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Customer Story | Meals on Wheels SA centralises IT to realise $50,000 cost saving
Meals on Wheels SA centralises its IT environment to better coordinate thousands of daily deliveries. Almost everyone has heard of Meals on Wheels. David explained that implementing an Intelligent Information Management System allowed his group to digitise their financial model, saving his business $50K per year while increasing efficiency and security.
Meals on Wheels SA centralises its IT environment to better coordinate thousands of daily deliveries
Almost everyone has heard of Meals on Wheels. It was first formed in South Australia (SA), in 1954. Founder Doris Taylor MBE, wheelchair-bound from an accident as a teen, empathised with the challenges of those returning home from the hospital. She noted, in the elderly in particular, that they had trouble shopping and preparing meals for themselves, often depriving them of the ability to live independently. Meals on Wheels was her remedy. Nearly seventy years on, more than 50 million meals have made their way into SA homes. The organisation is currently providing 4,300 meals per day to customers across the state.
Key Challenges
The state-wide operation included a vast degree of variation among branches
There was no single payments system and accounting was resource-intense
COVID-19 caused a surge in demand that could only be met by a centralised model
In every other Australian state, Meals on Wheels operates as several independent entities. However, Meals on Wheels SA is a state-wide association with 80 branches. Some were established under the state-wide model, while others were independent organisations incorporated into the association - the latter managed their own affairs, with committees, treasurers, bank accounts and chequebooks. Add to this that many pre-dated the internet, set up without the benefit of computerised systems, and you get an idea of the variation within the Meals on Wheels model.
Even so, it’s a model that has served the community well for 50 years. Testimony to its success is the tenure of its volunteers. Among seven thousand volunteers, the average age is 75. David Smith, Executive Manager, Corporate Services for Meal on Wheels, recalls the first time he attended an annual award ceremony recognising long term volunteers; “There were 40 people who had been volunteering for 40 years,” he says.
COVID-19 caused a surge in demand
When COVID-19 arrived in early 2020, hitting Australian businesses hard, Meals on Wheels wasn’t one of them. “Quite the opposite,” Smith says. A surge in demand for meal services presented the organisation with the challenge of meeting it with maximum efficiency.
Growing fast in a controlled way required digitising and automating financial processes. It also called for complete compliance with Work health and safety (WHS) standards which view volunteers as employees, governed by the same safety rules. This includes 75 to 90-year-old volunteers who'd never had to think about them before during their working lives. “They've always stood on a ladder on top of a table to change a light bulb, so why would they not do it now?” says Smith.
Finally, the model needed to flexibly accommodate digital and non-digital interaction. Any assumption that in time everyone will become comfortable with internet-based services doesn’t take into consideration the aging population. “Just because you are computer literate now, it doesn't mean that when you're 85 or 90 you're somehow going to be magically better. And so this market for people who are getting older, and some of their capacities have diminished, they're always going to need a meal delivered to their house,” says Smith.
Meals on Wheels SA contacted Advance Business Consulting to help them cut through these requirements to arrive at a system that would allow them to grow securely with a fraction of the effort while getting more from their technology and data.
The challenge of connecting everyone
Creating a common organisational infrastructure was a priority. But not every branch had a physical office to call their own, and a few smaller branches had been relying on their own computers to log into Meals on Wheels. Smith leaned on Advance’s consultancy services to design an infrastructure capable of accommodating what Smith refers to as the “lowest common denominator of what you need a computer to be.” In this way, it would be embraced by everyone, regardless of their circumstance.
Security was top of mind. “If you have to put a secure internet connection in a branch and a managed computer, and that computer is only going to be used for one hour, twice a week, it's quite a big investment for a very small use case. Also, you don't know who's going to be using it. It might be 20 different people in a branch,” says Smith, who looked to Advance to propose the most viable security strategy.
