BPM - Will it deliver benefits for your business or deny you a peaceful sleep?

According to Gartner, “By 2014, Business Process Management will clearly deliver benefits to those who have the competencies, and deny a peaceful sleep to those who do not". This may be a little apocalyptic but it may have implications for smaller organisations than the typical enterprise level targets of these big beast systems. Full scale major BPM is often a significant investment which can transform working practices & MI. However, the price barriers can be daunting and many businesses may look at a BPM solution as being for the corporates only.

Where Invu comes in is a pragmatic solution using automation and integration rather than a monolithic software implementation. Invu doesn’t pretend to be a BPM solution – we don’t deliver full MI for example. However, some of the same issues solved by a true BPM implementation are increasingly covered off by Invu’s solutions for mid-sized organisations

For the business faced with a partial solution (typically an ERP solution) there are often untouched processes which require management and automation. Paper invoices is a good example, proofs of delivery another. A wholesale major investment using a full BPM proposition may be the answer but this may be an expensive, disruptive play and it’s certainly not to be undertaken lightly. In many cases this may involve implementation of an EDI solution (electronic data interchange) so it’s worth asking the question – would your suppliers be affected too? If so, does this mean implementation of co-operating systems there too and will they be willing to play ball to optimise the offering between both parties?

Sometimes a low impact solution may be best – deal with the hand you’ve got and optimise it. Scanning, intelligent data extraction, workflows and integration with existing ERP systems may fundamentally streamline the way you work. It’s a classic case of the Pareto principle (i.e. the 80:20 rule). Sure, you won’t have the shiniest option available but it breaks down many of the significant practical day-to-day problems at a fraction of the cost and short term operational upheaval. Gartner is right – transforming the way you work to optimise efficiency is an essential route to growth, if not survival in some cases. We’d just say that for the non-corporate you can knock over some of the key problems more simply.

Could saving costs also save lives...?

It’s not just large corporates that need document management - companies from all industry sectors and indeed all sizes and complexities have implemented Invu, to reduce costs, improve business efficiencies or simply to reduce the paper churn within the organisation. Even regional not-for-profit organisations can feel the benefit.

Reducing costs can enable charities to continue the good work within the community. Charities have to work hard for every penny donated to them and need to ensure that every penny is accounted for but also uneroded by hidden costs. Compliance obligations mean additional documentation, deadlines and strict retention criteria to be observed - more administration when funding is inevitably tight.

In Humberside, St John Ambulance uses Invu Document Management to control its paperwork. They can now search, filter and find documents within seconds – document retrieval savings that add up to over six weeks saved every year.

Other benefits include improved business processes, enhanced customer service and reductions in paper consumption. All of this enables focus on the core needs of the charity – spending money on saving lives and not dealing with unnecessary administration.

Next time you see that familiar uniform at a local event consider how a seemingly unlikely candidate for enhanced efficiency changed the way it works in the background. See how St John Ambulance, Humberside changed the way it works and download its case study. Alternatively, give us a call to see how Invu could help your charity.

New Invu Document Management v6.4 now available

We're delighted to announce the release of Invu Document Management v6.4. This follows input from both our customers and partners.

As well as more functionality in the base product this release also introduces 3 new companion modules:

• Invu Email Manager

• Invu Web Approval

• Invu Interactive Zonal OCR/Barcode Capture

Read the full news story:

http://www.invu.net/investor-relations/documentation--announcements/rns-releases.aspx

For further information please contact your Invu Partner or call Invu on 01604 859893.

Invu’s link to Microsoft Dynamics AX creates huge time savings for RMD Kwikform

RMD Kwikform is the Equipment services division of Interserve, the £1.7bn services, maintenance and building group. As part of its business continuity plan, electronic filing formed a logical next stage, and based on feedback from Interserve who was already using Invu, an Invu implementation was confirmed.

Invu links directly to RMD Kwikform’s finance system, Microsoft Dynamics AX (formerly Axapta). A user can search for a purchase order reference number in the finance system and link directly to the correlating invoice. This creates huge time savings as users no longer have to search manually for paperwork or search through two disparate systems.

Mark Pickard, Senior Accountant, RMD Kwikform comments, “We implemented Invu in August 2007. Prior to this we had a manual filing system. Invu Document Management ties into our business continuity plan – we have procedures in place in case there is any kind of critical incident. Invu supports this plan because all documents are stored electronically and backed up. We are currently using Invu as a document scanning tool allowing us to gain huge amounts of office space through the elimination of paper files.”

