This type of approach can be beneficial in many different areas. However, one of the fundamental ones relates to the management and effective use of the information that flows in and out of the company. Here, there is an enormous amount of benefit to be had by scanning and storing digitally the key information which normally flows in paper form, thereby allowing it, and its benefits, to be shared throughout the organisation.

Here, we look at some of the benefits that this can bring to organisations of all sizes.

• Secure your current customer base: retaining your customer base is a priority for all organisations and offering excellent customer service goes a long way to achieving this goal. In turn, a key element of good customer service is ensuring that your staff have the necessary information at their fingertips - so providing access to this and other relevant documentation in electronic format is a fundamental requirement which will help ensure that you gain the edge over your competitors as well as retaining your customer base.
• Be flexible: you need to be able to adapt to changes in business levels, whether they are increases or downturns. Unfortunately a large fixed cost base makes this difficult if not impossible. However, by using a managed services partner, significant cost savings on many ‘back office’ processes can be made particularly when linked to a document management system where instant online access is available. In addition, you will be able to react to these changes much more quickly and smoothly because the solutions are totally scalable at short notice.
• Help your staff help your business: holding your key information and documents electronically, you ensure that all of the information your staff require is readily available to them, allowing them to carry out their jobs more effectively. Equally, in the unfortunate situation where there is a need to reduce personnel, you also ensure that the customer service levels you provide can still be maintained through these more effective systems.
• Streamline your internal systems: this is a key action that companies have on their corporate “to do list” at the best of times. So, with revenues coming under pressure, the more streamlined your processes, the lower your costs are likely to be and therefore the better your cash flow position. With document management in place, the access to documentation, information and records in general will be quicker and easier allowing you to clear any blocks in your information channels.
• Use what you have as widely as possible: making sure that documents are scanned and entered into your systems, means that the information will never be difficult to find or held by one or two individuals. Instead, there is visibility and access for those who require it making sure that there are no information blocks to cause delays or increase costs.
• Reduce your incremental costs of growth: by using the electronic options available to you by digitising your documents, you can give yourself the best opportunities to grow without incurring higher costs. Avoiding the often forgotten frictional costs associated with growth is equally important.

Bookmark to:
         

And that includes Preview.

Our work involves confidential information on a daily basis. While it might not be the personal information of our prison staff or members of the Armed Forces, it does include information which is often business critical and can contain both sensitive as well as personal elements.

As such, a key part of the document scanning service we provide involves the security of the documents and the information they contain at all stages of the process. This doesn’t just cover the scanning process itself … far from it. It starts when we receive the documents (including transportation where appropriate) and their storage, both electronically and physically, afterwards.

So what are the areas that we look at and what measures are in place:

i) Security vetted staff – to comply with regulations from certain clients, we have security vetted staff who can be used where required or appropriate;

ii) Transportation – when transporting documents to and from our scanning facility, the vans are fitted with GPS tracking helping security to be as tight as possible;

iii) Premises – security at our facilities is clearly a key element in making sure the scanning is carried out in the correct environment. Our Records Management Centre also provides a safe storage facility for those customers looking for secure offsite storage after the digitisation is complete.

iv) Tested online system – a key element of our system is the online storage and viewing facility which gives our customers instant yet secure access to their digitised documents through our eview+ software.

By focusing on all of these different elements, we ensure that every precaution is taken to maintain the security of the data and information we handle at every step of the process. With the volume of information we handle increasing, they are also solutions which are scalable to ensure that the levels are maintained and developed as the requirements grow.

Tags: Document Scanning, Document Security, Secure Scanning, Security Vetted Scanning

Bookmark to:
         

These benefits were some of the points that Preview looked to highlight in their “Document Management Healthcheck” presentation at the ASSIST event (Association of Informatics Professionals in Health and Social Care) this month. It also gave the opportunity to highlight some of the work that Preview has been carrying out at a number of NHS Trusts such as Leeds Mental Health.

The issues that many of the Trusts are experiencing tend to fall into 3 main categories which primarily revolve around the issue of accessibility of the records they require on a day to day basis. These issues are often compounded by the fact that the Trusts run several different sites across their region with documents produced and stored locally but needed to be accessed by all of them.

