A priori, companies in the secondary and tertiary sectors know how to manage their documents. This is at least the observation that is made when questioning the managers of large companies. Is this really the case?
Companies of a certain size have often grown organically and have only too rarely adapted the processes involved in the life of documents: from production to management, from storage to physical or electronic destruction. The “we’ve always done it this way” often remains the rule, and yet…
The potential for savings and rationalisation in this area is very significant and reduces the impact on the environment, but also on storage and archiving. In addition, security and destruction processes after legal deadlines are often not treated with the necessary seriousness.
Although other challenges may arise, using IT to handle these processes in a fully integrated manner is often the best solution to reduce storage space, physical storage and destruction. Some companies cannot always do without paper: interesting alternatives exist for them.
Work processes, printing options and storage capacity, to name but a few examples, are important elements of good document management.
Poor workflow, copying, copying of copies, duplicates, personal filing cabinets instead of groups are recurring examples of poor document management. Finally, the security throughout the life of a document, including its destruction, is often not sufficiently analysed.
A professional external eye can detect vulnerabilities and often allows for quick improvements without the need for complex and expensive solutions.
In addition, all areas must be integrated when reviewing processes: from operational areas to IT, logistics and legal.
Good management of physical and electronic documents leads to savings, rationalisation, and security.