MITS4001 Business Information Systems

Nevertheless, even though an entirely paperless office may not be plausible, stripping even this much paper out of the system can have positive effects. For example, in Liverpool the caseload backlog has been reduced from 50,000 to zero, while the average processing time for benefit claims has dropped from 133 days to 19. Abandoned call rates to its contact centre have dropped from 50 percent to just 5 percent, and the waiting time for personal visits concerning benefit claims has been reduced from the original two hours to four minutes. Hyde will always have some paper, even if it is not strictly speaking in the office. The company is reluctant to get rid of paper-based tenancy agreements altogether, and keeps them stored in an off-site location for legal purposes. Nevertheless, with the paperless recruitment system now in place, and with its previous paper saving efforts, it has eradicated 153,000 sheets of paper a year from its operations.

In reality, the totally paperless office may still be as far off as the paperless newsagent - but organisations can go a long way towards reducing what they use and increasing the efficiency of their work along the way.

Questions

1. Why is it important to strip away old ways of working when introducing systems such as those brought in by Liverpool Direct and Hyde?

2. Using the Internet as a resource, locate information regarding a simple document management system, such as Scansoft's PaperPort Office. How useful is such a product likely to be within a department of a large company or a small business?

3. What is the likelihood that the paperless office will ever be achieved?

4. If a company implements a workflow management system such as the one described in the case study, what would be the expected changes in the business processes. What do you think would be the drivers for success of such a project?