Gaining ever more popularity, document management systems such as Epicor ECM (DocStar) are an important part of an organization’s data management strategy, and with many projects underway, Teccweb is excited to partner with organizations to implement this incredibly agile product.
Epicor acquired the content solutions provider, DocStar, in early 2017 and quickly embedded the powerful, easy-to-use solution into its product line. Built to provide not only document storage and protection, it also has strong automation capabilities that can quickly streamline document-dependent business processes, such as Accounts Payable and Sales Order Entry. As the proportion of digital files over paper files grows, the importance of a secure and easy to recover document repository system has truly become a top priority for many organizations.
With the flexibility of adding documents in multiple ways, both digital and paper-based (think scanning, importing from an email, uploading from a directory, and even directly from Epicor ERP), ECM (DocStar) stores documents based on content type and allows retrieval only by users with the appropriate security settings.
Integrations to ECM allow even greater efficiency gains in organizational processes, such as the use of Epicor Intelligent Data Capture (IDC) to extract data from the document using Artificial Intelligence. As more documents are imported, the software continues to ‘learn’ the fields to capture, limiting the amount of data entry required to upload a document into ECM.
Beyond document repository, by far one of the most typical uses for ECM (DocStar) that Teccweb has helped clients implement is the AP Automation Integration. Through an automated workflow, AP invoices are imported, checked to ensure that duplicates do not exist in either ECM or E10, and are sent through a routing workflow to determine if it is PO based or not. Using a link to E10, 3-way matching can occur to ensure the invoice matches the PO and Receipt found in E10, and if discrepancies are encountered at any point, the workflow stops and a notification for user input occurs. An approval process is also built into the workflows and can be customized to match an organization’s process to ensure all signoffs occur, particularly on non-PO invoices. Once an invoiced is confirmed to match and all approvals are completed, the AP Automation workflow will create an unposted AP invoice in E10. At this point, all a user needs to do is look over the invoice in the group and post! No longer do pieces of paper need to float around the office, gathering signatures and potentially becoming misplaced.
Other integrations available with ECM (DocStar) include Sales Order Automation (SOA) and Human Resource related workflows, as well as a connector for DocuSign© eSignature. These integrations are only the beginning of how the software platform can be utilized. With the workflow designer, flows can be built around any business
process – prompting for user input when required, storing, and emailing documents. It also works with Epicor APR Enhanced to attach documents to many different ERP tables while allowing for users to retrieve the document stored in ECM from within E10. With version control, redactions and annotations, audit trails and the ability to both read and write data between ECM and E10, the sky is the limit for finding efficiencies in business processes.
An example of how Epicor ECM (DocStar) has been utilized in a recent project for Teccweb was to include the building of workflows to handle complex approval requirements for purchase orders and credit memos in a highly regulated environment. These workflows have built-in reminders and mobile approval notifications to keep the approvals on schedule and ensure completion.
Another example of automating processes that affect multiple parties is related to the Quotation – Engineering – Supplier RFQ process. For this customer, a document package was created that allows employees to enter quote information in ECM (DocStar) which generates a quote in E10. This quote will then generate and populate a form that is provided to engineering for design of the product. Once an RFQ is created in E10, a unique key is created for each supplier chosen to receive the RFQ, which is sent along with a public link to a form in ECM (DocStar). Once these forms are filled by the suppliers, the information is automatically passed back into E10. The last piece of automation gathers all the information provided by the suppliers and breaks out the profitability of each response, prompting the user to choose which supplier to award the RFQ.
As seen in these two very different scenarios, ECM (DocStar) can transform an organization’s processes with very significant impact for any level of complexity encountered – from the very simple storage of documents to the automation of manual processes involving external parties.
With more possibilities than space or time permits, Teccweb encourages every organization to learn more about this incredibly robust content management system. Please check out Epicor’s information on ECM (DocStar) or watch this short demo of the product. Our consultants at Teccweb, Ontario’s Premier Services Partner, are also more than happy to answer questions about the software – contact us here.