NEW YORK, Dec. 22 — (PRNewswire) — In the current economic environment, businesses continue to look for effective steps to contain costs and increase competitiveness. One area of potential savings, reduced risk and enhanced efficiency may come as a surprise to many organizations: document management activities such as print/copy, mail and records management.

Why a surprise? Because many organizations don't know how much their document management activities cost as well as how more effective approaches could help reduce those costs and improve efficiency. The good news is that there are document management activities – whether outsourced or managed internally – that can yield important business benefits. Oce spotlights three of them to consider for 2010:

Print/Copy Management – According to industry analyst Gartner, most enterprises do not manage their office printers well, having too much and often the wrong equipment and supplies for their needs. Actively managing office print can reduce spending by 10 to 30 percent while reaping real environmental benefits ("Key Issues for Print Management, 2008," Pete Basiliere, March 2008). One print/copy management best practice – replacing personal desktop printers with workgroup MFPs (multifunction peripherals that combine print/copy/scan/fax functionality in one machine) shared by departments – can have a strong positive impact. One financial services company replaced 1,100 copiers and printers and 1,000 fax machines with 400 MFPs. The initiative eliminated 1,700 machines that no longer consume resources based on their manufacture, transportation, operation, maintenance, and eventual disposal.

Digital Mail – There are several approaches to the digital mail process. One is to convert incoming mail from physical to digital in the mailroom by scanning all mail capable of being scanned and then utilizing workflow processes for distribution. The digital images are stored in a database where, after being notified by email, employees can access them via a Web portal with password protection and interactive functions. Benefits of this approach include faster access to incoming documents and information, particularly for employees who are traveling or located in satellite offices. Other benefits include the ability to suppress non-essential company mail from entering the organization; a potential reduction in labor and facilities by centralizing multiple mail centers into one; and an opportunity to support "green" initiatives by reducing paper usage. Digital mail can be well-suited for companies that receive a high volume of mail every month, including a high number of critical documents. Other factors include the number of employees who are mobile and telecommute, as well as the company's desire to implement a centralized scanning solution and reduce paper.

Electronic Document Management – Electronic document management includes imaging (paper to digital conversion) as well as storing, organizing, indexing, and retrieving image files. One important business benefit of electronic document management is improved document control. When distributing hardcopy documents between locations, organizations often maintain multiple copies and filing systems, incur transportation costs, and create monitoring systems to insure that information has been appropriately exchanged. An electronic document management solution offers superior document control by eliminating the number of possible "failure points" within these activities that can cause documents to be lost or misplaced. For example, an Oce client has offices across the country that received and approved invoices prior to sending them to headquarters. The invoices often arrived late, causing the organization to forfeit early pay discounts. After redesigning the workflow process, all invoices are now received initially at corporate headquarters where they are immediately scanned. The electronic image files of the invoices are then routed for approval, and reminders are sent to insure the invoices are paid as soon as possible.  

About Oce Business Services

Oce Business Services is a leading international provider of document process outsourcing services and technology to businesses and the public sector. By improving and managing non-core yet critical document processes, Oce Business Services enables organizations to reduce costs, increase efficiency, mitigate risk and improve operational performance. Oce Business Services' solutions span the document lifecycle, from creation through disposal, including business records, eDiscovery, imaging, print and mail management. Proprietary service delivery methodologies apply Six Sigma® to improve results. To learn more, visit http://www.obs-innovation.com.  

About Oce

Oce is a leading international provider of digital document management technology and services. Oce employs around 22,000 people, with 2008 revenues of approximately $4.3 billion, and operates in around 100 countries. For more information about Oce, visit http://www.oceusa.com. Outside the U.S. consult http://www.global.oce.com.

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SOURCE Oce Business Services