Electronic Document Management Workflow vs Company Functioning

Even several years ago all documents were stored in a paper form.

18:37 13 March 2020

It was connected with a high risk of losing, destroying or misplacing them. This problem has been effectively eliminated due to the introduction of electronic systems facilitating documentation storage. How does the electronic document management workflow (so-called DMS - Document Management System) impact the company’s functioning and benefits from using it?

What does the electronic document workflow in the company consist in?

Companies that wish to succeed in their industry have to operate quickly and efficiently. All projects must be implemented on time, meetings must be held on a specific date as planned and invoices must be paid within the set period of time. A well-functioning company does not allow delays, standstills and unfinished tasks. In order for all processes in the company to be implemented quickly and efficiently it is necessary to introduce a proper workflow of documents that regulate all of the most important issues of the enterprise’s functioning.

Functioning of each company is significantly improved by the electronic document workflow. It is a modern and very functional solution that gained a numerous group of satisfied users. It allows to easily improve the enterprise’s productivity, facilitates managing accumulated documentation and effectively eliminates the risk of making mistakes, losing documents, omitting them or reaching unauthorised persons, which could have easily happen while using the traditional workflow of documents.

What advantages does the electronic document management workflow provide to the company?

The electronic document workflow is IT system that allows electronic registration, processing, sharing, cataloguing, indexing and archiving various types of documents. Both, the enterprise’s internal documents (e.g. notifications, leave requests, information for employees, internal correspondence), as well as incoming documentation (e.g. official letters, invoices, correspondence from external entities) can be collected therein. Use thereof allows the company to eliminate problems related to storing and managing paper documentation.

Such a system is much more effective and efficient than its traditional equivalent. In fact, the process of document workflow proceeds more efficiently and quickly and thus, important information reaches addresses in a shorter period of time. It accelerates the functioning of the company and allows it to implement its tasks on an ongoing basis. Due to the electronic document workflow a quick access can be obtained to all documents in the company’s resources. There is no need for manual search of archives and wasting precious time on finding relevant letters.

Moreover, the electronic document workflow management https://webcon.com/platform/document-management/ has a positive impact on the safety of information stored by the company. Due to the control of the access, particular documents can be viewed only by users with relevant authorisations, which allows eliminating the risk of leaking confidential information and exposing the company to image or monetary losses. Furthermore, storing whole documentation in electronic form eliminates the risk of losing valuable data.

Novelties and trends in electronic document workflow management

In the time of the ubiquitous digitalisation, it becomes the natural course for larger companies to implement the so-called BPMS, that is, Business Process Management System based on digitalisation, automation and workflow. They allow efficient and effective implementation of the enterprise’s digital transformation strategy.

It used to be assumed that the role of DMS primarily consists in the digitalisation of documents in terms of registration, scanning, categorisation, storing and sharing their digital version with everyone who needs them and is authorised thereto. Whereas, the BPMS is a layer responsible for assigning tasks, servicing approval processes, data and information routing between persons, departments and IT systems. In practice, these two layers more and more often intertwine and become co-dependent.

What is more, the so-called case files are more and more often discussed and documents naturally become elements thereof. They can either activate approval flows (e.g. incoming invoices) or they result from collecting information and approvals executed at the process layer (e.g. negotiating and concluding an agreement).

The case file-oriented approach, where the main elements of the process include scans of documents, conversation threads, exchanging e-mails etc., seems a natural consequence of the tools’ evolution to the electronic document workflow and process management. Tasks related to the workflow are managed in the context of a file. Therefore, solutions that not only inform of the necessity of e.g. approval, but provide the user with access to all case-related documents, data collected from users participating in the process via form, as well as context data and reports from external sources, at one place, become more and more popular. All of the above is aimed at searching for effectiveness - so that a decision could be taken efficiently, without the need to reach for third tools in search of key information.

Digital transformation entails one more important trend in developing DMS, related to the pace of business processes’ changes: assumption that the implemented solutions will be subject to frequent changes. In response to the above, the majority of task and document workflow management software producers drastically facilitated the process of developing process applications. Eliminating script languages or the necessity to code resulted in current, easier use of low-to-no-code platforms. Therefore, a necessary application will be developed faster and it will be much easier to understand and modify it when necessary to introduce change thereto.