Spring 2016 | P2P Magazine |
25
DIGITISATION
Paper use declining in more
than half of businesses
Released in the run-up toWorld Paper
Free Day (WPFD) on November 4,
AIIM’s latest annual survey of paper
use in the workplace
Paper-Free in
2016, Are we there yet?
highlights
the progress businesses are making
towards eliminating paper.
Two thirds of respondents say that
demand for paperless processes is
growing, with 25% claiming to run a
clear/paper-free environment, up from
18% in last year’s report. The main
benefits of going paper-free are faster
customer response times (50%) and
higher productivity (42%).
The business functions that have
shown the greatest fall in paper use are
Human Resources (HR), particularly in the
areas of recruitment (49%) and employee
lifecycle (48%); Accounts Payable (41%);
and Accounts Receivable (39%).
Almost half (45%) of businesses
achieve payback on their paper-free
investment within six months; one in 10
(9%) does so within just three months.
Despite this progress, it is unlikely
that all business processes and
transaction will go paper-free any time
soon. Reasons given for sticking with
paper include the human factor when
In a separate survey by Xerox, more than
80% of small and medium-sized businesses
in the UK, US, France and Germany said
that within the next 12 months they
wanted to eliminate paper from time-
consuming processes, including invoicing,
HR and financial reporting.
Currently, only 28% say that they are well
advanced in the implementation of their plans
to digitise paper processes. One in ten SMBs is
one to three years away from implementation.
The main reasons to go paper-free are to
increase productivity, grow the business and
reduce print costs. Almost half (43%) of UK
SMBs say they waste a significant amount of
time on paper-intensive processes and 60% say
this has a major impact on their bottom line.
Other ways in which businesses aim to
reduce paper use include introducing Managed
Print Services (MPS) – 42% already have an
MPS contract and 40% plan to put one in
place in 2017 – and integrating mobile devices
with workflow processes to increase the
productivity of mobile workers, meet customer
demand for remote information and improve
customer service.
Like AIIM’s report, the
2017 Office
Productivity Trends to Improve the Bottom
Line
survey highlights a lack of awareness
amongst businesses about their options. Only
20% of SMBs are aware of existing paper-free
solutions in the market.
When it comes to seeking advice, 50%
of SMBs turn to an office equipment dealer,
one in four looks to their IT reseller and 37%
approach a product manufacturer.
Scanning in the UK
UK SMEs regard network connectivity
as the most important scanner feature,
followed by the ability to integrate
with document management systems
and having a simple user interface,
according to research by Brother UK.
Nick Gosden, Head of Scanner
Category at Brother UK, attributes the
popularity of these features to growth
of collaborative working, an increasingly
mobile workforce and the need for more
efficient document capture and workflow.
He said: “These findings confirm
the trajectory of the scan market, with
businesses seeking integrated solutions
rather than products that stand in
isolation.With scanner use most common
among business functions like customer
communications and accounts payable,
scanners have to have a role within
workflow strategies and need to include
features like cloud connectivity and
integration with internal systems to
derive efficiency.”
Just under half (45%) of the 400
decision-makers and IT purchasers
surveyed by Brother use a dedicated
scanning device rather than an MFP.
Forty-four per cent scan directly to a
network server, 27% to the cloud and
19% to a document management system.
Over a third (39%) of documents are
scanned to meet confidential, legal or
regulatory standards.
handling, reading and note taking
(47%); a lack of management
initiatives to move away from
paper (47%); and a lack of
understanding and awareness
when it comes to paper-free
options (39%). Two thirds
(65%) of business executives
still use handwritten signatures
on paper.
AIIM chief analyst Bob
Larrivee remains optimistic
nonetheless. He said: “People
instinctively like paper, and
for many it still feels natural to print out
a document to read, sign, edit or share.
But things are gradually changing as
people become more comfortable using
technology for such tasks and realise
that e-signatures are just as valid as
physical ones. Enterprises are also seeing
the benefit of digitising content, in
terms of customer service, collaboration
and overall productivity, which will only
help the move to paper-free.”
To download a copy of
Paper-Free
in 2016, Are we there yet?
or to find
out more about World Paper Free Day
(WPFD) 2016, please visit
Digitalisation is more than just the buzz-word du jour. As new research
fromAIIM shows, the transition from paper-based to electronic processes
is having a significant effect on how information is distributed, with half of
business executives reporting a decrease in the amount of paper received
by their organisation – 9% of respondents describe this fall as rapid.
People
instinctively
like paper, and
for many it still
feels natural
to print out a
document
Industry
SMEs call time on slow paper-based processes
