VB UNGAC UID eee te HN 4 13 MARlLOID 194 4 ne ui Inlerhome ssNew 101 A S aaN stes a 14 313 2% nessIm Wt A rts irs 14% Marsh -t Ss Being Just A Little Tech Savvy Can Help iness (NAPSA)—Whenthere’s nothing else left to cut and businesses need to produce savings while keeping customers satisfied, even small businesses can take a cue from big players by embracing— not shying away from—technology. That’s the conclusion of a recent study by global research firm IDC that advocated the adoption of more modern technology by companies ofall sizes. We’re not necessarily talking state-of-theart servers here. We’re talking simple things like single and multifunction printers (MFPs) and digital pens that let you convert handwritten documents to electronic forms. Still, companies across most business sectors often find themselves lagging behind the tech curve. For instance, more than half of data acquisition in three major business sectors—retail, manufacturing and transportation—is still done manually. Ninety percent of firms in those fields have only progressed far enough to use a combination of paper and electronic forms. What does all that mean for your bottom line? More often than you might imagine, invoice errors, duplicated efforts and a hampered supply chain—which, in turn, can leave customers fuming. “Most firms would be surprised to learn the cost of printing and handling paperwork,” explains Carl Taylor, director of marketing at OKI Data Americas, which provides printing and data-capture solutions and services and commissioned the study. “But a few hightech fixes could save companies the cost of materials and boost their efficiency.” He offers these ideas: Identify hidden costs and areas of inefficiencies in your printed document strategy. Then Better document management could save companiesthe costof labor, material and errors. work with product manufacturers or dealers that tailor solutions to your company’s specific “pain points,” such as printing specialized forms on demand. Invest in digital-capture solutions. Technology such as OKI Printing Solutions’ Digital Pen & Paperlets you electronically capture handwritten data—including notes, drawings and forms—in a digital file. Look for MFPs with inte- grated document-management capabilities, which let users scan, edit and route documents from a control panel to and from their desktop. * Consider a managedprint ser- vice (MPS) program. Gartner, Inc., an IT research and advisory company, says a managed print environmenthelps reduce printed document costs by up to 30 percent. OKI’s MPS solution, Total Managed Print, can help companies control costs and boostefficiency. Asa final tip, Taylor says costconscious businesses can use document-processing technology to meet a different kind of goal: going green. “It’s a quick way to save paper and energy,” he explains. For more information, visit www.okidata.com or call (800) OKI-DATA.
