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Tulane University: AP Department Streamlines Document Workflow
3/25/2003
Currently, more than 50 people use the document management solution and there are plans to expand access to other users in the university.
Overcoming Barriers
According to LeBlanc, Tulane's AP department vastly reduced its microfilm costs.
Previously, Tulane spent between $70,000 and $80,000 a year to archive its records.
Now, the university is saving at least half that amount per year. The solution
also means increased productivity; AP employees no longer need to physically
track down paperwork upon each request and go through the mailing/ faxing distribution
process—it's all done electronically. Retrieving and distributing information
is considerably faster, and overall response times have dramatically improved.
In addition, LeBlanc's group consolidated its hardware, reducing maintenance costs and increasing office space. "We've actually gotten rid of two fax machines and two laser printers," she explains. The department is able to send e-mail and perform laser printing on Xerox Document Centre devices, allowing it to eliminate its file cabinets, transferring files to a storage unit in the warehouse. However, LeBlanc says the most dramatic change came in the way they do business everyday. Collaboration improved and jobs became easier because people in locations campuswide can now instantly access documents on their desktop via a Web browser with DocuShare—overcoming the location barrier.
"In the future, we plan on expanding this project by scanning in and storing journal entries currently stored in file cabinets, W-9 forms, and authorized signature forms," explains LeBlanc. "And down the road, we'll integrate DocuShare with other financial systems."
The success of DocuShare in Tulane's AP department has led the university to begin deploying the document management software within many other departments, such as the Tulane University Health Sciences Center, where it is used to store records for the world's oldest heart study, in the Facilities Services management of vendor documents, and in academic research collaboration with faculty at other institutions.
For more information, contact Lisa LeBlanc, Accounts Payable manager for Tulane University, at lleblanc@tulane.edu.
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