Opportunity to streamline payments processes
Digitising and automating payments within one simple payment system was identified as an excellent way to inject efficiency into operations. In the past, Central Office would invoice the branches for meals delivered, and reimburse costs incurred by them. If those costs had been incurred directly by Central Office and not the branch, which sometimes happened, another invoice would be issued for the money to be returned. A reconciliation was completed every three months on a simple electronic cash book, to check the accuracy and retrieve surplus funds advanced but not used. There was also an exercise of distributing funds from more profitable branches to those who needed “propping up” to ensure equity across the model. Accounting in this way took time and resources that Meals on Wheels decided it would prefer to apply to service excellence.
Solutions:
Advance standardised how branches connected to Central Office
World-class security was built in via VPN enabled teleworker devices
M-Files automated important processes like payments and reimbursements
One simple means of connecting
Advance migrated Meals on Wheels from Telstra 4g connections to a Cisco Meraki SD-WAN with Teleworker VPN, which has proven to be incredibly successful. Teleworker devices are not carrier dependent, for one thing, which supports the association’s need for flexible connectivity, as well as delivering world-class security. In this model, secure corporate LAN connectivity is extended to employees at remote sites via Meraki APs (access points), without needing them to install VPN software on their devices themselves. It can all be done centrally, keeping things simple.
Added security benefits are realised through Meals on Wheels’ ability to whitelist applications, making them unavailable to users on their devices, as well as best-in-class anti-virus software. This provides better protection from hackers. “Meals on Wheels is a very well-known name, which unfortunately makes us an obvious target for cybercrime,” says David.
A unified payment system
Improving the efficiency of the outgrown payment system began with eliminating the need for branches to pay their own invoices. “How do you get at branches to be able to effectively send invoices into Central Office if they want to send them by fax, which some still do?” says Smith. “But of course, that really just pushes the workload elsewhere.”
Advance suggested M-Files, a document management system for coordinating the right information to the right people at the right time. This immediately gave branches the ability to scan an invoice, sign to confirm goods had been received, and be paid automatically. Where branches don’t always have a reliable internet connection, M-Files helps with that too: “M-Files was great because we could actually fall back to a mobile phone to do the same thing,” says Smith. “And in a couple of cases we still do use the fax, but what it means is no longer needing branches to pay any bills”
Verifying and reimbursing drivers
Additionally, M-Files was set up to support driver reimbursement. Volunteers are paid a fee per delivery for their petrol and wear and tear. “They used to be paid in cash. The driver could take the money and if they didn't, it got flipped into a bucket and then banked as a donation,” says Smith. M-Files has automated the entire process with a workflow that lets Meals on Wheels collect a declaration from drivers with their bank account details for payment. Stored securely in M-Files, it can be centrally and accurately managed.
“We realised while we're doing this, it would be useful to check that the person we're paying a driver reimbursement to is actually a volunteer,” says Smith, explaining that people used to get roped in to be a deliverer and stay for 10 years when they're not actually on the books. If they're not registered, it means they haven't had a police check. “Right through this process, we found little added gains from simply just trying to improve a process,” Smith says.
Compliance is much easier
Driver verification is one aspect of compliance, but it’s not the only one to benefit from the new technology-enabled operational model. Meals on Wheels can now issue communications on things like Work health and safety rules to employees and volunteers with minimum effort and feel confident they have been received.
Outcomes:
Closing the branch bank accounts saves $50,000 per year
New employees can be onboarded, from anywhere, in moments
Centralised management of data drives compliance across 80 branches and 7000 volunteers
When you no longer need to pay for anything by cash or cheque, you don't need money. Meals on Wheels has been able to close all its bank accounts. This simple act is saving of $50,000 per year in bank fees and transaction costs.
Security concerns are alleviated through central controls configured by Advance that let Meals on Wheels whitelist applications and prevent people from running programs that are not supposed to.
The project, which began pre-pandemic, turned out to be well-timed since it allowed Meals on Wheels to rapidly transition to a work-from-home strategy during COVID-19 restrictions with the Meraki teleworking devices. “When our staff had to work from home, it was a trivial matter to give them a network device with a SIM card in and connect them and get them working. It was an accidental benefit that really set us in good stead.”
