Components of a successful document management strategy

Find success with the right strategy

Collect, capture, process, and deliver

Your business depends upon data, and that data can come in any form, from any channel. Unless you effectively manage that data, your business won’t be able to grow as you struggle to keep on top of an increasing number of documents. You need to ensure your documents are collected as they arrive, making sure the right information is captured and processed, and that outgoing data is delivered cost-effectively.

With employees and customers requesting access and demanding the highest security, your document management strategy should be high on your to-do list.

Build your strategy

In order to make the most of your document management system and software, you need a robust strategy from the start.

Some things to consider:

1. Multi-channel documents:
   We may be more ‘less-paper’ than ‘paperless’, but the days of paper being the lifeblood of a business are long gone, and with mobile devices, email and text at customers’ disposal that’s truer than ever. You need to be able to react and both receive and send out communications in the way that your customers demand. Being able to answer swiftly, and efficiently will do wonders for your reputation, and customer retention. This also translates well into internal communications within the business, as your employees can work on the go and are not tied to the office.
2. The effectiveness of all components
   You may have had some applications in place a while that are working great individually - but are you getting the most from them together? Once you have your new document management system in place will they all ‘speak’ to each other to get the most from them or will you require hours of IT and development work to get things to run smoothly?
3. Data collected and captured: Having the right data relies upon the information being collected accurately from the start. With intelligent capture you can be sure that the right elements of forms, emails and other communications are extracted and filed, using top of the range scanners, and data capture software that learns as it captures more information.
   
4. Data storage and automated workflows
   Once you have the data you need to store it securely and enable the right user access. With a document management system that stores just the latest version of the document, and never loses or duplicates files, it means hours saved searching in different filing systems or recreating documents. Automates workflows will save hours of manual approval and sending of emails as the document process flows through the system unhindered.
5. Distribution of information
   Apart from electronic distribution, you may require the physical documents to be sent out, and here you have mailroom machines such as folder inserters and franking machines, or outsourced digital franking handled by a hybrid mail solution.

What next?

Twofold Ltd assists businesses to overcome these challenges with our range of business software solutions. From secure scanning and capture, to document management and full digital transformation, contact us via the form here, or give the team a call on 0118 951 9800.

Karen James

Document Management, Twofold