Strategically Capture Your Documents Like You’re Playing a Game of Chess
Managing your documents is much like a game of chess – there are many ways to win and you need to be strategic about how you go about it.
Going paperless and digitizing your documents is a significant factor in document management. But it isn’t just about storing them digitally. Having them accessible from anywhere is incredibly important. You also have to be extremely strategic with how you automate processes and create workflows so the work gets done faster and with less errors. And it all starts with how you capture your documents.
Just like with chess, your “opening move” is key and can determine if you win or lose. Document capture isn’t just a task or a step that needs to be completed, and it’s not about the document itself. It’s really about extracting the relevant data from those documents, and transforming them into actionable information that serves a specific business goal or purpose. And when documents can be captured and processed automatically, they can be accessed and utilized for immediate benefits.
Most companies receive their documents and data in a variety of ways – papers, electronic forms, rich media, office and paper documents, email, text and fax. But it doesn’t stop there, document capture has moved beyond simply scanning documents. You also have information from applications including back-end systems like your ERP, front-office applications, e-Forms and XML (structured data).
Aligning how you need to use the information on your documents with what capture method you use is the first step we take in helping customers get the most out of their DocLink solution. DocLink has the ability to capture any document and automate use of the data on those documents using a variety of methods, including scanning, ERM capture, barcodes and DocLink Mobile.
Two of the most prominent capabilities DocLink customers utilize for automating document capture are Import Manager and OCR. Individually, each offers significant benefits, but the combination can actually eliminate manual touches when capturing and indexing documents so they automatically move into workflow for processing. By streamlining both of these tasks, you and your team can regain substantial time that will enable you to focus on other tasks and strategic projects on your to-do list.
Import Manager can be configured to monitor specific email inboxes or network files to automatically import the contents into the repository. Specific index values, such as subject line, can be auto indexed for moving into specific workflows. Check out our recent blog that dives deeper into Import Manager.
Adding OCR to Import Manager can help you take your processing and auto indexing to the ultimate level. OCR has the ability to actually ‘read’ and understand the data on your documents, extracting and using it in more comprehensive ways. DocLink now offers both template-based or machine-learning OCR capabilities, which can ultimately minimize/eliminate data entry, and can automate the capture and process of ANY document that comes into your organization including:
- Invoices
- Misc. Receipts
- Customer POs
- Check/Payment Remittances
- I-9 Forms (Employment Eligibility)
- Bills of Lading
- CAD E-Size Drawings
- USDA Certificates
Damuth Trane, a DocLink customer for almost 10 years, has achieved significant time savings by streamlining and automating their invoice capture process. OCR and Import Manager combined have enabled them to eliminate most of their manual indexing and automate a significant number of processes.
Ultimately, you need to know what you want to do with the data, i.e. how you want to use it, to understand the best capture methods to use. Make the most of your DocLink investment with its powerful arsenal of capture methods. In particular, Import Manager and OCR combined can help you maximize your solution by eliminating manual entry, improving accuracy and reducing processing times for many tasks throughout your organization.
Contact our expert team to learn more about DocLink today.