Other benefits include increased office space and elimination of paper files. Currently using Invu in the finance, HR and sales departments the company is now considering the potential use of Invu in their export department for storage of foreign export documentation.

Read the full success story http://www.invu.net/case-studies.aspx

RMD Kwikform implemented its Invu software with Invu reseller The Content Group. Contact Invu for more details.

Invu’s project checklist in the news

Channelweb magazine picked up on Invu’s project whitepaper and checklist this week. Product and marketing director, Mark Palmer, is interviewed and gives an overview of the whitepaper and the thinking behind it. Entitled “Planning for success - the do’s and don’ts of planning your eDM project” the whitepaper is an agnostic look at how prospective content management and document management purchasers can avoid undue issues with expectations, unforeseen costs and end user acceptance. It’s based on experience, PRINCE2 project management principles and common sense.

Unlike many other whitepapers it doesn’t push a biased view of the marketplace – not surprisingly it’s getting a lot of hits, becoming Invu’s most downloaded whitepaper to date. The associated checklist is also gaining attention, hopefully as a precursor to adoption of a document management solution. Of course it doesn’t hurt if Invu sees a little more attention and sales interest.

The article is available at http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/f55b93b8#/f55b93b8/10

The whitepaper and checklist are available at http://www.invu.net/info/whitepapers.aspx

Invu power assists invoice processing for Willerby Holiday Homes

Manufacturer Willerby Holiday Homes uses Invu document management integrated with BP Logicx software to power assist invoice processing. Invoices are scanned and goods receipts processed whilst it records the back office ordering processes.

The software provides significant improvements in the internal communication, recording and documenting process, allowing Willerby Holiday Homes greater visibility and tighter controls of the just-in-time ordering process.

Howard Dawson, Integrated Systems Manager states “Our business is very much design orientated, with our homes being geared around the latest consumer trends. New bespoke models have to be designed and manufactured at a fast rate. Fast turnarounds generate a lot of paper-based transactions flowing through the business, such as drawings, design process documentation, and specifications. All of this needs to be captured for our customer service department which manages the post-installation phase of our homes.”

This success story can be read in full on our testimonials page on our website (latest on the right hand side) http://www.invu.net/testimonials.aspx

Willerby Holiday Homes implemented their Invu software with Invu reseller The Content Group

FA of Wales kicks the paper filing habit with Invu

Document management is relevant for all manner of organisations, including the Football Association of Wales. They implemented Invu Document Management in November 2009 to improve efficiencies and gain control of rising levels of documents. In particular,the competitions department creates high volumes of paperwork, dealing with all domestic football administration as well as annual audits for all registered clubs.

With the system bedded in, Andrew Howard, head of competitions, reflects: “We used to physically store documents for 18 clubs over the last seven years, which was an awful lot of paperwork. We no longer need the storage as all the documents are securely stored in Invu and are instantly accessible. This space can be used for other departments more effectively.”

The new software has enabled the governing body to scan all incoming documents into Invu such as club licensing documents, club information, correspondence and team sheets. The FA of Wales is required to keep control of and maintain a full audit trail of documents entering the organisation. The body is assessed annually by SGS, the global leader in inspection, verification, testing and certification services. Once documents are safely within Invu’s secure vault they can be routed between users, processed, classified and audited. In addition to streamlining day to day operations this also accelerates the annual inspection process.

“The search and retrieve capabilities of Invu are fantastic,” said Andrew. “It eradicates the issue of misfiling and it makes our jobs much easier. Simple search training provides instant access to the files within seconds and enabled us to regain the hour a week we used to waste searching for documents.” Andrew concluded: “Invu is really easy to use – it provided a return on investment in five months, and will potentially provide more benefits in the future. Our intention is to expand the use of Invu throughout the organisation, allowing us to shred all our documents and utilise the storage space much more effectively. This would be a great step forwards with our green credentials too.”

Colin Gallick, CEO of Invu, commented: “Invu augments the way in which our customers work. We have a number of customers in the sports sector, including Premiership and Championship clubs who see ongoing operational improvements and increased efficiencies.”

The full case study can be downloaded from the Invu website at http://www.invu.net/case-studies.aspx

Thanks to YourDMS for their help with this case study.