Digital Imaging and Document Management software isn’t new to the world of managing content. Converting paper into a digital image to move through a work flow or for storage is a mature industry, but the penetration and adoption of cloud solutions like Service Bureaus offer a new opportunity to integrate both digital archiving, work flow, and Internet Fax to create automated forms processing of faxed forms along with a digital archiving solution as one unified application.
Due to the proliferation of SaaS and Service Bureaus, Companies can benefit from state of the art OCR technology for data extraction to both extract data for uploading into a system to eliminate manual data entry, and as a means to provide an image and index file for digital archiving to either a premise solution or web based archiving solution. If high volume inbound fax is also involved, by integrating an Internet Fax Solution, a Company can outsource and reduce its cost for both the receipt of faxed forms and manual data entry. The result of combining an Internet Fax solution with an OCR Service and Image Archiving solution is a fully automated forms processing and image archiving solution which will both eliminate manual data entry and eliminate searching through paper folders to find a form. The result of this solution is reduced cost of processing, storing and retrieving documents.
To evaluate the savings of automating paper it is crucial to understand the cost of processing paper, you can request a free ROI tool at the following URL, http://ocrservicebureau.com/AnnouncementRetrieve.aspx?ID=23255. Understanding the cost reductions related to manual data entry are easy, they involve cost like FTE’s to key data and supervisors for the data entry staff. According to Gartner Research, for every dollar spent producing a form, $30-$150 is spent processing it. However, the indirect, or soft cost, are harder to quantify, they include a potentially costly category like mistakes. What are the costs of a mistakes related to the paper processing application? They should include the cost of re-keying the order, stocking, shipping and customer service time. The cost to retrieve a paper document is another soft cost factor that is a benefit of a digital imaging system. According to a study by the Dartnell Institute in Chicago, the average time to retrieve a paper document is 8 minutes, the time to replace it is 2 minutes, yet the average time to retrieve a digital image is 4 seconds. Assuming an average annual salary $44,000 the hourly rate is 22.00 per hour. 10 minutes for retrieving and returning a form cost approximately $3.67. Additional cost should include; IT support, equipment like computer software and hardware, space, electricity, paper, toner, and ink are all cost that can be reduced or eliminated when automating paper processing.
How does the technology and workflow actually work? From a high level perspective, the paper needs to be converted to an image, if paper is being received via fax, then utilizing either an internet fax service of fax server will convert the paper to an image. Otherwise a scanner must be used for paper on premise. Next, the image is transferred to the OCR Service Bureau to extract the required fields of data from the form. If available, databases can be used to validate information like account numbers or product SKU’s for both validation purposes as well as reducing the number of characters to be extracted. Once the fields are extracted they are validated for accuracy and converted to a digital file type for uploading into the customer software system like an accounting software for invoices or an ERP system for PO’s. Additionally though, since key fields are already being extracted from the form, they can be used as an index file for the image so that digital archiving is also prepped and ready for uploading into a premise archiving solution or a web based archiving solution. The index file and image are then transferred along with the data file to the customer via a means like FTP or web services. Folded into a solution like this are also business rules so that if a key field is not present on the form, they are sent to a CSR to obtain the correct information prior to releasing the form for data extraction. For example, a PO application might require a database lookup to validate a SKU number matches the item description, if the description and SKU number don’t validate against the database, the PO is sent to an exception Queue so that the CSR can call the customer and find out what they really intended to order. The form is then corrected and released for data extraction.
A solution like this offers the following key benefits; · 100 percent order confirmation-confirmations sent to customers within minutes of being entered · Accuracy SLA 99.5 percent · Improved order/form entry cycle time with turnaround times as little as 30 minutes · Labor reduction for manual data entry of up to 60 percent · Elimination of peak period staffing and order turnaround challenges · Central repository of all forms which provides improved security and disaster recovery · Significant savings through reduction in errors resulting in costly mistakes like chargeback’s · No risk of implementation as with a premise solution · Quantified ROI, since a software solution cannot OFFER ACCURACY RATES, the ROI cannot be quantified as FTE reductions are unknown.
Although both digital archiving and OCR are not new to the ECM world, by combining them together along with an Internet Fax solution provided via the hybrid SaaS model, or Service Bureau, a totally new solution to old problems is created without the need for capital expenditures and coming with service level guarantees and rapid implementation with no risk.
Author Kevin V. McQueen, OCR Service http://ocrservicebureau.com and Internet Fax http://www.faxsolutions.us Professional with expereince in the combination of Internet fax and OCR Service to create automated forms processing with fax applications.
Source: http://www.ideamarketers.com
