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By the time you’ve gotten to the point of actually deploying a document management system, you’ve already put more than a little time and effort into the overall initiative. 

You’ve gotten internal buy-in for “going paperless.” You’ve done your research. You’ve narrowed down your options. The ball is on the 20; it’s time to finalize things and get it into the end zone.

Fortunately, there are ways to make sure your document management system deployment goes smoothly. Follow these three tips, and you’ll maximize your chances of getting it right – and realizing the efficiency and ROI that comes along with a great paperless office solution.

1. Designate an “internal champion”
2. Start with a plan
3. Pick the right partner (and product)

1. Designate an Internal Champion

The internal champion is a person (or a committee) responsible for making sure that the paperless transition runs as smoothly as possible. They manage project goals and ensure their completion in a timely and proficient manner. The internal champion is the team member who leads the charge, and can make or break any document management initiative.

While anyone can be assigned as the internal champion for your document management system deployment, it is wise to give the job to a skilled worker with a good sense of how your business works. The internal champion will be working with various groups within the company to define the problem areas of document management and translate those findings into a well-developed plan.

2. Developing a Plan

A document management system deployment, like any other business venture, begins with a well thought out, realistic and sustainable plan. Developing the plan contains numerous steps and starts with defining the company’s problems.

What is the problem that you need electronic document management to solve? For example, maybe you need to streamline invoice approval. Or your main problem may be the consistent misplacement of documents. Defining these areas of concern from the onset will allow the entire project to come together effectively. Meeting with stakeholders to discuss problem areas is a great way to gauge all facets of the company and better define what actions need to be taken.

After the problems have been defined, the next step in developing the plan is to create a project timeline. The best timeline approach is to pick a future date where you would like to be paperless and running on the new document management system. From there, move backward, allowing time for employee training, system configuration and installation. The timeline should be realistic and manageable, allowing room for change, if necessary.

The last step in the developing the project plan is your company’s specific requirements. Some key points to consider for this:

• What are the types and volumes of documents existing today – and which of these do you need to migrate to the document management system?
• What are the compliance requirements?
• How will users need to search for documents?
• Do you want to use distributed or centralized scanning? Both?
• Do you have document retention policies?
• What are the key document workflow processes?
• Do you want a premise-based or cloud-based system?
• Do you need to securely share documents with external stakeholders?
• Do users need mobile access to documents? Which devices?
• Do you need to provide secure access to the document management system for your customers or partners?
• Do you need the system to integrate with other software you use?

3. Selecting a Product and Partner

Truth is, there is no perfect document management system that completely satisfies every business’ specific requirements. With so many options on the market, it may be hard to choose the right vendor and product for your company. But it’s not impossible.

The best method is to define your specific needs, and then narrow down the potential vendors that best satisfy them. Call their sales departments to further discuss what benefits and solutions they can provide. Also, each of these companies should provide a demonstration of their software. Use this demo process to learn about capabilities you may not have thought of in your planning phase.

It doesn’t hurt to give your requirements list directly to the vendors; they will be better able to make sense of how their product can benefit you. After all, the document management people should be the experts, so take advantage of their knowledge and experience.

Deploying a document management system requires an investment – of both time and money. The transition to “paperless” business processes takes time, and purchasing the software and hardware may cost a lot of money. Different vendors will offer different prices so it’s important to remember two things; the lowest priced solution may not ensure the lowest total cost after installation, and the highest priced solution may not necessarily be the best fit for your needs.

After deploying a document management system, ROI can be realized in a number of ways. You may benefit from improved customer service, reclaimed office space, reduced audit times, better cost control or any number of specific areas. As you put together your budget and plan, be sure to keep the spotlight on improved efficiency. Pick a partner who understands your vision and is committed to working with you to see it though. Once that deployment’s done, all that effort will be worth it.

To learn more on best practices for going paperless, download our eBook today!