Since kicking off its transformation, Meals on Wheels SA has gone from strength to strength, most recently introducing a new ERP system, Pronto, for dealing with manufacturing, and other important resources, with efficiency, and creating a host of web applications using low-code development tool Intrexx, provided by Advance.
With the expansion of services no longer a heavy lift, the sky is the limit.
CONTACT US
For any further information regarding how Advance can help implement a successful digital process in your industry, get in touch with us here. We’re here to help!
KEY TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS
SA Innovators 2021 - Surviving the pandemic with the help of technology - Recap
Advance Business Consulting held its SA Innovators 2021 focusing on Innovation and Digital Transformation. This years event focussed on how three business leaders tackled the pandemic and how technology can be part of the solution in dealing with disruption.
Welcome to the recap of Innovators 2021, our second event focussing on innovation and digital transformation in South Australia.
This year was a little different! Disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years has affected every business in some way and technology has been a part of the solution in helping businesses to operate and survive.
Challenges can lead to new opportunities and we heard of some bold decisions that had a big impact on business operations.
This year we also added a live stream to the event to allow people to watch the presentations from anywhere, including guests from interstate and you can watch the recording above or by clicking here.
Our speakers included local business leaders:
Andrew Bullock - Managing Director at 1834 Hotels
David Smith - Manager Corporate Services at Meals on Wheels SA
Peter Crescitelli - Manager – Technology & Information Security at MIGA
Emcee and panel discussion led by Troy Forrest - Managing Director at Strategy Road
A few of the key takeaways:
Andrew shared how he was able to reduce the complexity of his business, improve business intelligence reporting with automation and this has enabled 1834 Hotels to separate themselves from their competitors.
David explained that implementing an Intelligent Information Management System allowed his group to digitise their financial model, saving his business $50K per year while increasing efficiency and security.
Peter detailed how he has been able to move the legal arm and Operations arm of his group to a paperless system. This has allowed his business to have a foolproof auditing system which is extremely important for anyone in a heavily regulated environment.
Here at Advance, we have been working with clients for over 20 years to help them integrate data, provide insights with leading BI tools and automate processes with content management.
if you would like to know how we can assist you, get in touch with us here or:
(08) 8238 6500
If you would like to learn more about the benefits of using an Intelligent Information Management System, you can watch a short video below about M-Files, a key technology we use internally and a foundation to managing content and digitising any business.
A little more about the speakers:
1834 Hotels
Andrew also leveraged the disruption to implement a new core business system during an interrupted period in the accommodation industry. 1834 Hotels also strengthened business intelligence to automate reporting, freeing up staff from manual spreadsheets and found new insights from daily agile reports and dashboards.
Meals on Wheels SA
David was also able to simplify and streamline financial processes to improve efficiency and compliance. Meals on Wheels automated a manual business process to enable a robust system for processing accounts payable invoices and volunteer reimbursements. This also delivered transparency and an audit trail. The new business process has reduced duplication and has made the role of Branch Treasurer much less onerous.
Medical Insurance Group Australia
Peter and the team at MIGA further digitised manual paper-based processes across their Claim Management and Accounts Payable business functions to deliver efficiency and compliance for MIGA. The operational efficiencies have delivered a great customer experience for internal & external stakeholders. MIGA’s strategy will continue to look into optimising these processes and expanding document management to other areas of the business.
Our event was held at Electra house, live-streamed using www.streamadelaide.com.au
For any further information regarding SA Innovators 2021 or how Advance can help implement a successful digital process in your industry, get in touch with us here.
Build Apps quickly to unlock efficiencies | Intrexx: A Low-code Development Environment
People often ask, what is a low-code development environment and why do we use Intrexx for our own apps at Advance as well as for our clients.
People often ask, what is a low-code development environment and why do we use Intrexx for our own apps at Advance as well as for our clients.
What is a low-code environment?
