GAM reaps the rewards of going digital

Spanish rental company GAM Rentals claims to have dramatically improved the flow of information in its company by implementing a digital scan-to-archive document system.

GAM said it had realised significant cost savings from post and administration after using the new technology, claiming to have enjoyed a full return on investment within a year of implementation.

It said software developer Ricoh implemented the system, which processes over 350000 documents a year. The software automates the capture and distribution of business critical documents, using GAM’s existing multifunctional imaging systems.

Ricoh was already a partner to GAM, providing managed document services for the machinery services company. Working closely with GAM, Ricoh had successfully optimised the company’s print environment, reducing print overheads and improving operational efficiency by replacing legacy imaging systems with a uniform and managed fleet of multifunctional products (MFPs).

The Ricoh MFPs provide the means to print, copy and scan in colour. Standardising on a single model had helped to ensure that employees moving from one branch to another were familiar with the versatile technology. And, with Ricoh monitoring the devices, proactively responding to service alerts and replenishing toner, GAM’s employees had access to a more robust and effective print infrastructure, according to the company.

As part of its Managed Document Services offering, Ricoh routinely consults with its customers about the optimisation of other document-related processes. It was during one such review that digital document capture and distribution was first discussed, according to GAM, which said it recognised that posting documents to the head office for processing was a costly and inefficient process and asked Ricoh to recommend a more effective solution.

Accessed via the touchscreen panel of the MFPs, Ricoh’s scan-to-archive software solution creates indexed PDF copies of business critical documents and uploads them automatically to GAM’s centralised Alfresco-based ECM (Enterprise Content Management) system.

The intelligent software also reads the documents, extracting data, such as text, barcodes and checkboxes, and records signatures. The data is used to index the documents and ensure that they are processed according to document type and status. The rules-based indexing system can, for example, identify whether a document is a dispatch note or a client contract and whether it has been signed.