The issues most commonly highlighted are:

i) The ability to both locate the information quickly coupled and access it as easily as possible. Due to multiple sites involved, this could often result in a time consuming search for specific documents.

ii) With document being in constant demand, real ease of access also required that more than one person should be able to work with the documents at a time, something that was certainly problematic with paper documents.

iii) The need to store a constantly increasing mountain of files and documents was putting more and more pressure on space which was already at a premium. More filing cabinets and archive boxes would only compound this further.

In each of these cases, the digitisation of the documents by scanning and indexing them, would effectively deal with these issues at one fell swoop giving instant access to the information to all authorised personnel across the region, not to mention freeing up some badly needed space.

But what happens if you need a document while they are all being scanned and indexed? No longer are they sitting in one of the filing cabinets waiting to be found, they’re in Preview’s facilities in London! No problem – with Preview’s Scan on Demand service coming to the rescue, any document required can be processed and put online to be viewed easily and quickly.

Tags: Document Management, Document Scanning, NHS Trusts, Document Indexing

Bookmark to:
         

However, in addition to this, we have also developed a key partnership with an offshore managed services company which means that we can extend the cost savings on many ‘back office’ processes. When combined with Preview’s ability to digitise paper, this provides what is probably the most powerful range of managed services available in the UK market.

In extending the range of services available, Preview has partnered with ADEC Solutions, which is one of the leading BPOs in the Far East with some 5000 staff operating out of a several locations. Preview and ADEC are already working with dozens of UK companies that are already seeing substantial benefits as they streamline many of their core activities.

So of the areas which are seeing particular success in are:

• Accounts Payable & Accounts Receivable Processing
• Claims verification and processing
• Database management
• Forms Processing
• Financial Reconciliation
• Sales & PO Order Entry
• Employee Expense Management

The initial benefits of this type of arrangement often tend to focus on costs, with typical savings of around 30%-40% over existing arrangements being achieved. However, the benefits don’t stop there. The facilities are also totally scalable at short notice – so any peak or downturn in volumes can be managed quickly. In addition, outsourcing can provide consistent, excellent service levels to customers, while improving service quality – a combination which is key at any time and particularly in today’s economic climate.

Perhaps most importantly the World class quality and security that clients have come to expect from Preview is taken to a new level with ADEC’s Certifications which:

• ISO 9001:2000;
• ISO 27001:2005 / ISO 17799:2005
• Certified Perimeter Certification from CyberTrust for Data Security.

Together these offer a solution which is both flexible and secure, and comes with the levels of quality that both you and your customers would expect.

Tags: Outsourcing, Managed Services

Bookmark to:
         

Somehow, no matter how entertaining the “holding music” is, being put on hold for minutes at a time while someone finds the information they need to give us our answers does not deliver the customer service level we expect in today’s electronic world. Yet we are faced with this situation time and time again. Often, this is a result of an organisation keeping their records in paper format – even a small organisation cannot hope to have all their paper files immediately to hand, particularly when even the best paper indexing system will still leave gaps.

So what’s the alternative? Well, with all of your company’s paper documentation stored electronically, you change the playing field entirely. There is no longer any time delay in finding the information that you need to respond to your customers’ queries - instead, by accessing their files or documents with the information they are looking for, you’ll be able to respond immediately. And with paper documents available online, alongside email correspondence, you have all the relevant information at your fingertips.

In fact, having this information available allows you to take it one step further, giving you the opportunity to focus much more clearly on the real reason for their question and take a more proactive approach. While at the same time, by being able to answer your customers’ service enquiries more quickly, you can also reduce the costs associated with, saving you money at the same time. A real WIN - WIN situation

So next time you are listening to “Green Sleaves” wondering when the person on the other end of the phone will return with the documents they need, make a mental note to get those key customer documents scanned and indexed and watch your customer service ratings soar.

