Leading Petrochemicals Company Improves Access To Documents and Overall Operational Efficiency
Canon Delivers Faster Way to Access Client Files
A worldwide leader in the petrochemicals industry needed a faster way to access client files. Our client relies on a speedy, seamless process to manage relationships with its own clients. However, the petrochemical company used a legacy, paper-based document process that slowed down updating, revising, and completing oil contracts—and the process was putting client relationships at risk. Canon Business Process Services improved its document workflows, creating instant, electronic access to 1.6 million files while reducing costs across the business.
Each time a contract was needed, an employee needed to physically locate it, make copies, and deliver the files. In the fast-paced oil industry, leaving clients waiting for contracts can quickly impact business relationships. “The disruption to our existing contract process was putting client relationships at risk,” one of the company’s operations directors pointed out. “This was unacceptable. We needed to reduce the time it took to complete a case by making it easier for our employees to find and access documents when they were actually needed.”
The company wanted a faster, proven process that achieves three things:
- Updates both the existing paper files and an electronic management system
- Reduces the cost of document processing, including paper, print, copy, fax, mail, distribution, and storage
- Controls costs for managing records, including those stored off-site
Confident in our ability to get these results while laying the groundwork for future successes, the company brought us on board to improve its document processes.
Putting a Plan Into Action
First we worked with the company’s IT department to redesign document workflows for maximum speed and efficiency. We consolidated document intake, retrieval, and updates into one fluid, user-friendly process that leverages imaging technology and a web-based user interface. No longer does an employee need to retrieve contracts from a filing cabinet.
Next we put the designs into action. Now, when the company receives a document—such as an oil contract—an employee uses a barcode scanner to create an electronic version of the document in the web-based client interface. The scanners have built-in optical character recognition (OCR) software to fully image the document’s text, which is then completely searchable in the interface. Searching for and finding a document, or even an excerpt, takes very little time. We also standardized how records are stored—by policy, not departmental or employee convenience—making their ongoing maintenance sustainable for the long-term.
Canon Produces Results
Best of all, the web-based system is accessible to everyone involved in the client relationship—engineers, lawyers, customer service, marketing, and accounting, as well as the clients themselves—so anyone with permission can access documents without needing to wait for file room clerks to find and deliver paper files. The petrochemical company’s existing files, too, were imaged and indexed—all 1.6 million of them. The original paper files live in new filing systems that require far less storage space; additionally, we renegotiated with off-site storage vendors to reduce storage and transportation costs.
The system has saved money in a number of other ways—document processing, fax volumes, couriers, and off-site records retrieval have all experienced reduced costs. “The new system is fantastic,” said an accountant at the petrochemicals company. “It’s easy to use, and it’s freed up time and resources for my department and several other teams.” Speed is essential in the petrochemicals industry. With Canon responsible for document scanning and maintaining its files, our client can now focus on driving business forward at a rapid pace.