The Management of Printing and Business Processing that includes all hard and soft documents to raise the `bottom-line`
Part Four
`SIMPLIFIED COMMUNICATIONS`
UNIFYING DOCUMENTATION BLUEPRINT
to read part one, two and three, see:
http://graphicstart.com/i/print-management-service-programme
Computers accelerate the volume and flow of information. But some questions remain.
"Has your investment in information technology improved the way you communicate with your customers?"
"Do people understand your documents and do they get information from your documents without struggling for it?"
The answers in most cases will be no, but then most companies do not even ask the questions. For those who do and who want to improve their customer communications, the first problem is invariably " Where do we start?"
There are usually two large obstacles to overcome, namely, deciding which of the documents to look at first and who actually has responsibility for each of them? To help tackle these issues and to establish a programme of improving the quality and efficiency of your documents, I recommend a `Unifying Documentation Blueprint.
The objective is to come to grips with the diversity, complexity and cost of your communications and then to establish a comprehensive strategy for improving their effectiveness, while reducing the cost.
Document Management focuses on the documents and electronic information that customers and staff need to conduct their business. The simplified communications we develop make your business documents easier to understand and use. They also act as a catalyst for organisation and technology changes that result in significant cost efficiencies.
There are three phases to each Unifying Documentation Blueprint:
1) ANALYSIS
In the first phase we analyse the documents used in your organisation and the processes that control them.
* What documents do you have, who uses them and how?
* Which documents are the key ones?
* Who is really responsible for your documents?
* How are they produced and processed?
* What do they cost to produce and process?
* What do your customers think about them?
Phase 1 establishes which documents you REALLY need to conduct your business.
1) SIMPLIFICATION STRATEGY
In this phase we develop a strategy for rationalising some or all of your documents and demonstrate how the information could be simplified.
* Reduce the number of documents.
* Reduce the number of different paper stocks.
* Consolidate and restructure information.
* Design page layouts and templates
* Simplify the language.
* Customise the information.
* Develop a strategy for effective marketing communications.
Phase 2 indicates how we SIMPLIFY your documents and document systems.
1) BLUEPRINT RECOMMENDATIONS
In the third phase we identify which documents need to be simplified first, provide fully implemented examples of re-designed documents and set out recommendations for further work.
* Establish priority for documents to be simplified.
* Calculate anticipated cost benefits
* Compare initial costs with potential savings.
* Agree a timetable of document revisions.
* Allocate resources and confirm responsibilities on both sides.
* Provide worked examples of simplified documents.
* Implement re-designed documents.
* Recommend a programme for further simplification.
Phase 3 shows what CAN be done and recommends what YOU need to do.
SPOILT DOCUMENTS COST 15 TIMES MORE TO PROCESS THAN CLEAN DOCUMENTS…
The cost of badly designed documents.
There are several reasons why people do not fill in documents correctly. They may not understand the questions, or there may be more than one answer. The sequence may be confusing, or there may not be enough space for an adequate answer. Whatever the cause, the consequences are predictable-frustration with the exercise, antagonism towards the organisation and a significant increase in administration costs trying to resolve the errors. The extent of these additional costs can be seen in the following calculation.
`Spoilt documents cost 15 times more to process than clean documents`
The Inland Revenue says so - and they should know! They say that this ratio is at least 15 to 1, and that is the figure we have used for this cost comparison.
If a department processes 100,000 copies of a document each year, and it costs £10 to process each document, then the overall cost will be £1,000,000. However, if the error rate is say, 20%, then the additional costs are a staggering 280% of basic processing costs.
Processing costs for 100,000 documents
Every 10% reduction in the error rate saves 1.4 times the basic cost of processing.
The benefits of well-designed documents include fewer errors, more efficient administration, more satisfied customers and significant cost savings.
`Reduce the number of documents and reduce costs`
The cost of too many documents
Each year, organisations tend to increase the number of different documents they use. This means increased costs and the potential for greater confusion among their staff and customers.
Organisations rarely reduce the number of documents they produce, either because they do not recognise the problem or they are unable to find a solution to it. However, a Document Management Specialist who has considerable experience in simplifying and consolidating systems of documents can save an enormous amount of time and money. The benefits of reducing say 9 documents to 1, or 40 to 7, are significant and quantifiable.
It is recognised that the cost of processing a document is at least 20 times the cost of producing it. Processing includes administration, filing, transport, storage, inventory and obsolescence.
Assume that the general operating costs of a large organisation are £10 million a year, and 2.5% of this figure, £250,000 represents the cost of producing all of its documents.
Any significant reduction in the number of documents will result in a reduction of costs for production and processing. The extent of the savings can be seen in the table below.
PROCESSING COSTS
Annual savings are typically 10-30 times the cost of consolidating documents.
Develop quality communications through a Unifying Documentation Blueprint and save money/time/gain customer satisfaction and total control of the future.
Colin Thompson was presented by the DTI (UK Government) an award for Information and Manufacturing Technology for his contribution to innovation and new systems.
The next stage is to purchase the publication, `The Guide to a Print/Document/Forms Management Service`. This book shows you how to implement a Print Management Service Programme with full details on step by step implementation to save clerical costs which drop to the `bottom-line`. Visit http://www.cavendish-mr.org.uk for full details.
Now invest in the publication `Accelerate with Impact` - every person will benefit from reading this.
`Accelerate with Impact` - by Colin Thompson ISBN: 978-1-84549-289-2
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About the Author Colin Thompson
Colin is a former successful Managing Director of Transactional/Print Manufacturing Plants, Print Management/Workflow Solutions companies and other organisations, former Group Chairman of the Academy for Chief Executives and Non-Executive Director, helping companies raise their `bottom-line` and `increase cashflow`. Plus, helping individuals to be successful in business and life in general. Author of several publications, research reports, guides, business and educational models on CD-ROM/Software/PDF and over 400 articles published on business and educational subjects worldwide. Plus, International Speaker and Visiting University Professor.
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Sponsors Note: Books on Gutenberg and Impact of the Printing Press - some great materials for us in graphic arts to reflect on in this Internet and increasingly digital age.
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