Improving Document Processes Yields Strategic, Top-Line Benefits While Reducing Bottom-Line Costs

1. An IDC White Paper sponsored by Ricoh
September 2012 Executive Summary
Organizational Blind Spot:
The Role of Document-Driven
Business Processes in Driving
Top-Line Growth
Angèle Boyd // Joseph Pucciarelli // Melissa Webster

2. Improving Document Processes • Among consumers who are dissatisfied with companies’
Yields Strategic, Top-Line Benefits document processes, 60.1% would switch to another
While Reducing Bottom-Line Costs provider and 56.8% would likely tell others about their
dissatisfaction.
Findings from a recent IDC study indicate that document-
• Respondents estimated that they could speed the time to
driven processes — the business processes that are
get products to market by 13.4% by streamlining
governed and controlled by documents in electronic or
new product development, manufacturing, and supply
paper format — have a profound impact on companies’
chain functions.
customer-facing functions. Furthermore, reengineering
these document processes can yield strategic, top-line
benefits including revenue growth and improved market Busted Myth: The impact of improving
responsiveness, which this study found to be the highest- document-driven business processes applies
rated business priorities for enterprises today. Despite the only to reducing costs through back-office
belief held by many business executives that document- efficiencies.
driven processes relate only to “back office” functions, IDC
research indicates that this conventional wisdom is off
IDC Finding: Over 83% of study respondents found that
the mark and that optimizing document-driven processes
optimizing document-driven business processes would
presents a significant revenue growth opportunity.
increase revenue on average by 10.1% and could speed time
IDC’s recent global study of 1,516 document-driven to market by 13.4%. Document-driven business processes
have a strong impact on strategic, top-line growth objectives.
business process owners and information workers suggests
that common perceptions around document-driven
business processes are mistaken. Businesses have placed a Business partners — suppliers and distributors — play
great degree of focus on improving their business processes, a key role in today’s economy, and the health of their
and many may believe they have achieved optimum document processes directly affects the enterprise. More
efficiency in their document-driven processes. While it is than 75% of study participants believe it is important
true that improving document-driven processes can have that their supply-side and distribution-side partners
a strong impact on reducing operational costs — and this have effective document processes, but only about half
study shows there is still room for improvement in this area are satisfied with the state of their partners’ processes.
— it can have an even greater impact on an organization’s Enterprises must work to ensure that the partners they
top-line potential for revenue. select are placing appropriate emphasis on document-
driven business processes.
Specifically:
The introduction of tablets into the enterprise is part
• Over 83% of study respondents indicated that
of a new wave of enterprise computing. It is improving
optimizing customer-facing document-driven business
employee productivity and allowing organizations to more
processes would increase revenue — on average by
rapidly address market needs, but at the same time it is
10.1%. This could be achieved by improving customer
dramatically changing the way employees interact with
communications, streamlining the sales and customer
document-driven business processes. The intersection of
onboarding process, and improving customer support.
tablets and document-driven processes is still not clearly
• In their role as consumers, more than half of the defined or fully understood. Many organizations are aware
respondents are dissatisfied with the document-driven of the importance of making existing document processes
processes in six of the seven industries studied: business work with tablets, with one in three organizations currently
services (64.9%), government (63.9%), healthcare investing to reengineer existing document processes to
(63.1%), education (62.3%), insurance (54.3%), and account for them. But to make all necessary processes fully
telecommunications (51.8%). tablet compatible, organizations need to increase their
focus on this area.
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3. Conventional wisdom has clearly missed the key point.
Document-driven business processes are not just a Focus on document-driven processes for
back-office phenomenon; they are critically important strategic upside. … These changes can
for strategic, revenue-generating activities. Process help improve customer-facing potential
improvements can both reduce costs and increase revenue
and reduce overall operating costs.
— a win-win scenario. This is one of those rare areas
where there is no downside to investing in improvements.
Organizations that do not place a high priority on • Focus on document-driven processes for strategic
improving their document processes are missing a golden upside. There is little downside to optimizing customer-
opportunity, but companies need to focus executive-level facing processes. Many strategic initiatives focus strictly
attention and take action — now. on cost, while other initiatives aim to yield strategic
benefits. Optimizing document-driven business processes
is the rare initiative that achieves both goals: Companies
Improving document-driven processes can improve efficiency and benefit from the strategic
increases top-line revenue and reduces upside by improving customer relationships — it is a
bottom-line costs — a win-win. There is no no-lose scenario.
downside to investment, but companies • Recognize that ineffective document processes damage
need to act now. customer relationships and hence your company. Some
executives may believe that their document-driven
business processes do not play a customer-facing role. One
Essential Guidance should not fall victim to this perception. This study found
the opposite is true. Customers believe it is important that
Document-driven processes are critical information arteries
the companies they do business with have efficient and
that drive organizations’ financial results — both top line
effective document processes, and many are dissatisfied
and bottom line. They facilitate information flows throughout
with the state of the processes of those companies.
an organization, between an organization and its business
Dissatisfied customers will take their business elsewhere,
partners, and between an organization and its customers.
will tell others not to do business with the companies, and
Customers and partners care about them, and process
will post negative reviews of the companies.
owners and information workers depend upon them.
