ScanSmart, LLC specializes in document scanning; converting paper documents to digitized images.
The benefits of a comprehensive document management solution are numerous and include time saved in retrieving records, money saved in the prevention of lost records, money saved in storage costs and added value to customers through faster, more accurate service.
Here are some interesting observations that came out of studies by Coopers and Lybrand, the Gartner Group, the Nevada State Library and Archives and others.
- Middle and Senior Managers spend as much as 45 percent of their time dealing with paperwork.
- A typical office worker can waste up to two hours a day looking for misplaced documents.
- 5% of all documents are filed incorrectly, even with the best records management.
- 7.5% of paper documents are lost forever.
- It costs $120 to locate an incorrectly-filed document.
- It costs $750 to reconstruct a lost file.
- A typical 4-drawer file cabinet consumes 10.5 square feet of office space.
- Enough office space for one-full time employee can be freed up by eliminating just eight filing cabinets.
Document conversion services can take two forms: backfile and day forward. Day forward scanning begins once the document management solution is in place and is usually performed by in-house staff. Scanners are purchased and strategically located so as to allow for the most efficient document capture. Backfile scanning is characterized by all of a company’s existing files on the day they adopt a document management solution.
There are several valid reasons why a company may choose to outsource this often laborious task:
Time
Time is perhaps the most prevalent reason to outsource backfile scanning. The period of time required to convert files created over the life of the company while at the same time focusing on new business can be long and drawn out. Organizations will benefit from a rapid deployment of their new investment in document management by outsourcing their scanning project.
Expense
The resources required to scan thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of pages of an organization’s records can be daunting. Managerial staff, scanners, terminals and office space will need to be dedicated to the initial conversion so that the benefits of document management such as space, time and money savings can be fully realized.
Space
Some organizations just simply don’t have the floor space to dedicate to the conversion operation necessary for it to function properly.
Electronic documents have countless advantages over traditional archiving formats (e.g. paper or microfilm). Improved accessibility alone may substantiate the implementation of an electronic archive.
