Workflow in a company – why is it worth doing electronically?

Workflow management in a company is quite a challenge.Both, large global corporations and smaller enterprises operating locally everyday generate, accept and process more and more documents, which have to be properly stored and processed. However, a helpful hand in this scope is offered by modern IT technologies for business, implementation of which guarantees better exchange of information and documents among departments in the company, more convenient and safer access thereto and general improvement of functioning of the whole organisation.

Why is it worth managing the workflow electronically?

Even several years ago the Document Management Workflow was very similar in each company. All documents were available in paper form and systematically collected in physical archives. In order to view necessary documents, an employee had to face the necessity of searching the whole archive. It required a lot of time, energy and patience and significantly prolonged performance of basic business tasks.Furthermore, the traditional workflow posed a very high risk of losing, damaging and omitting letters, not mentioning the risk of accessing sensitive or confidential company data by unauthorised persons, which affected the functioning of the whole enterprise.

Currently, the situation is completely different, since contemporary companies are no longer forced to use the traditional model of document management. They can, in fact, successfully replace it with electronic workflow which significantly simplifies, improves and facilitates managing theworkflow. The electronic workflow allows eliminating the majority of significant problems related to managing company documentation and improving the general quality of the enterprise’s functioning by directing it to what is the most important – effective and efficient achievement of business objectives and systematic strengthening of competitive advantage.

Electronic Document Management Workflow – how is it executed?

The electronic workflow is executed in practice via specialist software for companies. The objective of such software and IT solutions is to provide support for companies using functionalities thereof in efficient management of its whole documentation. The Document Management System, in short DMS, allows collecting in one place, which is easily accessible for persons with relevant authorisations, all digitalised resources of the company documentation and safe and convenient storage thereof in a digital form. Such a solution is related to numerous benefits, due to which more and more enterprises decide on implementation thereof.

Document Management Workflow executed in an electronic form allows getting rid of unnecessary paper and piles of documents, as well as enforcing the paperless office conception. It shortens the time needed for viewing documentation to a necessary minimum. In fact, only a moment is needed to find the document which is necessary at a given moment among hundreds or even thousands of documents. Moreover, the Document Management System significantly improves everyday implementation and adherence to workflow procedures binding at a given organisation, providing the enterprise with significantly better control over all processes related to its document management. Financial benefits are also important; the electronic Document Management Workflow allows significantly decreasing costs related to, among others, maintenance of physical archives, purchasing paper materials and infrastructure for printing, as well as maintaining jobs for persons responsible for document management in a traditional, physical form.

Modern Document Management System and functionality thereof

In order to fully use the opportunities offered to contemporary enterprises by the electronic workflow, it is necessary to select a proper system for handling the workflow. The quality and functionality thereof will be, in fact, of decisive significance for the effectiveness of company document management.Modern DMSs are in majority of cases developed, advanced and highly functional platform solutions that allow swift and easy performance of all, even the most demanding, tasks related to company document management in a digital form.They allow registering, processing and archiving company documentation in a digital form, efficient transfer of files among particular entities participating in processing thereof and giving access to documents to strictly specified users, which also has a positive impact on company safety, which is so important, allowing the company to better protect itself against leaking sensitive and confidential data.

While deciding on the implementation of the electronic workflow at the company and searching for a proper system, it is worth paying particular attention to the high class low-code platforms, which have been attracting more and more interest in the business and IT environment. Their growing popularity results directly from the high quality and innovativeness of used technologies and mechanisms based on, among others, workflow, no-to-low-code application development, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, OCR, Robotic Process Automation or other author’s solutions (e.g. allowing not only swift supply of applications, but also changing and adjusting them with an immediate result).Developed functionalities thereof are able to meet expectations and requirements of contemporary companies by responding to needs which are dynamically changing along with the business.

Low-code platforms are modern and promising IT solutions, which have been developed in order to support companies in achieving and maintaining high competitiveness in the era of digital transformation, digitalisation and remote working which is being introduced to an increasing extent. Solutions of this type allow developing highly functional, tailored business applications without coding while leaving the possibility to use elements of a code where economically or technically justified (e.g. in the case of more advanced integrations with other systems or exceptionally complicated business scenarios), which is especially appreciated by large companies and corporations.

Furthermore, high class low-code platforms address more technological needs of contemporary business than document management; they allow advanced automation and managing processes, as well as providing dedicated business applications handling as many as 90% of all business scenarios.