At some point every business probably feels a bit undervalued or unappreciated by customers or maybe by the markets. This may or may not be justified, but we’ve all been there. Over the years we have gained a deep understanding and appreciation for one group of businesses in particular that might feel this way – manufacturers.
There is tremendous complexity in the manufacturing business model of sourcing parts, labor and materials, making something out of that and then selling and servicing that product. Then there are also government regulations and customer compliance requirements to factor in. There are highly complex software applications that help keep the cost of that seemingly simple widget at $2.00. It’s really not so simple.
It starts with design, which generates drawings and a parts list. Bids for the parts…
I don’t think I would like to be in the folder, inter-office envelope, paper clip or staple businesses. They had a great run. They served a very good purpose. But it’s time to move on to new forms of workflow. Yes, that’s right, paper clips, folders and envelopes were the first workflow tools.
There are many benefits to using electronic documents versus paper. One of those benefits is being able to do a search to quickly locate the one document that you are looking for. This takes only a matter of a few seconds in most any document management system.
Records retention and records management are very important principles in dealing with corporate information. Records management being the overall guide book for employees on to how to store and classify information. It is also about proper management of that information including legal holds (don’t destroy if litigation is in process), access to information and records retention.
In an old paper based world, notification of new information meant extra copies of the document were placed on the desks of teammates. Otherwise, it required a hunch and a trip to the file cabinet or the random perusing of co-worker’s desks. In fact, it was probably not known that something new was available until it was a surprise – learned from a customer or worse yet, from the boss who somehow knew the facts.
Ifyou can’t determine need, then cost, as a factor, is irrelevant. If there is need, it is clear that cost impacts the decision and the expected return must outweigh the cost. It is a fairly simple concept but establishing need is not so simple.
I heard a story about how there is a push to bring the “Hipster” crowd to Eau Claire Wisconsin, a family oriented, affordable, city of 150,000+ in Northern Wisconsin. My first response was that with current technology, people can choose to live wherever they want, so why not Eau Claire. Having this opportunity is not a new concept and in fact, people working remotely is very commonplace already. 
file naming conventions, was too good to pass up. The political conventions are all about delivering a consistent, patterned message. Naming conventions are all about consistent, patterned file names. 
What is the cost of a lost document? There are two components to the cost regardless of the document being either lost or just misplaced. 
the new contract. When does it make sense to automate that process?