Going Paperless in a Documented World - The Future Really Is Here!

On Tuesday, April 26, 2011, Scott Johnson of IKON Office Solutions went through the various stages of Electronic Content Management, which has taken the businesses that have reached its fourth stage into a paperless world. Scott used the Accounts Payable process as an example of how the ECM stages would work. Those stages involve:

• Back end capturing and index imaging (scan invoices once paid to store and file them electronically)
• Front end capturing and index imagine (scan invoices at moment of receipt, then forward them through the approval and payment process electronically)
• Front end data capture and auto extraction (scan invoices at moment of receipt, then use auto extraction software to identify and index critical criteria such as vendor, invoice number, date, amount, and even service or goods provided)
• Front end data capture and workflow (scan invoices at moment of receipt, use auto extraction for indexing and processing, and use workflow software to forward the invoice through the approval, payment and filing process).

Electronic content management can help all-sized businesses to manage their workflow and become more efficient.  Check with your copier vendor or IT support team to learn what capabilities currently exist and build from there.