In many organisations, having the information needed to make decisions at the right time is a challenge. Even when an organisation has the information, it is not always easily accessible. Especially if the information is in a document and documents are also 'floating around' in numerous applications.

In this article, we look at how to get a grip on documents and information as an organisation to make better decisions.

Every process has documents and that's where things often go wrong

Imagine this situation for yourself: an account manager creates a quote for a customer in Salesforce, the customer responds with a purchase order. A sales representative updates the ERP system so that people from 'engineering' know what they are going to build. Purchasing staff order materials and parts, manufacturing and assembly are completed, products are inspected, etc. Then warehouse staff add the shipment to their queue and an engineer schedules an appointment to perform the installation. Somewhere in this process, an invoice is generated and suppliers are paid.

This is a relatively 'simple' process. Depending on the nature of the business, it may involve a host of other systems and processes. Often, applications and approvals require documents to be mailed, checked, signed or scanned. If something changes or if problems arise, additional and often duplicate documents are created and parts of the process may be repeated unnecessarily, with all the ensuing consequences. This can result in incorrect information, information not being findable or information even ending up in the wrong hands.

In general, business processes are rarely simple and often involve multiple departments or parties. This requires accessibility and, at the same time, grip and control. Is that possible?

Making information findable and keeping it controlled

M-Files is a platform that integrates not only storage locations, systems and applications, but also business processes. Through M-Files, documents are tagged and shared so that different people or groups can find them using Google-like searches, for example:

• Search the order history of one specific customer
• Tracking correspondence with only customers who have already received a product
• Finding the different types of permits required for a project

Thanks to M-Files, all documents for a required process are labelled in one place so that they can be found, for example, by customer, by product, by order status, by process step or by location. By tagging documents with metadata open up a world of possibilities as an organisation.

Everyone uses the same unambiguous information and you are always sure you are dealing with the correct and latest version of a document. In short, there is only one truth for everyone. No doubts.

Security and permissions are configurable so that, for example, not everyone can see everything. For example, a quote sent to a customer may contain more information than technicians need to do their jobs, but the details of work orders are important to them. Both documents can relate to the same customer and project, but people will only see the details that are relevant to them thanks to M-Files. Same document, different permissions based on roles in the organisation. You simply cannot do that with locking a folder.

An additional benefit for management

Implementing M-Files becomes fruitful by having conversations with people in the organisation. To map out business processes, document workflows and applications that way. The more systems are involved, the more important this work becomes. Organisations learn a lot about themselves by implementing M-Files.

For example, they discover that customer records differ in two systems, which can lead to outdated and erroneous information or, for example, delayed shipments and invoicing. This finding exposes inefficient processes and manual tasks (i.e. opportunities for automation), as well as ambiguous or inconsistent information that affects inter-departmental cooperation (in a negative way).

The first organisational steps in a method

Many organisations implementing M-Files start with a single business process, department or group. This usually involves a situation with one or more of the following characteristics:

• Eliminating manual activities around documents (mailing around, approval, etc.)
• Information is everywhere (information silos) and not easy to find
• There are multiple versions in circulation of the same document
• Sharing information is difficult, uncontrolled and not secure
• Audits and compliance require structure and retention policies
• Knowledge is not secured in the organisation (knowledge management)

By starting small, an organisation embraces M-Files step by step, there is complete focus by group, department or process and results are quick. It is not for nothing that M-Files has an ROI of 267%.

Are you curious about how to structure your organisation's document management?