Tags: Document Scanning, Document Scanning Triggers, Customer Service, Electronic Document Indexing

Bookmark to:
         

After careful planning, Waterstone’s launched their own loyalty card, The Waterstone’s Card, in September 2007 giving their customers the chance to earn points every time they purchased books in their stores or online. The scheme also gave the cardholders the opportunity to take advantage of unique special offers, receive email newsletters and enter exclusive competitions.

To process all of the application forms being returned from their stores, Waterstone’s needed a partner able to manage this key part of the operation. The company would need the resources in place to receive and scan the incoming loyalty card forms before securely sending on the details. They consulted Careline Services, one of their trusted suppliers, who in turn was able to recommended Preview as the ideal partner to fulfil this role and a company they already enjoyed a successful working relationship with. Having some of the most comprehensive systems in the UK, Preview was well able to handle the requirements.

The national loyalty scheme is across 330 Waterstone’s stores in the UK and Europe, and on Waterstones.com. Customers were asked to fill out an application form, and these forms were then batched up at the end of each day and sent via Royal Mail directly to Preview from each individual store. Sending the forms straight to Preview meant that the process was significantly speeded up and allowed the customers’ details to be registered on the database as quickly as possible.

Upon arrival, the forms were verified and prepared for scanning. Once scanned, these images were forwarded to the CRM database where key information from the forms including name and address and email address were recorded. This all ensured that when their card was used in store, the points were added correctly, Waterstone’s knew which customer was shopping and could therefore track their behaviour, segmenting them into specific customer groups ensuring any communication to them is relevant.

The Waterstone’s Card has proven to be an overwhelming success and, as of the middle of August 2008 1,701,446 card forms have been scanned and the pace shows no sign of slowing which is good news for Waterstone’s and great news for the thousands of new cardholders joining the programme every week.

Tags: Waterstone's, Loyaly card, Document Scanning, Card Scanning,

Bookmark to:
         

One such area is that of business documentation used within the company or as part of the interactions with suppliers and clients. In this area, paper documents have always been considered the safe option, but this is no longer enough. In today’s business environment, retaining information purely in paper format means that it can no longer benefit your company – indeed, it is undoubtedly now holding you back.

However, making sure that your information is available in electronic format is relatively easy to achieve, simply by ensuring that all relevant documents are consistently scanned and indexed. If you are unsure why this is important for your organisation, then just remember PRODS:

Protect
Scanning your documentation ensures that the information it contains is safe and secure. While paper can be inherently difficult to store securely while still making it accessible, digitally stored information allows you to maintain tight security as required while offering pre-determined levels of access to those needing it. Just as critically, by keeping backup copies off site, your data (and hence your business) remains safe and secure, giving you complete security and peace of mind in terms of disaster recovery.

Reference
Information is there to be used and referred to, so it’s important to make sure that wherever it is stored, it can referenced quickly and easily. By capturing the data once through a programme of document scanning, you then have the ability to refer to it and use it many times over in the different ways your business requires.

Organise
Information tends to be accumulated at an alarming rate in organisations of all sizes, so making sure that it is carefully organised and easy to locate when required is essential. Managing this process using filing cabinets and storage boxes is difficult at the best of times and finding information can be a nightmare, particularly if it is stored across multiple locations. With scanned documents, information can be indexed and organised for quick and easy location and access – in addition, you are not restricted to a single person using it at a time, instead many people can have access whenever required.

Distribute
Getting the right information and the right documents to the right people when they require it is difficult even when they are all located in the same office. Add numerous people across multiple offices who need to receive the information and the job becomes a logistics nightmare. With scanned documents, the task becomes as simple as attaching a document to an email and sending it to the relevant people – for non confidential information only of course. Alternatively, an online repository provides the secure access, while email or RSS delivers the means of letting the right people know where to find it.

Share
There is also the need to share information, whether this is related to an individual project or we are talking about a department or company wide programme. Having the ability to share the information between all relevant parties gives you a level of interactivity which means the information can be used even more effectively and the company can benefit from people sharing ideas and information quickly and efficiently.

The next time you are looking for a document or trying to access information that you don’t have available, give yourself a couple of PRODS and see if you could also benefit from having the information you need at your fingertips.

