Page 474 - Handbook of Modern Telecommunications

Network Organization and Governance 4-5

Suppliers Customers

Supplier A Customer A

ILM ILM

. .
. .
. Enterprise .
. .
. ILM .
. .

Supplier N Customer M

ILM ILM

Interfaces for
documents´ exchange

FIGu RE 4.1.1 Document supply chain.
In addressing the life cycle of documents, we must assume that the enterprise is in the middle; it has
relationships with customers by communicating with them through different kinds of documents. The
same is true with their suppliers, who are actually doing the same from another perspective. In addition,
there are the internal documents that have almost the same life cycle, but without external transactional
processes. Figure 4.1.1 shows these relationships.
Workflow typically controls the way in which workpackets (e.g., scanned paper documents, uploaded
electronic documents, data files, voice notes, videos, etc.) are received, indexed, quality assured, routed,
acted upon, linked to other systems, routed again, decided upon, finalized, archived, retained, and
deleted. Workflow can automate high-level processes and detailed process steps. Workflow also includes
workforce management by assigning workflow steps to human resources.
Life-cycle management of documents usually includes the phases shown in Figure 4.1.2 (GERS03).
4.1.2.1 Create
Key to successfully integrating the output architecture is establishing the means to create a document
that can be delivered in a number of ways. The process begins with the creation of a print file using a
document composition tool. Customer data is extracted from a data repository and merged with a vari-
able document format to create a print image.
Print-stream engineering software that operates post-process can be used to modify the print stream,
either to clean up old formats, perform page counts or add barcodes to each page to enable the document
to interact with file-based processing control systems to assure mailpiece integrity. These modifications
need not be extensive, but the document print stream must be viewed as flexible enough if the company
is to capitalize fully on the available print/mail finishing technology to accomplish processing efficiency
and mailpiece integrity.
In the next step, data quality should be analyzed to prevent returned mail, a hidden and costly aspect
of customer messaging, and advice given on how to improve customer data and address quality and in
particular how to stay in contact with customers who change addresses.
Print/finish operations traditionally distributed documents in isolation, with little interaction with
other parts of the enterprise. Some of the more advanced producers of high-volume document output
are moving to file-based processing to facilitate the integration of their output methodologies.