These environments are for people in need of quickly building apps and employing visual development environments and automated links to back-end systems, APIs, databases, other systems or data sources. They are designed to make it comparatively easy for people to design, build, and launch apps and solve business problems.
How to describe Intrexx
Intrexx is a complete low-code development environment which at its core contains:
A data integration platform
A process automation engine
A responsive end-user interface builder for both web and mobile applications
Intrexx allows developers to build applications faster by leveraging pre-built data and application connectors, a drag & drop process builder and UI designer.
What can you build with Intrexx?
Data integration systems. Read, transform and write data from and to multiple sources using pre-built connectors, or develop your own.
User-focused applications which integrate cross-departmental digital workflows.
Customer and supplier extranets.
Benefits of Intrexx
Reduce the number of applications and systems employees need to use. Break down silos and streamline workflows.
Accelerate entry of data and access to information. Combine information and workflows from multiple sources.
Build, innovate and change. New applications can be built and deployed in 20% of the time taken using traditional coding methods.
Zero deployment client access, users can immediately start using applications in any browser or phone without needing software to be deployed.
Platform agnostic - development environment runs on Windows, OSX or Linux reducing the cost of entry. Cloud options are also available where a local environment isn’t available.
Summary: Designed to make it relatively easy for people to design, build, and launch applications quickly, without having to worry about the nuances of underlying operating systems or scalability requirements.
Examples of projects we have built
1. Customer portals to allow users to place orders, view transaction history and communicate with suppliers. The key benefit of using Intrexx, was the speed of development, the ability to rapidly change the user interface based on customer feedback and the ability to integrate with a number of existing legacy systems.
2. Financial processing applications. Accounts Payable (AP) processing is an area which often varies between businesses. Many off-the-shelf AP automation systems are complex to configure as approval processes can be quite unique. Intrexx allowed us to integrate with multiple systems, email notifications and provide an easy interface for users to view and approve requests.
3. Data entry and integration portals. In many businesses, we find that users are using multiple systems; even so, there may be data which is missing between these systems or not consistent between them. In such cases, we have found Intrexx to be able to provide a unified view of the data and allow users to enter additional data as required.
4. Systems integration applications. Intrexx provides a structured and rapid platform to allow the integration between existing applications.
5. Internet of things – Intrexx can subscribe to IoT services that gather IoT endpoint data. We’ve used Intrexx to display real-time sensor data in production scenarios and provide process visibility to operators.
You have the data, use it. Low-code platforms and ECM solutions can help here. As mentioned above, inputs from e-forms like an expense claim or a leave request can be connected to a workflow to automate the approval for such requests. Rules can be applied and a query against a database can automatically check if an employee has the leave entitlement they are requesting. If that leave is available, the system sends an approval that can be completed by a manager from their mobile device. This saves time and provides instant approvals with self-service applications.
Want to know more? Leave your details below and an expert will get back to you.
Digital Transformation | 5 Step Practical Roadmap For Digital Transformation
Leading digital transformation and data science experts like Bill Schmarzo say that Digital Transformation should be EVERY organisations’ #1 strategic business initiative.
We have been working with client’s to digitise manual processes and automate tasks to unlock efficiencies and a to create a better customer experience. These are the early steps in starting digital transformation. Below is a practical guide on how you can implement digital transformation in your business. 5 things that will have a big impact and accelerate innovation.
Process automation and improving efficiencies are at the core of digital transformation. Organisations must be more vigilant than ever in remaining innovative and future-proofing their businesses. This is critical in remaining profitable and competitive.
On average, “digital masters” are 26% more profitable than their peers according to George Westerman, Principal Research Scientist with the MIT Sloan Initiative on the Digital Economy and author of Leading Digital: Turning Technology Into Business Transformation.
Like to speak to us about what we can do for your business? Reach us here.
Digital Transformation Defined
There are many definitions of digital transformation. Think of it as a shift in philosophy. Digital transformation will allow an organisation to quickly adapt to new changes and opportunities through making the most of technology.
It is the process of using digital technologies to create new or modify existing business processes and culture to deliver a better customer experience.
