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Scan & Forget: Untangling the scanning process

The process of scanning and storing documents can be a long and complicated one, with extensive input required from the multifunctional device (MFD) user. This does not have to be the case, there is a better way.
Automated workflows enable users to reduce scanning to one click. The capture, processing and delivery is all managed in the back-end so the user can scan and forget, safe in the knowledge the document has been accurately scanned, formatted and saved to the correct location.

Manual scan to email – harmful to productivity?
Manual scanning, particularly scan to email, has a purpose for occasional one-off needs but in the world of bulk and procedural digitization, it is an inefficient, laborious process which is open to human error. The benefits of automated workflows highlight why organizations are changing how they digitize their documents, leading to a more effective and productive workforce.

Without a workflow management system, the user would need to scan each document, and manually decide on the type of scan file (PDF, JPG for example) and choose the correct settings (high or low quality, black/white or color and so on). They then need to email it to themselves and go back to their workstation where they check their email inbox, open the mail and save the document, renaming the file to something that makes sense to them, file it somewhere and then email the relevant people to notify them the document is ready for review.

This process has to be repeated for each document. This highly manual process is vulnerable to human error and is time consuming. In addition, as all MFD users will have chosen different settings, the resulting scans will also vary. It only takes the user being distracted at any point for even a second for the multi-step process to be interrupted and potential errors to creep in.

The potential pitfalls of a manual scan process are:
  • Time consuming and inefficient: Employee time is eaten up by a long, confusing and multi-step process, especially when scanning numerous documents.
  • Human Error: If the employee is distracted at any stage of the process errors can be made making the document illegible or irretrievable.
  • Inconsistency: Naming and filing scans consistently is critical to ensure they can be located in the future, especially important for audit purposes.
  • Unsecured: Misplacing or the incorrect distribution of files is a concern and may be a potential security risk.
Workflows: Scan and Forget
With workflows, employees do not have to worry about any of this, the process is as simple as one click so employees can scan and forget. Because every manual step is now fully managed by an automated workflow, users do not need to do anything other than select their required workflow and place their documents in the feeder.


In contrast to manually scanning, the automated scan workflow captures, processes and delivers the final document to a predetermined location in a predefined format, notifying authorized personnel that the document is ready for review.

There are many benefits of automated scan workflows, including:
  • Time and cost saving: Employees will spend less time on administrative tasks and instead invest this time in more valuable activities.
  • Efficient: Files will be saved correctly every time, making it easy to search and locate scans in the future.
  • Employee Satisfaction: Instead of having to spend their time on administrative tasks, employees can work on the more fulfilling aspects of their role.
  • Consistent document capture and file naming: Pre-defined workflows ensure that there is consistency in the scanning process.
  • Complete peace of mind: Documents are accurately scanned, saved, retrievable, searchable and accessible to only authorized personnel.
  • Remove human error: Since the workflow is automated, there is no scope for human error in the capture, processing or delivery of the document.
For the occasional document scan, scan to email is fine – go ahead and use YSoft SAFEQ’s scan to email feature. To truly realize an effective and productive workforce on repetitive processes, YSoft SAFEQ’s automated scan workflows are the way to go.

Our new eBook on Automated Scan Workflows provides additional details.
 

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