While digital transformation strategies are front and center, tackling organizational paper has taken a back seat. U.S. offices use 12.1 trillion sheets of paper a year. However, a solution to inbound paper challenges is as close as your back pocket. Mobile Optical Character Recognition (OCR) + Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can digitally transform any inbound paper workflow, eliminating manual data entry and physical document storage.
A recent Level Research study found that 86% of SMBs enter their inbound business data manually from paper that is then filed away – leaving money, efficiency, and accuracy on the table with every document. While Enterprise Document Imaging can address this common issue, the investment and complexity associated with traditional enterprise imaging projects make them impractical for many SMEs.
Desktop-based OCR technologies combined with RPA can easily handle any inbound paper already digitized (ex., email, PDF, EDI, FTP, download). However, how do you handle the influx of paper-only-based documents inside your organization? Fortunately, the latest mobile-based OCR technologies can quickly address this digital gap.
Utilizing a basic smartphone (minimum 2-megapixel camera), the same award-winning ABBYY OCR & AI technologies utilized on desktop automation workflows can now be harnessed using any Android or Apple device. Combining an OCR mobile application with RPA allows for the rapid digital transformation of paper-based workflows (especially lower-volume workflows that cannot support the ROI for a full enterprise Document Imaging Solution). By leveraging an inexpensive smartphone scanning station, mobile OCR capture can easily surpass the performance of a traditional flat-bed scanner.
Below are a few use-case examples for mobile OCR + RPA. In all these instances, the automated workflow would function as follows:
- The paper document is captured via the ABBYY mobile application.
- The mobile application saves the document image to a Google Drive input folder via a wifi connection.
- A bot monitors the folder and processes the document (per specific workflow rules) as it arrives. The bot notifies the document/process owner via email if it encounters an exception.
- After the document is processed, a bot archives a dated PDF copy of the paper document in the appropriate digital archive.
Some sample Mobile OCR Use Cases:
- Automatic processing of recurring invoices from vendors that do not support digital billing
- Automatic processing of paper tax bills (property, use, sales, etc.)
- Automated web-based vehicle registration renewal (ex. commercial fleets), based on DMV paper registration notices.
- Digitizing and automating receipt data entry into off-the-shelf Expense Report software or Excel-based T&E systems.
- I-9 digital document capture and population of Employee information and List A, List B, and List C sections on the I-9 PDF form.
As you can see, by utilizing Mobile OCR and RPA, any sized business can rapidly realize the immense benefits of document imaging and AI; whether you are part of the 86% still keying from paper or an advanced digital enterprise trying to eliminate the final remnants of paper in your workflows.
Contact us today to learn more about utilizing OCR, AI, and RPA to hyperautomate your antiquated paper-based processes and systems and begin your digital journey to improved accuracy, decreased costs, increased productivity, and greater security.