Digital transformation marks a radical rethinking of how an organization uses technology, people and processes to fundamentally change business performance. Digital masters do two things better than other companies: identifying digital ways to change their businesses, and building leadership capabilities to drive transformation, according to George Westerman.
As employees, our everyday work life is filled with digital technology and yet the reliance on manual, paper-based processes and systems is still huge. We know what we know, and sometimes miss the opportunities provided by today’s platforms to improve our business operations. Simple fixes that capture data electronically, autmoate processes and provide new insights. The real value is in acting on the data we collect.
5 Tangible Steps to Transform your Business.
Step 1. Centralised Document Management
Today I spent close to an hour looking for a document. I wanted to use a file i’d created which had a lot of historical data and a good process document for a project we completed around business intelligence. For some reason, I didn't save this document to our document repository (M-Files) and it's lost somewhere on 1 of the 6 devices I use regularly. In contrast, I was able to collaborate with our marketing manager on an event plan and save my changes to his document. All with version control and from my mobile phone because it was saved in the repository.
Centralised document management is powerful, and it can be simple and quick to deploy.
Enterprise Content Management enables:
A central place for documents
Powerful search
Collaboration on documents, sharing and co-authoring
Security - Only the right staff see particular documents and you have digital copies
Eliminate duplicates
Workflows to automate processes
Version control and easy to restore documents without needing IT
Step 2. Digitise Paper Forms
Unlock efficiencies by digitising files. Reduce errors, lower risk and open the door for process automation and new insights.
Think of the new employee onboarding process for HR as an example. There are lots of forms, social media policies, privacy policies, payroll information and so on. All of this is repeatable when a new employee joins or leaves the organisation.
Instead of paper forms, you can easily create digital versions that work with mobile devices and enable your new staff hit the ground running, instead of getting up to speed for a week or more before they can contribute to your business. Apply digital forms to repetitive processes.
Did you know that even some of the largest vendors of software products still needed their employees to send in paper receipts for expense claims? Not all vendors embrace their own technology and someone has to physically validate the receipts and there was no way to efficiently pick up on duplicates or fraud. Smarter organisations like the Australian Tax Office now use predictive analytics tools to pick up on anomalies and provide new opportunities to detect fraud.
Did you know that you can quickly digitise paper forms using affordable platforms? Low-code, drag and drop platforms like Intrexx make it easy for virtually any employee to create e-forms which work on mobile devices and they can be plugged into a workflow to automate a manual process like an expense claim or a pricing request approval.
3. Automate Processes
You have the data, use it. Low-code platforms and ECM solutions can help here. As mentioned above, inputs from e-forms like an expense claim or a leave request can be connected to a workflow to automate the approval for such requests. Rules can be applied and a query against a database can automatically check if an employee has the leave entitlement they are requesting. If that leave is available, the system sends an approval that can be completed by a manager from their mobile device. This saves time and provides instant approvals with self-service applications.
4. Connect to Business Systems
Data collected from e-forms will be more valuable if it is connected to a business system. For example, the accounts receivable process (AR) will work more efficiently if invoices are connected to an accounting or ERP system like Xero or SAP. Workflows will automate a process and make it more efficient. Invoices can be automatically scanned, routed to the next step of the approval process, fields can be prefilled and the invoice can be sent to the right person to sign-off and complete the transaction. Connecting business systems will enable a holistic view and opportunities for better reporting.
5. New Insights. Analyse and Act on New Opportunities.
Digital transformation creates new data and the value realised when you can analyse and action it.
Take advantage of opportunities created by new views and a fresh perspective.
Centralising documents increases efficiency and enables productivity. The opportunity for better collaboration and process automation through workflow is now possible.
Digital forms save time and let you capture, automate and analyse data trapped in paper documents. Risk and compliance is improved with access to digital documents and if someone leaves the organisation, you still have control over valuable intellectual property.
You can transform the way your business operates with what you have achieved through digitising your business and developing digital processes. Electronic document management platforms and electronic forms provide access to operational data you can report on.
