The modern office is looking for every advantage in the competitive marketplace. This requires working efficiently, adding value for customers, and increasing employee productivity. With the right tools and processes in place, companies are better positioned to compete and win business.
Companies are turning to optical scanners to digitize office records and eliminate error-prone and problematic paper documents. The optical scanner one of the most important types of office equipment for companies looking to increase the productivity of employees. In the following guide, we’ll take a look at how your investment in an optical scanner can quickly bring a return through increased efficiency.
Types of Office Equipment for Increased Efficiency
According to a recent article in Inc. magazine, working smarter is the key to increasing efficiency. By moving information to a digital format like a PDF or a database, you are helping employees work smarter.
Consider the time it takes to find a critical piece of data for a customer, like an invoice or order number. If you need to retrieve it from a file cabinet, you delay a response to the customer as much as an hour or more. In addition, that’s an hour an employee is focused on a task that adds little value.
Now consider if a mistake is made in retrieving that information. What if the employee writes down the number wrong? What if the file was misplaced or the paper damaged? How much will that paper filed incorrectly cost the company?
An optical scanner eliminates human error and saves the company time and money by converting the text and images of a paper-based document directly into a format that can be read by a computer. With the text digitized by character recognition software and then loaded directly into a computer, users can search for keywords and phrases to better access the information.
The Benefits of an Optical Scanner for your Office
Let’s look at a few of the benefits an optical scanner and similar types of office equipment can offer your business.
1. Automatically record and archive documents
With the optical scanner, you can quickly convert a paper document like an invoice or a record of a transaction into a file that can be archived and securely stored. This eliminates the need to reinput data. There’s no potential loss of data due to human error. Imagine never having to tell a customer the information was lost again. Never again will files be misplaced or damaged. You automatically have a secure record the business can access whenever and wherever they need it.
2. Access your data anywhere and anytime
Businesses run on information. The faster and more accurate the information, the better decisions your employees will make every day.
Depending on your document management system, imagine accessing information directly from your phone whenever and wherever you are. The time and cost savings of getting information directly to the people who need it to capitalize on opportunity will increase the agility and efficiency of the entire office. With an optical scanner, you convert paper-based documents into a format that can quickly and easily be searched for keywords and phrases. This eliminates the reliance on guesswork, so you can make data driven decisions.
3. Revision control of your documents
Many companies struggle with duplicate work. When a document is lost, or information isn’t accessible, employees are forced to recreate it. The result is waste and errors. A digital scanner can help eliminate these problems by securely storing your documents. With the right naming or document management system, you can even put your documents under revision control.
With an optical scanner and revision control, employees will access only the most recent and accurate document. They’ll have the best possible information at the point a decision must be made. In addition, the rework that can cripple productivity will be eliminated.
The First Step Toward Greater Productivity
For businesses looking to increase employee efficiency, the optical scanner is an excellent first step toward eliminating inefficient and error prone paper documents and records. The optical scanner can help your company reduce their reliance on paper and convert documents to a more efficient digital format.
With greater access to critical information, the office is more productive. You have a more permanent record of transactions, and benefit from a backup of information and data. This adds value to not only you, but your customers who know their information is safe with your business. Optical scanners are the right type of office equipment to modernize your office and make employees more efficient and productive.
Are you ready to eliminate paper records and work smarter? Advantage Imaging Supply has the best selection of optical scanners on the market today. Contact AIS to learn more about optical scanners and how you can increase business and productivity with the right equipment.
