The Automated Document Factory (ADF) has transformed into an enterprise business tool

Print and mail tracking systems have certainly evolved over the years, but I am not convinced the perception of users and perspective users has evolved at the same rate.

I remember the early days of print & mail tracking systems (such as the LMO concept) where early adopters faced challenges of their vendors continually (and at the customer’s expense) developing interfaces and forever trying to integrate new processes and factory equipment into a rigid ADF architecture.  I am surprised at how many of today’s transactional, security, healthcare and financial document processors still tolerate this level of performance from their traditional vendors.

As mentioned in previous entries, I am not a fan of the term “automated document factory” because it does not embrace the value today’s technologies provide, nor does it focus on the core (information management) power of today’s solutions.  Perhaps, we (us vendors) have not done an appropriate job of educating our clients as to how they can improve their entire enterprise through use of an ADF. 

Current generation ADF technologies are no longer shop floor data collectors with proprietary systems, long installation times (laden with extensive professional services) and closed data structures.

The real value of today’s ADF is to make our customer’s business processes (and performance metrics) available to them at their fingertips while ensuring the accuracy and timely output of ALL processes.  We are in the business of providing easily accessible benchmarking and business performance information just as much as we are in the document integrity and compliance reporting business.   

The ADF is no longer restricted to print & mail operations, but now extends across all other production environments such as fulfillment, card processing, manual processing operations and shipping.   Current generation solutions, built on an open data concept, allow seamless integration of shop floor production management and integrity tracking with front office accounting, estimating and scheduling activities.

Open and scalable technologies, along with vendor agnostic architecture models, now allow the integration of these additional operations while making real-time data accessible for business owners when and where they need it.  Users should require full access to data, reporting and the ability to compare actual results with pre-production accounting, estimating and scheduling expectations. 

An effective ADF also eliminates overhead costs associated with process transitions, manual data entry and the reporting of SLA, productivity and job performance metrics.  Although eliminating risk (of late delivery fees and compliance penalties) continues to be the leading cause for investment in a tracking system, most installations can provide a very quick and hard ROI based on tangible process savings.

As I continue to see financial, healthcare, insurance and security print providers burdened with the limitations of yesterday’s ADF, it is obvious we must do a better job of showing our perspective clients how today’s ADF can improve their entire business.

By Pat Hoskins, pat.hoskins@ironsidestech.com, PH (585.953.3013)