Every process in a company is directly connected and then completed with a workflow. If workflows are based on manual tasks such as data entry and processing, it’s a bit like walking with your shoelaces untied: You have the risk of falling on your nose and certainly your jogging performance is limited. The same is true in business terms: although the process is completed even with manual data capture and the like, chances are that this will make the workflow not only error-prone, but also slow and expensive. Fortunately, today there are ways to avoid such workflow problems, namely by automating them on a large scale, by making interfaces seamless and by parallelizing sub-processes whenever possible. Top priority for your company should therefore be the automation of data entry and processing work, which makes any other downstream automation more comprehensively possible. In this article you will learn about the various benefits and how workflow problems can be addressed.
Today, automated data capture is done using AI-based Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technologies. The OCR software automatically recognizes and extracts all relevant data, which consequently results in some immense advantages for the workflow of your employees and thus of course also for your company in general:
Less paper
In 2020, it should actually be superfluous to have to talk about the paper topic. And not only from an ecological point of view, but also from a workflow perspective. The vast quantities of paper documents that move back and forth between employees in a company are unlikely to contribute much to an undisturbed, efficient workflow. Added to this is the storage of documents and their subsequent destruction. In short: workflows suffer massively from paper.
Automated data capture using OCR software, ideally as early as possible in the process, creates a much friendlier picture here. Not only does it physically put an end to the mountain of paper on the desk, but the digital documents can also be delivered automatically to the relevant employees. And all of this very quickly after receiving them, 24/7.
Elimination of manual input
One of the biggest workflow problems in companies is manual work, which is very time-consuming and error-prone, offers little immediate added value, and at the same time is necessary, whether it is manually checking and entering data from invoices and contracts or manually searching for documents and individual files. With automated data capture, all these elements are greatly reduced or even completely eliminated, the susceptibility to errors is greatly reduced and entire processes are significantly accelerated. This already benefits SMEs and even more so large companies, because the automation of data capture can be easily scaled.
Fast capture of electronic documents
The extraction software automatically captures and extracts all relevant data from all conceivable documents and formats, brings them to a structured level and makes old workflow problems, such as manually moving documents around, for example via email, look old.
Accuracy, speed and application areas
With less paper, or hopefully soon none at all, without manual input and with automated data capture, a good basis has been created for more accuracy and speed in workflows at the operational level. The susceptibility to errors decreases, accuracy increases. It is as simple as it reads. Through automation, errors are detected directly at the point of capture and can be corrected as needed so as not to hinder downstream processes.
With faster and more continuous workflows, companies can meet increasing demands. This is particularly useful in the processing of incoming invoices, for example, where faster processing can save high costs. A satisfactory ROI is achieved in no time. Other cross-industry examples of application areas that benefit from automated data capture via AI-based OCR and thus from advantageous workflows are
- Insurance industry: for claims settlements/insurance claims
- Finance: for customer onboarding and loan and credit processes
- HR management: for payroll accounting and contract changes
- State: for tax refunds
Deeper insights thanks to more data
At the same time, thanks to the data gained through automated capture, those responsible in your company gain deep real-time insight into the complex processes of your company, tapping into previously looked or hidden business value. As a result, your team can gradually implement further measures to improve processes.
The flexibility and scalability of automated data capture via modern OCR software are extremely high. By integrating it into an existing ERP, DMS, ECM system or any other business software, costs can be kept comparatively low and implementations can be realized quickly. Thus, the chances are optimal that also in your company the workflow problems can be tackled and successively solved.
