Why You Should Implement an Electronic Document Distribution System
Ready to Streamline Your Document Distribution System?
Are you drowning in a sea of paperwork? Do you feel like all your documents are scattered throughout different departments, and it's a nightmare to keep track of them?
You’re not alone! Fortunately, advances in technology are making it easier than ever to keep your business running smoothly so you can send, receive, and track your controlled documents with ease.
Ready to find out more about document distribution?
This blog post will explain what digital document distribution is, how it can benefit you, and provide some tips on implementation.
What is a controlled document?
Controlled documents are any business documents that are kept accurate and up-to-date and used to provide a record of decisions or to help ensure the quality, safety, legal compliance, and efficient operation of the business. That is why revision control is such an essential aspect of document control: it enables the consistent review, modification, storage and retrieval of these documents.
In engineering offices and workplaces, controlled documents include procedures, specifications, legal and HR files, engineering drawings, standards, templates, and training material. Document Management best practices would ensure these document types are stored in a centralized repository enforced with access restrictions.
Want to learn all about document control? Then check out this blog post!
Ultimately, a controlled document is any document your business deems critical enough to implement a standardized review, approval, distribution, modification, and storage process, which in essence, is the definition of document control.
What is an electronic document distribution system?
Document management and document distribution go hand-in-hand. Electronic document distribution is a way of quickly and easily sharing documents in a digital format so you can streamline the process of sharing, managing, and tracking controlled documents between multiple parties. This makes the process of distributing large amounts of information easy, quick, cost-effective, and traceable.
Depending on your available resources, an electronic document distribution system is either a manual workflow you develop to facilitate this process or a software solution designed to automate the process for you.
When it comes to distributing electronic documents, there are a variety of methods available. The most common method is e-mailing the document directly to the recipients. However, this method is limited in its ability to track where files have been sent and who has accessed them. Other methods include using file transfer protocol (FTP) servers for larger files that cannot be delivered via email; using cloud storage solutions such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or ShareFile for securely storing and sharing large amounts of data; or using online collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, or Slack which allow users to share documents in a secure workspace environment with other members of the team.
Regardless of your method, digital file distribution makes it easy to securely and reliably send and receive documents quickly across different departments, teams, and companies.
What are the benefits of a document distribution system?
Implementing an electronic document distribution system can help you save time, money, and resources.
Saves Money
Digital distribution can be a great way for companies to save money while still being able to efficiently use and share documents. The traditional way of sharing documents – printing out hard copies and either mailing or faxing them – can become costly, especially if multiple people need to review the same document.
It eliminates wasted time spent waiting for physical documents to arrive, searching for them, signing and scanning them back into the system, or consolidating comments from multiple paper copies into one cohesive file.
Automating the distribution process also ensures consistency when sending and receiving controlled document types, so you don't have to waste time ($$$) repeating redundant tasks or correcting mistakes caused by human error.
Improved Access to Accurate Data
Electronic document distribution is incredibly useful, as it helps ensure everyone has access to accurate data in real-time. By using digital storage and distribution, companies can easily provide their employees and customers access to the same information so that everyone works from the same set of facts and data, enabling them to make informed decisions quickly and accurately.
Is your company suffering from inaccurate data due to data silos?
Check out this post and webinar to discover how to free yourself of data silos!
Comply with Regulatory Requirements
Digital document distribution is a great way to help you comply with regulatory requirements that require proper records of controlled documents. Not only is it faster and more efficient than conventional methods, but it also ensures the highest level of accuracy.
It lets you easily track who has access to which documents so you can manage permissions accordingly. Furthermore, by preparing and tracking transmittals for each document transfer, you can prove who received what and when, which can save you a lot of headaches in the future if someone makes a fraudulent claim against you.
Increased efficiency
Another key advantage of electronic document distribution is its ability to facilitate remote workflows. With digital documents, workers can collaborate on projects from anywhere in the world without having to worry about physically sending files back and forth, which makes it much easier for teams to stay on track with their deadlines.
It also simplifies tasks such as printing out paperwork for remote clients; instead of having to send physical documents through the mail or via courier services, they can simply be shared electronically over secure networks instead—a much faster process overall!
If set up properly, it can also provide real-time tracking and updates so you and your team can monitor the progress of each document as it moves throughout its lifecycle.
How to Streamline Your Document Distribution System
Create Workflows
By producing standard workflows that define how you as a company will receive and send controlled documents, you will help take the guesswork out of how to execute the process for everyone involved. Written documentation acts as training material for those who have to prepare document transmittals and submittal packages, in addition to providing the requirements for those receiving and returning files.
New to document distribution?
Check out Your Essential Guide to Document Transmittals and Submittal Packages to get you started on the right foot!
Develop a Document Distribution Matrix (DDM)
A Document Distribution Matrix (DDM) is a critical tool for any organization that needs to ensure that everyone is informed of new or updated controlled documents. Essentially, it's a chart or spreadsheet that tracks who receives which type of documents and when they receive them. This helps organizations make sure their employees and customers are aware of the latest policies, procedures, and project documents they need to know about as changes occur.
Designate a Master Source of Truth
By creating a master source of truth to store controlled documents, businesses can save time by streamlining the process of updating documents. Rather than having multiple versions floating around in various folders or programs, the latest and greatest version can always be easily found in the centralized system. This allows everyone involved to always have access to accurate and up-to-date information without wasting any unnecessary time or energy.
This helps avoid duplication of efforts, mistakes, and discrepancies. Not only does this help improve organizational efficiency, but it also protects sensitive data from being shared or accessed inappropriately.
Document Distribution Training
If you're looking to take the headache out of document distribution, our Document Distribution Bootcamp online course is just the ticket.
It provides everything you need to introduce a streamlined process into your business and make sending, receiving, and tracking controlled documents easier than ever before. You'll get access to detailed information, done-for-you templates, and plug-and-play processes so you can easily understand what's happening every step of the way.
You'll no longer be stuck trying to figure things out yourself but will instead have everything at your fingertips within minutes of signing up. Don't waste time and money trying to reinvent the wheel - enroll today to take the guesswork out of transmittals, submittal packages, digital signatures, the Document Distribution Matrix (DDM), Master Document Register (MDR), and more!
Check out the Ultimate Document Distribution Bootcamp here!
Conclusion
The ability to distribute and share documents electronically over secure networks can provide an incredibly powerful benefit for businesses by streamlining processes and therefore saving your organization time and money, and keeping everyone on the same page with access to current and accurate data.
Don’t wait. Implement an electronic document distribution system in your workplace today!
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