5 Tips to Successfully Implement an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) Solution
15 min read
60-Second Summary
Implementing an Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solution helps manage digital files, archives, records, and other vital business information. ECM combines various methods, software, and equipment to streamline document handling and content management.
Here are some tips to implement an effective digital transformation and ECM solution: analyze current workflows, build a comprehensive ECM plan, select a versatile document capture solution, choose flexible ECM software, and gather employee feedback.
Introduction
A strong digital transformation strategy is key to keeping up with today’s ever-evolving world. With the rapid growth of AI and hybrid work schedules, making sure your files are easily accessible, secure, and up to date will help your business stay ahead with higher productivity and improved collaboration.
Implementing an enterprise content management (ECM) solution allows organizations to effectively manage content, such as digital files, archives, records, and other vital business information. ECM is not a single solution; it combines different methods, software, and equipment to streamline document handling and content management.
We’ve put together these tips to help you successfully implement an effective digital transformation and ECM solution.
1. Analyze Your Current Workflows
A strong digital transformation strategy is key to keeping up with today’s ever-evolving world. With the rapid growth of AI and hybrid work schedules, making sure your files are easily accessible, secure, and up to date will help your business stay ahead with higher productivity and improved collaboration.
Implementing an enterprise content management (ECM) solution allows organizations to effectively manage content, such as digital files, archives, records, and other vital business information. ECM is not a single solution; it combines different methods, software, and equipment to streamline document handling and content management.
We’ve put together these tips to help you successfully implement an effective digital transformation and ECM solution.
Take a look at your current workflows – what drives you to implement a digital transformation in the first place? Evaluate your goals and analyze what you are missing in your current workflow.
Consider the software and equipment you already use. Are there any methods, software, or equipment restricting operations that make day-to-day work confusing or frustrating? Examining your current workflow will help you identify workflow inefficiencies and the gaps you’ll need to fill with your new document management system.
Once you have a clear vision of how documents flow through your operations and where holdups occur, you can move on to building your action plan.
2. Build a Comprehensive ECM Plan
Before implementing an ECM solution, develop a comprehensive plan involving key stakeholders and department members. This plan should outline the objectives and goals of your ECM solution.
Common goals of an ECM solution are to:
Better manage content
Streamline workflows
Improve efficiency
Reduce overhead costs
Accommodate remote employees
Decrease processing times
Consider the scale at which your solution will be implemented—is it within one department or company-wide? What departments will your solution affect?
To help choose your equipment and software, list all the features you need or wish you had and choose the top ten that are most important.
3. Select a Versatile Document Capture Solution
One of the core components of any total ECM solution is how you digitize your unstructured data. How can you better manage and digitize incoming documents, claims, invoices, checks, or other vital paper documents?
Examine your current document capture workflows:
- Does scanning require heavy document prep – are there multiple people at workstations prepping documents, photocopying, taping, removing staples, etc?
- Are documents constantly being rescanned or edited manually to correct quality?
- Is your processing or turnaround time high?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you need a scanning platform that handles both messy and clean work to minimize prep and reduce reliance on manual labor. This approach will help increase your profitability and reduce processing times.
Your scanning solution shouldn’t be a temporary fix. It needs to grow with your business and handle changes in document volumes and types, saving time and reducing frustration.
4. Choose an ECM Software That’s Flexible
The ECM software you choose needs to manage all the types of content you want to digitize and organize. Consider if the software can:
- Allow editing for digital files and scanned images
- Covert scanned files into PDFs, TIFFs, and other formats
- Capture or attach metadata to files
Your ECM software needs to integrate and be compatible with other software and capture equipment you use. This software should also be user-friendly, provide easy access to key features, and enable employee collaboration.
5. Gather Employee Feedback
Asking your employees directly and gathering feedback is one of the best ways to determine if you’re looking at the right document management solution.
Consider these questions:
- What do employees need to improve output and improve quality?
- Will the new methods be easy for staff to use?
- Can new employees get up and running quickly?
- Will the new solutions reduce fatigue and frustration?
Inform your employees about any upcoming changes to their workflow and clearly explain how this will affect projects and work assignments. Implementing an ECM solution should make day-to-day operations easier.
Looking Ahead
No matter the equipment, software, and methods you choose for your ECM solution, it’s important that the solution powers your business now and in the future, adapting to different needs and demands as they come up. Some ECM solutions require a significant investment upfront, but choosing the right solution can provide a significant ROI and valuable long-term benefits.
Here are some key considerations for the future:
- Are employees working entirely in-office or a hybrid schedule?
- Will you be implementing a return-to-office strategy?
- Will your solution help adapt to changes in budgeting or project reallocation?
- Does your solution scale to accommodate the changes in document volume?
Other Resources You Might Find Helpful
Georgia Department of Revenue Accelerates Processing Times By Automating The Open, Prep, And Scan Process
Modernizing ECM/RIM Workflows: The Hidden Costs of Inefficiencies
Timaru District Council (TDC) Launches into a Digital World
OPEX® Falcon+® RED One-touch Scanning
Gemini™ Right-Speed Scanner
Claims Processing System No Longer Feels Like a Painful Root Canal
The Benefits of Milling Cutting Technology
Accelerating the Data Entry Process for Returned Mail with a Solution from OPEX® and CPT
Taking the Right Steps to Digital Mailroom Success
SPS and OPEX® Falcon+® RED® Document Scanners Provide Digitization at Sanitas
NEXT LEVEL AUTOMATION
Unlock Operational Efficiency with OPEX
OPEX is powering the future of automation. Contact us to learn more about how our vertically integrated automated solutions can help take your business to new heights.