Analyse the data and look at trends, issues or opportunities to increase revenue. The reporting functionality of platforms has come a long way and should provide with a good baseline view for analysis. You can connect the data into operation dashboards or automate reporting using any of the major business intelligence (BI) and visualisation tools which are very powerful and affordable.
Digital transformation reduces administrative tasks and that directly helps staff to focus on their core job and higher-value tasks.
Summary
Digital transformation is all about efficiencies. Capturing data in digital forms enables automated processes and workflow. This is a key output from digital transformation and will transform the way a business operates. Digital transformation will help make a business smarter through new insights, leaner with increased efficiencies and more secure through reduced risk and improved compliance.
True digital transformation is a new way of thinking and applies to the whole business. In practice, you can start small and get some wins with things like digitising paper forms or implementing a central document repository. A phased approach will help you demonstrate what is possible and show a tangible result that is truly transformative. A better way of doing things that not only improves efficiency but also improves employee's job satisfaction by reducing the low value, repetitive tasks.
Want to know more? Take a look at the videos below or speak to us about how other companies have transformed their business. One small process can make a huge impact. Reach us here. We have been working with clients to get the most out of their technology for over 20 years.
Want to know more? Leave your details below and an expert will get back to you.
Like to speak to us about what we can do for your business? Reach us here.
Digital Transformation | Innovators 2019 Kick Off Event - Recap
Advance Business Consulting held its SA Innovators 2019 Kick Off Event last Thursday evening, focusing on Innovation and Digital Transformation within various industries. Key speakers on the night included Elyse Mitani, Graham Berry (Mitani Group), Michael Auciello (Chemist King & PharmPack) & Julien Berteraut (Intrexx).
Advance Business Consulting has been helping companies build their technology advantage for over 20+ years. With the growth in data, an opportunity exists to gain new insights and leverage operational efficiencies - A better, automated way of doing things. Organisations must be more vigilant than ever in remaining innovative and future-proofing their businesses. This is critical in remaining profitable and competitive.
Last Thursday, Advance held its SA Innovators / 2019 Kick Off Event, showcasing the road to success a handful of clients have achieved through Innovation and Digital Transformation.
The forum provided an opportunity for everyone to share their challenges and journey in digitising their business and processes, where to start and some unexpected findings along the way.
Inspirational and engaging discussions with key speakers from local and global industries; including Elyse Mitani, Graham Berry (Mitani Group), Michael Auciello (Chemist King & PharmPack) & Julien Berteraut (Intrexx).
KEY FINDINGS FROM THE EVENT:
John-Paul from Advance kicked off the event with an overview on digital trends for 2019 and an introduction to some of the projects and clients that Advance has worked with in recent years.
Mitani is the name behind many of Australia’s leading food manufacturing brands and a key part of their supply chain. They started a project in 2014 in an effort to improve document sharing in their R&D Department.
Over the last 4 years Mitani have continued to expand their digital workplace footprint and now utilise a central document management system, automated workflow and timely audit and compliance system. A business system used across the entire organisation to drive continuous improvement and insights into the business. A link to Mitani’s presentation has been included below.
Michael Auciello delivered an interesting talk about the development of PharmPack Solutions, an online platform for medication ordering, prescription management and real-time communication between clients, care facilities, healthcare professionals and the pharmacist. PharmPack is another South Australian innovative business with a vision to make the medical ordering and fulfilment process as simple, easy and error-free as possible. Michael's journey provided his views and experience of where to begin when moving from a manual paper based process and some of the challenges common to all projects.
Finally Julien Berteraut from Intrexx spoke about the digital landscape we live in today, some interesting data points and examples of how clients in Europe and in Australia are using platforms like Intrexx to create web-based applications for automated workflows, electronic forms and the powerful impact of portals.
Intrexx is a cross-platform integrated development environment for the creation and operation of web-based applications, enterprise portals and intranet portals. Julien is experienced in digital transformation and has worked with many different clients based in Europe and globally. A link to the Intrexx presentation has been included below.