• Take an extended view of document processes to include
Given the systemic impact of document-driven business supply chain and distribution partners. In the modern
processes on organizational outcomes, IDC believes that economy, it is no longer adequate to take a traditional
these processes merit significantly more C-level executive wall-to-wall approach. Business processes now stretch
time and attention than they currently receive. Survey across continents and often require intimate connections
participants agree: Over 40% believe that investments to with business partners and suppliers throughout the
improve document processes should receive higher priority value chain. Addressing the effectiveness and efficiency of
than other similar investments. In addition, as the pace suppliers’ and distributors’ document-driven processes is
of business continues to accelerate, the economic stakes critical for global enterprises to maximize business results.
associated with these business processes continue to escalate.
• Prepare your enterprise for tablet usage to avoid putting
IDC believes that many businesses are now at or near new stresses on document processes. Tablets have already
the bottom of the cost reduction trough. These businesses made significant inroads into organizations, and in
are now seeking opportunities to improve market share the future, their penetration will only increase. But the
and better position themselves when the global economy intersection of tablets and document-driven business
resumes sustainable growth. Given this environment, IDC processes is not clearly defined. There is a significant
offers the following guidance: and growing requirement among businesses to integrate
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4. tablets into existing document-driven business processes. IDC Study Methodology
New requirements in document management include
the need to scan to cloud and the need to address The information for this white paper came from a global
security issues around tablet printing both inside and survey plus two focus groups of U.S. executives, all of
outside the firewall. which were conducted in 4Q11. IDC surveyed 1,516
process owners and information workers from IT, finance,
• Make document process repair a high priority for
and line-of-business management from organizations of
C-level executives. C-level executives are extremely busy
over 500 employees. These individuals all had responsibility
and must constantly balance competing interests and
for business processes that required multiple documents.
priorities. But the optimization of document processes
Respondents were randomly recruited and screened from
needs to be among those priorities. Previously published
international panels and came from eight countries: the
results from this study demonstrate that addressing
United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France,
issues in document processes is not receiving a
Germany, Australia, China, and Japan. Global data was
significant amount of C-level attention, with about 80%
derived by weighting the IT executive survey by country
of organizations delegating responsibility for it under the
GDP. The survey was conducted over the Internet and
C-level. But only C-level executives have the authority
administered in the local language. All numbers in this
and span of control to implement appropriate change,
document may not be exact due to rounding.
and C-level executives uniquely have responsibility for
both revenue-generating and cost-cutting initiatives. Respondents were asked about priorities, issues, and
Fixing document processes should be the responsibility investments across 23 separate business processes: customer
of C-level executives. onboarding, sales, new product development, customer
service, marketing/customer communication, insurance/
Addressing issues in document-driven processes is one of
claims processing, billing and collection, HR (employee
those rare areas where there is no downside to investing in
onboarding, benefits, dismissals), demand planning,
improvements. These changes improve an organization’s
manufacturing (shop floor, inventory), distribution
customer-facing potential and enable cost savings. It is
channel management, vendor/supply chain management,
an item that every organization should actively consider
engineering/R&D, legal (contracts, litigation),
and an item that should be at the top of most C-level
medical (patient medical records), IT infrastructure/
executives’ to-do lists.
desktop support, financial planning and reporting,
asset management, business continuity/risk assessment,
compliance/audits, change/problem management, business
monitoring and controls, and information security. Data
was gathered both at the individual process level and in
three higher-level rollups: customer-facing, non-customer-
facing, and risk mitigation processes.
This survey was supplemented by two focus groups of
U.S. executives. One group consisted of line-of-business
executives, and the other consisted of IT and finance
executives. The individuals in both groups had oversight
of or control over a variety of document-driven business
processes for their organizations. Respondents were drawn
from organizations with over $1 billion in revenue and
from a range of industries. Representative titles included
VP Strategic Planning, VP Sales, General Manager, VP
Global Marketing, Chief Security Officer, VP Global
Resources, Senior VP Technology Planning, VP Global IT,
Corporate VP Finance Technology, and VP/Treasurer.
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5. Definitions About IDC
The following definitions were used for this study: International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier
• Document-driven business processes are performed global provider of market intelligence, advisory
by one or more groups within the organization and services, and events for the information technology,
are governed or driven by information captured in telecommunications, and consumer technology markets.
documents. Documents can be paper (printed, scanned, IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the
or entirely paper based) or electronic, or they can investment community make fact-based decisions on
migrate between paper and electronic during the technology purchases and business strategy. More than
end-to-end life cycle of the business process. The term 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local
is also shortened to “document-driven processes” or expertise on technology and industry opportunities and
“document processes” in places. trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For more than
48 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our
• Customer-facing business processes govern customer- clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a
facing activities including sales, customer onboarding, subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology media,
customer communications, customer service and support, research, and events company. You can learn more about
billing and collections, and new product development. IDC by visiting www.idc.com.
• Non-customer-facing business processes govern
non-customer-facing activities including employee
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