. The UNESCO Statistical Handbook for 1999 estimates that paper production provides on average 1,510 sheets of paper per person worldwide. The amount of information printed on paper increased by an estimated 36% between 1999 and 2002. The creation of office documents accounts for the vast majority of this increase. Because documents are central to effective operations, a strategy for document process management must be implemented by experts.
Attempting shortcuts can increase costs, decrease efficiency, and impair productivity. The problem is widespread, and not correcting it is costly:
- Over 35% of a typical knowledge worker’s time is spent creating, revising and accessing documents;
- Over half of this time is spent looking for information and 50% of the time they don’t find what they need;
- Documents often have to be reconstructed or recreated, at an average cost of $300 per document.
Attempting to manage multiple types of documents in different formats and workflows, especially those that touch many points in an organization, results in a structure where costs are hidden, unmanaged and uncontrolled. This haphazard approach drains capital, impedes employee productivity and reduces shareholder value. Failure to treat business documents as vital assets and to manage them throughout their useful lifecycle diminishes utility, decreases efficiency, and increases an organization’s operational risk.
Like many other areas of modern life, documents have evolved with technology. The technologies that enable the diverse document formats of today also have created a variety of challenges in managing them. Technology also has brought new, often siloed processes that involve the creation and distribution of documents. These include diverse functions such as records and database management, electronic mail management, and document printing and finishing. Similarly, workplace collaboration tools, ERP, CRM, and content management systems contain information in various formats while facilitating workflows. The challenge is to integrate processes and platforms in ways that will seamlessly manage and control documents.
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