Over 100 new and existing faces filled the Electra House venue on the night, highlighting the popularity and appetite for digital innovative transformations. Advance would like to once again thank all the speakers and guests who made the event a huge success.
For any further information regarding the SA Innovators 2019 Kick Off Event, or how Advance can help implement a successful digital process in your industry, get in touch with us here.
Contact our sales team - Nik Villios | Account Executive
Phone: +618 8238 6521
Mobile: +61 408 800 753
Email: nvillios@advance.net.au
ECM | Is Your Document Management Process Losing You Money?
If you are like most businesses, you lose, on average, 2-4 hours a week rounding up everything you need. You don’t want to lose time searching for the documents you need, but you don’t have a choice. Your ECM software solution doesn’t match your needs.
How long does it take you to get the documents you want?
If you are like most businesses, you lose, on average, 2-4 hours a week rounding up everything you need.
You don’t want to lose time searching for the documents you need, but you don’t have a choice. Your current way of storing documents in folders, email or existing ECM software solution doesn’t match your needs.
Most ECM software manage information through a more traditional approach such as silos. At a glance this seems the right idea. It’s not, here’s why.
Why Traditional ECM Software Solutions Don’t Work
A lot of businesses buy into the sales pitch traditional ECM’s use.
And it makes sense.
You have a lot of content, so you organise it into different storage and business units (IE-Silos). Each unit holds a particular type of content, or project, or period of time’s worth of work.
When you need to recall that specific document, all you need to do to get it is go to the silo it is stored in and retrieve it.
This seems like a simple and easy to use content software solution. So why do so many companies lose money using it?
Simple.
Your company’s content isn’t static. Your company constantly has a demand for previous content. It could be for sales, research, comparison, updating systems - it doesn’t matter.
These needs won’t be met using a traditional static storage method. Eventually, you misplace or forget the silo type you stored the content in.
Or worse.
You need a document you haven’t used in a while, and you don’t remember when you first created it or what silo it’s stored in.
The Big Problem With Traditional ECM Solutions
For a business to succeed, it has to adjust and react to situations in real time.
If you are using a traditional ECM software solution, you can’t.
Using ECM solutions not catered to your needs means you are stuck manually searching each silo hoping to hit the right one the first time.
This can take hours, every one of those can lose you business. Even worse, you give up and re-do the document from scratch.
If you have a compliance requirement such as some of the Food Industry clients we work with, the consequences can be more severe.
What you need is a content software solution that can process large amounts of meta-data, combine content tagging with AI features, and offer access to the content you need both instantly in the office and the field.
The M-Files Go Anywhere Solution
There are three things about M-Files that make it attractive to growing businesses.
The first is how it uses metadata, the second is how it uses phrase/word tagging, and the third is the AI learning function built into the system. The approach is to store something based on what it is rather than where it is stored. This approach means you can retrieve the document and so can the next person, you are future proofing your business.
M-Files is a new ECM software solution designed to:
1: Meet the needs of businesses in real time - With M-Files software solution your company can access the data it needs instantly in real time, anywhere. That means no more gatekeepers and time wasted sifting through silos. Users can also roll back to older versions of files without needing to wait for IT.
2: Be accessible and easy to adopt instantly - We talked about this in the last post, but it is worth mentioning again. M-Files is easy to learn and easier to use. This is key. If your team doesn’t like the solution, they’ll resist it. With M-Files, you won’t experience resistance.
Do you want to save your company money, save time wasted searching for files, and for your team to be able to easily access the content they need from anywhere in real time?
M-Files can help.
Discover The ECM Software Solution Your Business Needs
M-Files is used by hundreds of thousands of happy M-Files users all over the world. However, you may have a specific question. We have an expert on staff to answer your questions, outline how the system could benefit your company.
Digital Transformation in a B2B Example
Click the link below to find out how this business implemented a successful Digital Transformation.
Digital Transformation in B2B Example
For more information on Digital Transformation, get in touch with one of our experienced team members today.