Tags: Document Scanning, Disaster Recovery, Data Capture,

Bookmark to:
         

What we would like to know is what you would like to read and see more of? Are you interested in ideas and advice on where document management could be of benefit to you and your company or how other companies have been using some of the solutions that we work with? Would more industry news be of interest or perhaps something totally different?

We’d appreciate your feedback, so please click here to use the comments box below and hopefully we will be able to incorporate your ideas here in the future.

Tags: Document Scanning, Document Scanning Blog Ideas

Bookmark to:
         

That’s what I call an SED moment – a Somebody Else’s Disaster moment. It’s the time when you silently thank your lucky stars that it wasn’t you and vow to immediately (and always) make a backup of your files … though this would of course have been two minutes too late if you had just suffered his misfortune. I guess an equivalent from the news this week would be government officials once again giving a collective sigh of relief that they too hadn’t contrived to misplace folders of Top Secret documents on a commuter train!

But what about in your business? Well, imagine the problems you would face if you lost some or all of your paper files through fire or flood, possibly documents which you had often considered getting scanned and indexed but never quite got round to it. Without a backup or electronic copy in sight, then years worth of irreplaceable documents would quite literally have gone up in smoke forever.

In terms of disaster recovery, document scanning is always going to be a winner in these circumstances. With everything recorded and backed up, the business impact of something happening to paper files, or even the electronic ones, would be minimal. The information could be quickly restored and your business, together with the customer files and information it relies on, would be unaffected.

So next time you hear “Does anyone know how to retrieve a file?” wafting across the office, before you answer them, pick up the phone and arrange a chat about a document scanning service to back up your files. Then, if anything does happen and someone else looks over at you in pity, experiencing their own private SED moment, you’ll just be able to smile knowingly and get back to work.

Tags: Document Scanning, Diasaster Recovery, Document Scanning Service

Bookmark to:
         

At least that’s what the Legal Services Commission imagined when they instigated a nationwide census with the Bar Council of 15,000 barristers towards the end of 2007. Their aim in doing so was to get a clearer picture of what the profession looked like in order to ensure a robust Impact Assessment was conducted as part of the legal aid reforms. To encourage as large a response as possible, they rightly felt it was important to conduct the survey both online and offline, using both a printed questionnaire and a web based electronic form.

What they didn’t expect was being able to find a company which could provide a full service offering which covered all their requirements. However, in Preview, the Legal Services Commission found a company which could demonstrate considerable experience with both online and offline data and one which was able to offer a service which covered all of the key elements needed to create, run and evaluate a full survey across a diverse profession.

The first stage involved designing and creating the survey form itself. This was done in conjunction with the Legal Services Commission to create both an 8 page printed questionnaire and an online survey. For the printed form, the layout was planned and the printing organised in preparation for the direct mailing out to the members. The layout was designed in such a way that the returned forms could be immediately scanned and the information they contained recorded to then be collated with the results gathered online. The web page containing the electronic survey was also created to make it as easy to complete as possible and was then hosted behind the Bar Council’s own website.

As soon as the questionnaires were sent out and the Bar membership was informed about the online survey form, there was a constant flow of responses back. As they arrived, the forms were scanned and indexed, and both the response and any additional comments recorded for each of the questions. All of this information could then be pooled with the results from the online survey and stored in the database ready for processing.

The response rates to both formats were good and a large amount of information was recorded from the membership eager to contribute their views. Once the majority of the responses had been received, Preview was able to pull together both summary results and a more detailed review of the comments and responses to individual questions. All of this information was collated and the raw data was sent to the Legal Services Commission in electronic form for analysis.

No matter what field you work in, having a clear understanding of what your customers want is key and, as the Legal Services Commission discovered, customer surveys and market research are excellent ways of achieving that. Nevertheless, gathering the information from multiple on- and offline sources and then coordinating and collating the results, is no easy task. Fortunately, with the full service offering from Preview taking care of these issues, the Legal Services Commission was able to concentrate on using the information they had gathered rather than worrying about how to collect it.

Tags: Online Surveys, Survey Management, Survey Planning, Bar Council, Legal Services Commission, Document Scanning, Survey creation, Data Capture

Bookmark to: