Author: Laura Bulmer
Happy New Year! We hope 2023 ended with a bang and you're ready to get stuck into 2024!
We have no doubt that you are looking ahead to a successful year in business and we believe more than ever that operational efficiency is a key requirement for all types of organisations looking to guarantee the highest level of success.
For our clients, a dedicated document management system that provides transparent document control processes, secure storage and controlled access is vital to that operational efficiency.
You may be reading this blog as an existing DocTech client and it may give you more ideas on how else you can utilise our document management solutions.
Alternatively, your organisation may not yet have a dedicated document management system but you are open to hearing how a system could improve your business processes and operational efficiency.
In 2023 we saw a number standard requirements for our document management software such automated invoice processing, but we also had other really valuable requirements which we will detail below.
With our document management software there is no industry we don't work with. Our solutions can be applied across a variety of departments regardless of the field you're in. However, 2023 saw us working with clients in new industries which provided us with fresh opportunities to do and learn more.
The industries we worked with last year to improve operational efficiency include manufacturing, retail, health and fitness, automotive retail, automotive manufacturing, facilities management, oil and gas, aerospace, the health service, construction, banking, farming, education, logistics, insurance, print, government, animal care, drinks retail, drinks manufacturing and luxury online retail.
The size of these organisations range from 30 staff right up to global firms. For some it was a departmental solution whilst others implemented our document management system DocuWare, across multiple departmental processes.
Some used DocuWare as the sole place to store all business documentation when they replaced server-based storage with a cloud document management system.
Aside from the usual requirements to provide a secure digital repository with bespoke user permissions, we wanted to share some more insight about the other requirements we saw last year.
Our document management system DocuWare, has offered a wide range of software integration options for many years but 2023 saw our prospects and clients pushing this subject without us needing to suggest it. We pride ourselves on having more integration experience than any other DocuWare partner.
Integration options include:
With our in-house expertise, we have the ability to automate end-to-end processes and help programs talk to each other, enhancing operational efficiency further.
A well-known north west construction firm had a digital forms requirement to manage contractor payments and pay slips..png?width=400&height=400&name=Digital%20Forms%20(1).png)
We provided a portal for a large number of users to access self-generated bills and payment requisitions alongside digital disputes forms for incorrect payment reporting.
This is a great use of DocuWare public forms as there is no license requirement when staff are just creating forms to be approved.
The initial implementation for this family-owned plant hire company was for a cloud-based document management system to create and store digital forms for health and safety checks as they are IPAF regulated.
The company also signs up a lot of new customers, and the process lacked operational efficiency. It was particularly laborious due to the rigorous checks required to hire out machinery such as cherry pickers and platforms.
As their experience of DocuWare grew, they soon found other uses for the software and realised a large amount of time could be saved by embedding a new customer form on their website.
A national brewery and hotel chain utilised our integrated digital signature solutions to support new customer onboarding.
They are now able to sign up new suppliers and clients for wedding and event bookings using an end to end digital process. Previously they used a standalone digital signature platform which provided the legally binding signature, but nothing more. They can now store signed documents in a centalised and secure document repository with reminders tasks and approvals built in.
A global digital agency with offices around the world, prioritise improving a brands marketing and engagement with a data driven approach to create connections and generate meaningful marketing results.
Although they are a forward-thinking technology company, their finance processes remained antiquated against the expectations of the business. A particularly cumbersome process was employee expenses where they used a combination of spreadsheets and emails to manage it all.
Despite being a digital organisation, both their expenses and invoice processes were very manual and labour intensive. This led them to speak with us about our expense management software.
A financial consulting firm were processing financial documents for 40 clients which led them to use two different finance packages. There was a variety of processes in place, and the client in question and their associated finance package would determine which process was used. 
Documents were still printed off, stored in hard copy or emailed around which was time consuming for the finance team, reduced operational efficiency and created work to understand where any errors had come from.
By creating bespoke approval workflows with a document management system, the team have removed manual tasks and streamlined the entire process.
A National Building Society contacted us to address problems with their existing document approval process. Documents were emailed around the business for approval and the process tracked on a spreadsheet.
As a result the process was slow, error prone, hard to follow and inconsistent. Knowing there were document management solutions available, they wanted to implement a digital solution to add more automation and control to the process. 
The existing accounts payable processes of a luxury online retailer were very manual, time consuming and open to error. They were managed using email, spreadsheets and lots of manual data entry. The finance teams' time was being used to manually process invoices. Time that could be better spent on more valuable, profit-making activities.
Having worked with DocTech in a previous role, the Chief Financial Officer contacted us to see if we had a solution to help improve the efficiency and accuracy of their finance processes with a requirement to include rules-based decisions.
A national vehicle sales company utilised the full DocuWare solution for their vehicle sales packs. This includes onboarding new customers with a digital signature followed by the storage of all supporting documents and finance agreements.
They now successfully use digital tasks lists for transparency of outstanding work, as well as automated reminders and approvals.
We hope these examples have given you food for thought on speaking to us about the processes you could improve on this year with a dedicated document management system.
With features such as document management integration with your other systems, digital forms, automated data capture and document approvals, there are numerous business processes we want to help you with in your mission to guarantee success for 2024.
If you would like a conversation about improving operational efficiency or any aspect of document management, please get in touch with our team.
