There is no real mandate to change.  There is no budget.  There is no time frame to make any change.

 

All the above is true with one exception.

 

There is a business process today being performed to keep the company functioning efficiently in the most cost effective and risk free method with regards to it’s workflow.

 

This workflow TODAY depends upon the constant availability of the existing FORMS and business processes to support them.  It is this process that is at risk every day during every transaction.

 

For it is each transaction done today that draws down upon the available Forms and it is the supply availability of those Forms and systems upon which the business depends.

 

When the existing Forms Management system fails, it will take at considerable effort and time to repair it.   During this time new forms to be created are slowed down being delivered and existing forms/checks are going into a level where critical emergency reordering and reprinting will result.

 

It is not a matter of ‘IF’ the system will fail, but When.

 

Imagine this happens last week on Friday.

 

The impact is during the time when you didn't need more work.  Check with the people doing the job today.  Ask what forms would not have shown up low level.  Ask when they would have found out about them.  Ask what new forms would have been delayed another week or for how long?

 

When you’re done, ask if the risk is worth not changing…

ask if the money is worth not changing…

ask if the time frame to change should have been two weeks ago.

 

Did you know that "for every dollar spent on purchasing new forms an additional $30 to $60 is spent on processing the form."

 

Many managers today will immediately agree electronic forms should be examined to reduce this overall processing cost.  For some forms they may exist in both paper and electronic formats for years and for others, electronic forms will not be an option.  There will be paper forms and hence the infrastructure to support them for many years to come.  It's this infrastructure that needs to be as effecient as possible and then those forms that can be converted to electronic forms can be converted with a measured effect.