Reducing your carbon footprint and print costs through insourcing

As discussed in “What is Document Generation and Why Do I Need It? ”, the production and delivery of documentation is a complex and important process of nearly all businesses.

Broadly speaking, the document provision lifecycle is divided into the following stages:

1. Produce Documents
2. Render Documents
3. Deliver Documents

The actual physical fulfillment of mail can be quite a complicated process with many stages and resourses needed. Refer to our Mailhouse Discussion Paper for an overview of this process.

Economies of scale can be dramatically increased through the commoditization of various components of this process.

Traditionally, organizations have funneled much of the physical production of documentation to the mailhouse for fulfillment. However, we have recently seen organizations trend away from this.  One of the main reasons for this, is a desire to deliver documents electronically. Organisations are seeking to do this for a number of reasons:

1. Cost – The cheapest way to post a document is to not post it at all!
2. Convenience – With the ever-increasing technological sophistication of customers, many customers are now preferring to receive delivery of documentation electronically.
3. Timeliness – Electronically delivered documents are available virtually instantaneously.
4. Carbon footprint reduction – Reducing the number of physically printed and manually delivered documents can significantly impact an organization ’s carbon footprint.

For individual organizations, there will always be some mix between electronic and physical delivery of documentation, but obviously the ratios will vary on a case by case basis.   Of course, one of the issues with delivering both physical and electronic content, is the question of where the documents are produced.  Generally, this requires that they are both produced at the same location.

This implies one of the following scenarios:

1. 3rd Party Document Production and Fullfilment
2. Internal Document Production

3rd Party Document Production and Fullfilment

In this mode of operation, the organization passes data and / or a print stream through to the 3rd party, who render the documents, and then deliver them by whatever means necessary.  E.g. web, email, fax and or post.  Typically, the 3rd party will also image the document as part of the production process.

Advantages of this approach are as follows:

1. It’s quick to set up.
2. Requires little or no infrastructure on the part of the client organization.

Disadvantages are:

1. Client becomes locked in to a particular vendor reducing their ability to commoditize this service, effectively driving up the cost over time.
2. Business rules and confidential business data tend to drift out of the organization to the 3rd Party.
3. It is not possible to render documents internally, as the rendering engine, and often times data, reside at the 3rd Party.
4. The production of documentation is a step removed from the business which can lead to long turn around times for document changes.

Internal Document Production

In this mode of operation, the organization renders the document internally.  Web presentment and electronic delivery are handled by the organization.  When a document needs to be posted, it is fulfilled internally, or the rendered content is handed over to a mailhouse for delivery.

Advantages of this approach are as follows:

1. The production of the document is close to the business.
2. Business rules remain within the organization.
3. Consistent look and feel can be achieved regardless of output medium.
4. Production of document can be tightly integrated with business workflow.
5. The service can be corporatized within the organization, allowing the document generation related services to be re-used between internal applications.
6. A corporate service can be extended to encompass the interface to the mailhouse resulting in more consistent service provision.
7. There is generally a much shorter turn-around time for changes- allowing even large organizations to modify documentation in a just-in-time manner.
8. The service offering of the mailhouse becomes quite specific in its scope, thereby reducing the effort required on the part of the mailhouse which will help reduce their risk, and therefore the cost to the client.  Additionally it may also allow organizations to make additional cost savings through the commoditization of this service.

Disadvantages are:

1. Requires an investment in process re-engineering with the organization.
2. Requires an investment in infrastructure

The Scriptura product set makes the job of the provision of this service relatively straight forward and cost-effective.

For more information please contact us.