TATA Case Study

The Challenge

As part of their intensive review, ITDS identified that an extra 500 hours of staff time per month is spent using a paper-based order process and filing system. Like many existing clients, To improve Tata Ltd.'s process efficiently as well as t deliver improved service levels to increase the number of orders processed cutting out the usual increase in staff costs.

An electronic document management and workflow automation solution would enable Tata Ltd to improve its process efficiency and deliver improved service levels to existing customers and increase the number of orders processed without the usually correlated increase in staff costs.

The project was split into a staged approach with the process managed by one of their senior project managers using Prince2 best practice project management principles that would lead to significant productivity gains almost immediately. The gains would then continue to increase over time as the system provides the platform for workflow automation across procurement and to other areas of the business.

Also due to the nature of the desktop printing devices within the business, Tata Ltd were running low cost to purchase, but high cost to run printers with limited functionality. Maintaining the reliability of the printers was cumbersome and ad-hoc. The office and facilities team members often found themselves wasting time and effort patching up an ageing solution. These ongoing issues led to the search for a new supplier who could understand the immediate business requirement, and make the right recommendation for a new hardware and software solution t improve the way the job was done.

The Solution

As part of the process, ITDS conducted a thorough audit of the site to gain a full understanding of the business requirements and how staff interfaces with documents daily.

On the back of their recommendations and projections, IT Document Solutions won the contract and implementation began almost immediately.

One of the senior consultants at IT Document Solutions, commented:

‍"Tata Ltd were a pleasure to work with and immediately understood that improvements could be achieved. As a result, we immediately focused on the business recruitment and created an investment proposal delivering the solution and savings they required."

Having assessed the organisation's requirements, ITDS recommended the implementation of a PRISM DocRecord electronic document management system (EDMS) along with Xerox MFDs alongside Lexmark single-function printers, supported by ITDS remote diagnostics software, providing a more production digital business solution.

ITDS foundation partner AltmanIM worked in collaboration in order to provide advanced EDMS and scanning solution from PRISM Software.

PRISM DocRecord is the software at the heart of the EDMS solution and is responsible for storing all the documents. DocRecord modules together with professional services provide the advanced capabilities to automate document processes and workflow.

The advanced EDMS ensures that important metadata is captured using powerful and accurate optical character recognition (OCR) technology, resulting in a reduced level of manual intervention. Document handling time within the process where email documents are received and stored within the electronic filing system has been a major benefit and document handling is no longer a concern or financial burden for the business. Documents have been easily linked to the purchase order system GreenTree, which is the ERP system that Tata Ltd use, improving how documents are indexed, search and retrieved for procurement, accounts, auditing and compliance purposes.

The Benefits

The transition to the new EDMS solution was managed in a controlled and seamless way. ITDS conducted key user training to ensure that EDMS champions within the procurement team as Tata Ltd could take full advantage of the new software alongside their current paper-based process to gain total confidence in the new system before the traditional paper-based process is turned off.

EDMS benefits being realised:

• Elimination of roller storage systems and reclamation of valuable storage space for re-use as desk space.
• Centralised electronic storage and access for all types of documents.
• Accurate, consistent capture, naming and storage for all documents.
• Automatic recognition and filing of electronic documents.
• Fast, convenient search and retrieval for users from any PC, tablet or mobile device.
• Elimination of duplicates through version control.
• Improved staff productivity.

The implementation of the new printing solution was also seamless. ITDS conducted key user training to ensure all staff at Tata Ltd could take full advantage of the new devices immediately. With the introduction of shared multi-function devices on all floors and with some devices just being "mono only" Tata Ltd have saved crucial time and money. More importantly, the remote diagnostic software means Tata Ltd no longer need to order expensive consumables, place service calls, or take meter readings. This proactive service and support have lifted a massive burden off the shoulders of the extremely busy office and facilities team members.

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