Consider the paperless alternative. Your customer calls you asking for an invoice. You search for the customer’s record in your ERP system, press a function key (or click a button), and e-mail the invoice to her. Within seconds, a receipt comes back to your email inbox confirming she received it. You do less, yet get more done. If there ever were a case for a paperless solution, this would be it.

Quadrant Software released its groundbreaking Paperless Process Management (PPM) solution, IntelliChief, in the fall of 2005 and has gained notoriety by signing up companies of all sizes in a wide variety of industries. These have included notables such as Smith & Wesson, Wheelabrator, Bacou-Dalloz, and Shemin Nurseries, among others. The software company, already recognized for its electronic forms and fax solutions, continues its drive to create a completely paperless workplace using IntelliChief.

IntelliChief is Intelligent Document Management

Paperless Process Management (PPM) means utilizing technology to support and enhance a company’s business processes. With IntelliChief, you can create, deliver, process, retrieve, and archive mission-critical documents without using a single sheet of paper. And best of all, by integrating into your existing iSeries business application, your users can continue operating as they have always done, but more effectively.

To better understand how IntelliChief makes your life easier, consider the following scenarios:

The Purchasing Process

Imagine the typical purchasing process for non-inventory items. The sequence is you create a requisition, get approval, create a purchase order (PO), send the PO to the vendor. Simple and straightforward, right? Not really. The process in your company probably takes longer and involves more steps. What if someone is out on vacation and the requisition is sitting in her inbox unopened? How many copies of an approved requisition are floating around? Does the accounting department always create the PO you requested right away or do you have to call them from time to time with a gentle reminder? And those walks to the fax machine to fax the PO to the vendor probably are more frequent than most people realize. You may count up to 10 extra steps required to get a simple PO out the door.

This is a lot of work for what should be a simple process. IntelliChief’s version of the story goes like thi: The requisition form is completed online and electronically routed to the correct person for approval. If that person is not in the office, it’s not a problem. The system will route the request to the “proxy” – the next authorized person -- capture the approval and notify the requestor while the requisition goes to accounting’s electronic inbox. If it’s a time-sensitive document, an alert will tell the accounting clerk that something needs his or her attention. As the PO is created in the ERP system, a copy is faxed or emailed to the vendor with just the click of a button.

IntelliChief works with your ERP system to create the indexes for the PO (or any other document) eliminating having to do it manually. When you bring up the customer or vendor record, you can see all related documents on the screen with information about the last time you faxed, printed, or emailed something to the customer. Companies operating under HIPAA and SOX love the ability to track each moment something happens to a document.

The Receiving Process

Tracking the receipt of goods you requested could be an even more cumbersome process. It involves receiving documents, matching them against a PO, getting signatures, making copies of bills of lading, making calls to different departments to resolve differences, etc. With IntelliChief you can make this whole process easier by scanning the receiving documents, bringing up on the screen any related documents to the vendor (i.e. the PO) and filing everything electronically so that accounts payable will be able to process a payment.

Coffee stains, wrinkled paper, and pen highlights on the receiving documents are impossible to avoid, but with advanced scanning software like Kofax’s VRS, IntelliChief creates an image that’s clearer than the original. Any discrepancies in the receiving process are electronically annotated on the document (think of it as electronic post-it notes). The document is then routed to the appropriate person or department.

The Accounts Payable Process

Finally, the accounts payable process is probably the area that receives the most help from a PPM solution. The time it takes to get invoices approved and paid can hinder the company’s ability to take advantage of vendor discounts or, even worse, may end up costing the company late fees.

If the invoice is received by fax or email, it is captured by IntelliChief and then routed to the appropriate person. If the invoice is received in the mail, it is scanned and transformed into an electronic image and routed for appropriate approvals. Annotations are made in the electronic image, alerts are setup, and the payment process goes much smoother.

Not sure if the invoice you received is correct? No problem. Bring up the vendor’s record in your financial system and IntelliChief can bring up all documents associated with that vendor or that invoice. Matching the PO, receiving documents, and the invoice is a easy.

With IntelliChief, accounting can complete its check run with no fear of missing a check. The application allows for all the data (and even the signatures) to be printed on the checks, as well as keeps track of what was printed. Security features like positive pay, signature cards, and secure check stock remove the fear of having checks altered or reprinted without permission.

The Focus is on the Process

A key element in IntelliChief’s architecture is its focus on the process and not on the documents. In a typical paper office, people almost become slaves to the document performing tasks such as photocopying, faxing, searching, and filing. IntelliChief allows people to focus on the more important aspects of daily processes such as getting approvals, making orders, and printing out checks.

IntelliChief is an end-to-end solution, running the full spectrum of a document’s life from creation to routing and archiving, all the way to destruction. IntelliChief is there from beginning to end.

The next time you stand by the fax machine waiting for your fax to get sent, worrying about the mounting work and the lack of time, stop and do this: Think about the paperless alternative. Think about the hassles you could avoid. Think about how IntelliChief could streamline your productivity.

About Quadrant Software

Quadrant Software has nearly two decades of experience providing Paperless Process Management (PPM) solutions. A pioneer in fax server technology, Quadrant Software provides PPM solutions to Global 2000 companies in a variety of industries. Quadrant Software empowers companies to electronically create, capture, process, distribute, retrieve, and archive mission critical documents such as invoices, statements, and purchase orders.

Kurt Wachtendorf is Director of Solution Sales at Quadrant Software and a Certified Document Imaging Architect (CDIA+) with more than 15 years experience in Paperless Process Management (PPM). Kurt has been personally involved in the sales, design, and implementation of turnkey solutions for customers in virtually every industry. Kurt is a frequent speaker on the topic of document management, imaging, and related subjects.

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