For a while there, “going paperless” was the ultimate goal of not only eco-conscious organizations, but efficiency-conscious ones also. The dream is that you can operate an office completely digitally, without a shred of hard copy in sight.
Now that a few years have passed since this concept started making waves, how are things looking in reality?
Pretty good, actually—digitization has become easier than ever, especially thanks to many of the innovative technologies available to Xerox multifunction printer owners. In the past 25 years or so, paper consumption in the United States has declined by about 38%.
That being said, even the most gung-ho paperless offices are still almost certain to be working with hard copy at least some of the time. Even if you’re not “all in” on going paperless, you might agree that spending less on physical print resources and improving overall efficiency with digital tools is desirable (to say the least). That’s where Xerox comes in.
Reducing Paper Use Is a Whole Lot Easier With the Right Xerox Tools
You may not be able to eliminate paper from your workplace entirely, but you can certainly reduce the amount of time it hangs around the office. For example, how does your organization handle data entry? If you’re still working with manual data entry processes, you likely have a lot of room to improve.
A perfect example of a Xerox tool suited to massively reducing (or outright eliminating) any kind of manual data entry is Xerox’s Capture and Content service, which uses intelligent data capture to extract and process information from scanned documents, or even already-digitized content.
The technologies that make intelligent data capture work aren’t just artificial intelligence, but also optical character recognition and machine learning. For example, the system is capable of extract data from, say, an order form or invoice, and then processing that data and adding it to a different database of your choosing—which can then be further manipulated to create new documents. A process like this can cut back on paper use substantially.
Additional Xerox Tools and Methods for Reducing Paper Use
What if something like intelligent data processing seems like “overkill” for your small business office? A lot of small and midsize businesses are confronted with this kind of problem—sure, document workflows could be optimized, but decision makers are wary to over complicate things, especially in workflows where the tasks don’t require complex data to be interpreted in the ways that intelligent data processing is capable of.
So, what about those workflows that are repetitive, but relatively simple? A Xerox technology like robotic process automation might be the solution in a case like that, both reducing the likelihood of human error and cutting back on print resource expenditures. Robotic process automation doesn’t involve actual robots, but instead, “bots” (software programs) that are capable of performing repetitive, rule-based tasks—the kinds of things that humans tend to find boring (and error-prone).
Interested in Reducing the Amount of Paper in Your Office? Our Team Can Guide You to Getting As Close to “Paperless” As Possible
As you can see, Xerox offers many options for anyone interested in more efficient document handling, not just for those trying to reach the fabled “paperless” state. But if you do fall into the latter category, Xerox will help you narrow the gap to paperless, as much as that’s possible to do. If you’d like to learn more, please feel free to contact us or request a free online quote.
