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Digital Document Processing

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The Problem

Though many companies have transitioned from paper to digital documents, employees are still processing them manually. Employees are still manually entering the data from records on their computers (such as invoice numbers) in different on-premise or web-based applications. The data source in this became digital, but data processing from the documents is still manual. 99% of organizations are unable to tap into the benefits of digitized document processing.

Definitions

Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) combines previously trained Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract structured data from standard documents. For example, to pull the number from any invoice and send data to the IDP service, it will automatically return invoice parameters (date, amount, business name, etc.) from the documents. RPA technology takes such automation even further, allowing the automatic entry of extracted data into any computer system, with or without manual approval from the employees. 

How Big is the Problem

Small (10+ employees) companies with established operations spend a ton of time processing standard documents such as customer orders, invoices, and agreements every month. US Businesses generate more than four trillion documents per year (source) which is increasing by 22% annually. Even when digitized, the manual extraction of data from these documents and its entry into computer systems hinders the productivity efforts of companies of all sizes. 

The Solution

The ElectroNeek bots connect to an IDP tool [to be changed later to IntelliDocs] API and automatically recognize what document type needs to be processed. The bots will extract required document parameters and perform data entry in any computer systems included in the business process. Depending on the value of the parameters (e.g., late invoice vs. on-time), the bot can perform various automation scenarios like sending reminders or creating tasks for the sales team. If business logic requires it, an employee can be a part of the bot workflow for verification/approval purposes.

Advantages of the Solution:

  1. Quick to build with a reliable IDP solution.
  2. Handle a variety of documents and formats without maintenance.
  3. Most businesses allow the automation of these tasks: processing of standard business documents such as invoices, orders, statements, IDs, etc.  
  4. These automation gaps don’t depend on the organization’s IT stack.
  5. Setting an IDP solution doesn’t require any AI/general coding knowledge.
  6. Adding RPA to just ‘IDP’ allows automatic data entry, so the ROI on implementing such processes is high in most cases.
  7. Connect the client’s digital documents to all systems-of-record, on-prem, and SaaS applications.
  8. No process changes on the client side - easy to adopt and requires minimum training.
  9. Flexible - easy to adjust the process in the future, if needed, and doesn’t depend on API changes.

Client Benefits: 

  1. Eliminate the need for manual processing of digital documents. 
  2. Increases ROI on previous investments in digitizing documents. 
  3. Time gains - significantly increase the execution speed of repeatable document processing.
  4. No errors due to manual data entry/extraction (e.g., misspelling of counterparty name that can cause a delay in payment).
  5. Employees stop manually manipulating data and formatting spreadsheets to pre-defined formats to upload data to SaaS tools.
  6. Allocate the employee resources to more valuable tasks, such as data analytics

How It Works: 

  1. The client shares a sample of each document type and the data needed to enter into a particular system as part of the business process. The Automation Expert sets up the IDP API. 
  2. The Automation replicates process steps in Studio, creating a bot connected to the API.
  3. The IT Service provider launches bots in their IT or client’s IT infrastructure.  
  4. An automated execution process is triggered when a new document arrives in a shared folder or is attached to an email.

The types of data extracted and automatically entered into a client’s computer systems:

  • Text
  • Numbers
  • Tables 
  • Signatures 

Examples of documents that an IDP bot can efficiently process: 

  • Invoices
  • Receipts
  • Checks 
  • Bank statements 
  • Vaccine cards 
  • Nixie labels
  • ACORD forms 
  • Driver Licenses 
  • Vehicle insurance and registrations 
  • Passports and visas