In this Section
RAD Solutions: DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT WITH EFACS ERP
The retention, storage and accessibility of information within a business are critical to its efficiency, and will ultimately determine the speed at which an organisation responds to further manufacturing, distribution and operation demands.
Today organisations need to effectively manage an expanding array of document types, from letters, memos and emails through to specifications, designs, CAD drawings and other specialised documents. The Document Management module within EFACS Enterprise is a repository that provides quick, easy and efficient access to information in a secure, controlled and traceable manner. Different document types such as contracts, specifications, quality standards, drawings, letters, emails and images may be held.
Format support
Support is available for a wide range of formats such as Word, Excel, PDF, video, sound, images (JPG, MPG, GIF etc.), and CAD formats such as DXF, DWG – in fact all normal formats supported within a browser environment. The functionality within the EFACS ERP software is not restricted to storing and viewing information. Revision management features and the ability to assign attributes to documents allow users to amend or interact with documents as part of a business process.
Attributes
Different types of document are created, each of these having user-defined attributes. Some of these attributes may be mandatory, others optional, allowing key information to be held against each document as appropriate. Use of attributes helps enforce good administrative disciplines and facilitates subsequent search and retrieval. For example, a document type may be created to capture incoming Orders. Mandatory attributes of Customer, Sales Order, and Sender may be defined, with an optional attribute of Project. An incoming electronic Order can be easily created as a new EFACS Enterprise document. This is associated with the relevant customer, sales order, and so on, and becoming immediately available in a Documents tab that appears against the particular Customer and Sales Order screens.
Version Control and Revision History
A number of revisions of a document may be retained. EFACS Enterprise allows the history of changes to be reviewed through user friendly previews of versions of the document. Using EFACS Enterprise Workflow, key documents can automatically be circulated for approval and revision. The initial revision may be circulated; each recipient having the option to review and possibly change the document. A changed document is held with appropriate comments against a new revision. If for example the document is a product specification, the latest revision will be shown in a Documents tab against the product, with buttons to review all revisions or each revision. The browser interface of ERP Enterprise enables users to access documents anywhere in the world, through an Internet enabled device, thus allowing staff to readily capture, submit, author, convert, share and find documents of all types while working anytime, anywhere.
The ability of EFACS Enterprise to comprehensively store and edit documentation in a standard and centralised manner encourages collaboration within an organisation within pre-defined, auditable business rules.
