Document management is not a particularly new topic: from the early 2000s to the present it has been one of the first points of contact between the digital and corporate worlds. With the digitization of paper documents first and dematerialization later, the market has often moved ahead of the regulatory apparatus. Only in recent years, however, with the rise of electronicstorage and especially electronic invoicing, has the process of digital transformation in this regard received an acceleration.
The process of digital transformation
What has happened over the years to document management has probably been the most natural example of digital transformation. Initially, documents circulated within the company mainly in paper form and were digitized in the second instance, whereas today the circulation is mainly digital. For many companies, moreover, digital document management is already a reality: digital archives exist, are searchable and usable. In short, the transition seems complete.
Often, however, digital archiving is used according to analog mechanisms: files are still taken over by staff or departments, circulation is still manual, and many processing steps still take place as information is passed from desk to desk. This, however, does not allow the true potential of document management to be expressed: process automation.
Document management process automation: the key to optimizing resources
To understand the true potential of document automation, it is necessary to start with an assumption: digital documents are for all intents and purposes data, and as such they can be processed through systems of analysis and automation quite similar to those used, for example, to facilitate decision making or manage resources more efficiently.
Using advanced processing techniques, such as machine learning, enables the creation of new forms of process automation, with the usual benefits in terms of better use of resources and circulation of information.
We know that workflow management is one of the most sensitive issues today, as the market demands ever-increasing production efficiency. The same optimization logic can also be extended to document flows, which often run parallel to production flows, especially in complex supply chains.
The benefits of advanced document management
We have seen how, in most companies today, documents already move in digital form. Often, however, this movement is done in an unbundled way, with many steps still left to operators.
The first benefit of flow automation is in standardization: once a workflow is created for a document or processing type, it will be shared and uniform, also making control and supervision operations faster and more effective.
The second advantage, typical of integrated architectures, is the ease of use of information. In a document chain managed according to best practices, all stakeholders in a process can access the status, information, and actual documents independently, fluidly, and effectively.
Finally, let’s not forget the benefits ofautomation proper. In the case of electronic invoicing, for example, the recording of passive invoices can be done automatically, freeing operators from the task and saving time and resources for better-characterized operations.
Document automation: a complete supply chain
The advantages of automated document management are particularly evident in complex production processes. Imagine, for example, a context in which an order received requires, in addition to internal processing, the supply of materials.
Thanks to an intelligent document management system, it is possible to create orders to suppliers automatically (with supervision if necessary) and keep track of this entire sub-process consisting of order, confirmation, delivery, invoicing and payment automatically, effectively extending the traceability typical of Industry 4.0 beyond merely operational aspects.
All while the entire workflow is under control. Again, not exclusively from an operational perspective, but also from an administrative and management perspective. For example, in supply chains where delivery is tied to a payment tranche or the signing of a contract, it will be the system itself that will indicate the “green light” status when the condition occurs, without creating overhead due to the internal bureaucratic steps typical of analog management. All this while most of the legal requirements, such as electronic storage, are handled directly by the system minimizing the interventions needed by operators.
