| | By David Guilbault, Director, Customer and ISV Development, ImageTag Read this article at MSDynamicsWorld.com Last month we outlined the benefits of using document imaging with your Microsoft Dynamics solution. Now let’s drill into the process a bit more and discuss how paper-based information gets captured. In this two-part article, we’ll first outline the document capture process in some detail. Next month, we will use this information to contrast centralized vs. distributed processes so you can make an informed decision about which approach is best for your Microsoft Dynamics environment. Capture is defined as the process of importing documents and information into a digital format for processing, management and storage. It is a critical part of any document imaging system and can account for nearly eighty percent of that system’s ongoing costs. Understanding the capture process can help eliminate potential downfalls and ensure a successful imaging project. The document capture process in detail
Document Capture is a multi-step process. Regardless of your ERP application, these steps are universal and must be performed, but not necessarily in the order below. The steps for document capture include: - Prepare: Paper documents such as invoices are prepped for feeding into a scanning device, i.e. removing staples or inserting separators to ensure that downstream steps can distinguish know one document from another.
- Scan: Stacks (batches) of documents are placed in the scanning device feeder, the operator presses the green button and images are sent to a shared location. Devices range from an inexpensive fax machine to a more costly100-page per minute production scanner. The ubiquity of multi-function printers such as the digital copier has made it possible for all of us to be scanning operators.
- Process: In most cases this step precedes indexing except in index-before-scan workflows. Processing separates the documents from the scanner and turns them right-side up for viewing. Often optical character recognition (OCR) and/or barcode recognition (BCR) is performed. Processing can include document conversion to popular storage formats such as PDF Image+Text to enable content searching such as retrieving all the Purchase Orders for a particular product or service.
- Index: This is the most critical step because it connects the document images to information needed for retrieval. There are many ways to find a physical invoice, such as invoice number, date and/or vendor name. Indexing can be done manually, automatically or simultaneously with another activity such as keying the invoice into the Payables screen. It is typically performed after processing but may occur before scanning with some newer solutions.
- Quality Control: Before storing each document, someone must review it to insure that the preceding steps were done correctly. Images that don’t match their indexes could be lost forever (analogous to misfiling a paper document). Poor quality scans affect downstream productivity (although with today’s scanning devices this is less of a problem) and imaging solutions usually provide manual or automated tools for quality control tasks.
- Storage: Documents are housed in a shared digital repository for later retrieval. Sometimes the repository is integral to the capture solution but is often an external location ranging from simply shared network folders to enterprise-class solutions. Today’s repositories create search indexes from the indexes created in step 4, as well as content from searchable documents like PDF Image+Text.
Next month, we will contrast centralized and distributed capture processes. We’ll present the pros and cons of each as they relate specifically to your Microsoft Dynamics application, so you can easily determine which provides the best solution for your business. Read Part 2 of this article See KwikTag in Action About the Author:
David Guilbault is Director, Customer and ISV Development for ImageTag, where he is responsible for managing customer and partner relationships, as well as insuring their success with their KwikTag solution. Previously, David headed Product Management at ImageTag, where he was instrumental in transforming a patented idea into a software platform that is applicable to every document, user and business. Prior to joining ImageTag, David spent eight years with Xerox. This tenure gave him an inherent knowledge of documents and their importance to an organization. With more than two decades in technical sales, systems engineering and product management, David has invaluable expertise in helping customers streamline their business processes using technology. David is a U.S. patent holder with a degree in Computer Science from University of Southern Maine. Read more document imaging columns by David Guilbault | |
