Using workflow management, you can eliminate paper forms, automate repetitive processes, and integrate trading partners. Through the elimination of paper forms and the automation of repetitive processes, you can lower your cost of doing business -- driving substantial profits to your bottom line. Additionally, creating digital forms to eliminate your paper forms and creating well defined automated business processes you can lay the ground work for integrating with your trading partners -- extending the value of your business infrastructure beyond the walls of your enterprise.
Eliminate Paper Forms
With the advent of the computer came the dream of the paperless office. In reality, the arrival of computers accelerated the creation of paper forms. Access to simple publishing programs like Microsoft Word and others ushered in an era of explosive paper form creation. With the arrival of the Internet and its attendant technologies, the dream of a paperless office is within reach. We can create systems for capturing your existing paper-based processes and both implement and enforce even the most elaborate business rules greatly lowering the cost of handling forms while eliminating errors.
Automate Repetitive Processes
Once the processes within your enterprise are documented and electronic forms created, many aspects of handling those forms can be automated. Electronic forms can be presented as web pages, which can be accessed from anywhere in your enterprise. Once a form is submitted, automated actions can be taken -- freeing up staff from handling and routing forms. All of this can be done automatically with an integrated workflow management system. Also the system can enforce correctness and conformance to business rules and requirements lowering the cost of handling. Fewer mistakes means money saved, which means money earned.
Integrate Trading Partners
In today's fast-paced business world, you need every advantage you can get. With workflow management, you can begin the process of integrating with your trading partners. For example, once the purchase order process is automated and incorporated into a workflow system, all of the necessary information for submission to your trading partner is know. This presents the opportunity of submitting the purchase order electronically instead of using some manual process such as calling or faxing. Once the system has verified that the information is valid, it can route it to the next step whether that is in your enterprise or to a trading partner.
Conclusion
Workflow management presents an opportunity to gain control of the various paper based manual processes in your business. Through automation and enforcement of business rules we can assure that the information being provided by users is correct allowing automation. The investment made in a workflow management system begins the process of preparing your enterprise for the future of electronic commerce and inter-enterprise integration.