Record management goes beyond good business practice – it’s critical to maintaining a productive, functioning organisation. 

Many organisations are beginning to understand the importance of records management for content management systems such as SAP Extended ECM. Proper capture, accessed, storage and disposition of records, both physical and electronic, help a business stay compliant and its ability to function.  Organisations who have the tools to organise and deal with these records efficiently often have a competitive advantage. 

Good records management practices can improve efficiency, offer better archive and retrieval, and enable staff to access complete and accurate information. When done correctly and with the right tools, records management can save businesses money in the long term and increase productivity. 

However, many large organisations that use SAP Extended ECM do have the room for improvement with records management system. As more and more records are collected, keeping track of and organising, all these documents become a tedious, monumental effort!  And employees are usually ill-equipped to tackle this properly. 

In light of this, here are 5 practical tips businesses can use to promote efficient record management for the SAP Extended ECM platform. 

1 – Use automated tools to sort and organise records 

All records are documents, but not all documents are records. Depending on your business and industry, certain documents are not as critical or essential as other documents. It can be an overly drawn-out process to rely on manual effort and review of every document to identify its nature, and humans are likely to create errors during the process. 

This is why it is essential to leverage automated solutions such as keyword scanners or auto-detection to rapidly identify critical documents and clearly define what documents constitute as a record. 

2 – Leverage integrated devices for document capture 

Many companies are transferring their paper-based documents into an electronic format for storage in repositories such as SAP Extended ECM. The process for capturing these documents usually involves devices such as scanners, mobile phones, multifunction printers and copiers. 

Today, many of these devices offer the capability for connectivity with the document management system. This enables devices to automatically transfer scanned files to electronic storage and place it in the correct location. Businesses who leverage these tools will be able to better manage and organise their document in bulk directly from capture.  

3 – Apply the standardised category and naming conventions 

As enterprises grow, so do the number of documents they have to deal with. However, finding these documents can be a monumental task down the road should there not be an efficient classification policy. 

One of the ways companies can help assist users in finding critical information quickly is through standardised category and naming conventions. These conventions can also be particularly helpful for automation purposes and workflows. 

Here are a few strategies to consider: 

• A standardised system / framework for naming records to help users understand the general contents based on its name. 
• A categorisation system where users understand how to store files in specific folders and in what order. 
• A clearly defined process and archival access policies to only enable skilled or experienced users move documents within a repository. This will lower the amount of confusion present for file storage and archival. 

4 – Introduce collaborative tools 

Businesses that adopt digital documents management platform usually require inputs, reviews, updates, comments, approvals and other forms of validation from various stakeholders. When this process is left up to manual efforts, it often results in a disorganised collection of files that only serves to confuse and frustrate users. 

However, when organisations use digital collaboration platforms, users can be kept in the know and involved throughout the process. These solutions often focus on creating and updating a single source of truth so that users are unlikely to access and use outdated documents. Collaborative applications and add-ons for SAP Extended ECM which enable users to work together can do wonders for record management.  

5 – Dispose of unneeded documents 

Stray documents create clutter and confusion while introducing security risks for the entire organisation. However, as more digital documents are created and propagated, it is not as easy as merely shredding unnecessary pieces of paper. In SAP extended ECM and other document management solutions, destroying or deleting documents does not always mean they are eliminated from the system entirely. Using the wrong procedure or method can cause copies of the document or backed-up versions may exist elsewhere, accessible by other users once forgotten. 

Instead, strategically archiving documents and having a strategy to determine which documents need to be safely destroyed will help reduce clutter and increase security throughout the company. Employees will no longer need to dig through files to find the piece of information they need, and companies will be able to control access to their data ultimately – everyone wins. 

The Fastman solution for record management 

Record management with SAP Extended ECM can be a complicated and error-prone activity if the right tools are not used. Automating the process as much as possible will help mitigate risk, reduce human error and increase productivity. 

If record classification, migration and transformation is part of your daily business operations, Fastman’s solutions will save you time, money and frustration. Fastman Data Transformation Hub for SAP Extended ECM is the only off-the-shelf solution with the flexibility and reliability you can trust for your data management needs. 

Fastman’s Data Transformation Hub for SAP Extended ECM brings the flexibility of Fastman’s Bulk Data Manager and infuses it with the reliability of Fastman’s Bridge Connector in one product specifically designed for SAP Extended ECM.  

The Data Transformation Hub enables you to automate long and drawn-out data management activities such as record management, data migration, content updates and more without the risk and tedium associated with manual processes.  

If you would like to find out more about Fastman  Data Transformation Hub for SAP Extended ECM, contact us today.