The Hidden Power of Easy Actions
Increasingly, everyday business life is occupied by repetitive actions. This problem can be solved by adopting digitization workflows. One of the leverage points here can be streamlining the conversion of paper documents into a digital format.
Most companies are inevitably seeking further digitization. Currently, 91% of companies already have started at least some implementation of digitization (1).
However, much like any market, digitization has emerging leaders and followers. More digitized sectors establish the trends and best practices for the rest (8).
Digital Workflows
“A digital workflow is the automation of any process that an organization uses to get things done. It includes the procedures, tools, and plan for carrying out a series of tasks. If there is a series of steps to be taken, and if that process becomes digital, then it is a digital workflow.“ (7)
Digital workflows should be viewed as tools that bring tangible benefits and not as a budget expense. Moreover, once established a digital workflow can become a part of your production routine, reducing the burden on individuals.
Whatever the size of your company, having digital workflows established can facilitate your growth from diverse angles (5).
Benefits of Data Digitization in Practice
Leaders in digitization enjoy multiple benefits:
More than half of the CEOs questioned by Gartner say that thanks to digitization they managed to improve their company profits (2).
The retail sector improves efficiency and reduces costs by 69% and increases revenue by 67% (3).
Digitization aids data transparency and data handling making it more available for the public, which in turn boosts data analysis and helps to make more accurate decisions (4).
Improving digitization helps businesses become more agile and ready for change (9).
Sectors digitization matrix. Harvard Business Review, April 2016
By digitizing documents, you can sort them by client, period, and industry, or use barcodes, QR codes, or document types. In addition, you can set up processes in a way that scanned documents from different sets of digitization workflows are stored in corresponding locations, thus eliminating possible loss and storing everything in an organized manner.
Elimination of manual processes
Reduction in paper transactions
Reduction in human error
Fewer duplications
Simplification of business processes
Creation of efficient processes
Saved time and costs
Automation of approval processes
Auditing of processes
Process standardization
Increased productivity
Increased insight into end-to-end processes
Increased accountability
Digital Workflows with Easy Actions
All Tasks Made Easy
Easy Actions encompass Easy Scan, Easy Copy, Easy Print, and Easy Fax. These actions allow you to take full advantage of a multi-functional printer (MFP).
Easy Actions help to simplify and speed up everyday tasks while still offering flexibility with various settings available, customizable or predefined.
Examples:
Set up a Grayscale Booklet Scan job of A4 size in the format of HCPDF.
Separate each page when scanning a Mixed-size stack of documents with Skip blank pages enabled, so that you don’t have to deal with unnecessary pages.
Staple your Letter print jobs right at the device.
Complete a copy job by magnifying A5 to A3 in one action.
Intuitive Workflows
Easy Actions keep all the necessary scan, copy, and fax settings on one screen. Native MFP applications include options of this kind but are often cluttered or poorly organized.
There are no extra steps or hidden tabs with unclear fields to fill. Simply select the required parameters and start a copy or scan job with just one click.
Examples:
Set up an Easy Scan called “Tax Submission” for your financial department that will scan all pages from the ADF, separate them by page, and send all documents directly to a folder where it can be picked up by another software for further processing.
Create an Easy Copy called “Class Copy” for a teacher that will make 25 copies of a document, one for every student in their class.
Centralized and Personal Scan Destinations
Scan to a centralized data point - the destination can be set up as a shared folder or if required, scans can arrive at a cloud destination or the SharePoint of a department.
In cases where scanning needs to stay personalized, the destination can be setup as an email address, personal folder, or secured link.
Examples:
Set Easy Scans with destinations such as OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox, and let users connect their personal accounts in MyQ. This means if users need to scan personal documents at the office, doing so is simple.
Configure an Easy Scan that sends a document to a cloud or local folder which is shared by an entire department, so that everyone has instant access to it.
Cost Efficiency
An Easy Action at its core simplifies the interaction between an end-user and a printer, but also can aid in accounting of printing expenditures.
Add-ons are available for Easy Actions so that the job is added to an accounting entity such as a project. In addition, an intuitive Easy Action workflow saves users from making errors when configuring settings for their print or copy.
Examples:
On the Server, as an administrator, enable Prohibit change of value to enforce conscious spending of resources.
Generate a report to see the usage of all or selected devices in your fleet to see where people prefer to print and ensure the printer in that location is as energy efficient as possible.
Time Efficiency
Easy Actions aim to outline only the important and necessary steps when anyone wants to start a copy, scan, or fax quickly. Use them to cut tedious time spent figuring out where to find a needed setting or how to uncheck a hidden field.
Moreover, there’s no need to wait until, for example, a long scan job is finished to start a print job, both can be done at the same time.
Example:
If your organization scans by default with Continuous Scan enabled and doesn’t modify other parameters, set Continuous Scan to enabled and lock all the other values. Now, Continuous Scan will always be on and there’s no need to click on other settings on the device to start scanning.
Enable printing from a cloud destination in Easy Print (Easy Print → Storages) and scanning to a cloud destination in Easy Scan (Easy Scan → Destinations → Add → Cloud storage → Parameters) and do both types of jobs at the same time.
Scalability
One can set up as many Easy Actions as you need. They can be organized in folders, folders can be shown to different user groups, and workflows inside can be set up to start a particular scanning, copying, or fax job requiring zero extra taps from the end-user.
Easy actions can be set up to cater to both small teams and large departments regardless of their size. It is simply necessary to identify which repetitive tasks can be streamlined and set up the required actions.
Examples:
Group Easy Scans into a folder visible only to certain users.
Arrange Easy Fax with a certain list of contacts for faster selection.
Make different Easy Copy profiles, give them self-explanatory titles, and click on “Prohibit change of value” to start copying with one click.
Integrations with 3rd-Party Applications
Easy Scan can be combined with 3d-party solutions such as:
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning),
HRMS (Human Resource Management System),
ECM (Enterprise Content Management),
and other systems.
On top of that, collected accounting and usage data can be easily accessed to create reports with Business Intelligence software.
Examples:
When working with ScannerVision, set up different workflows that will allow users to configure their scan job e.g. selecting a file type.
Set up a barcode reading feature and separate your documents by barcode.
Enhance the Power of MFPs
If you’re worried that some of the most useful features of an MFP will be lost if you use MyQ, don’t be – Easy Actions were designed to preserve the machine’s best capabilities.
The Easy Actions Settings tab shows only parameters that are supported by the machine.
Examples:
Devices supporting content orientation continue using it.
Devices that can store or archive jobs inside a device will preserve this function.
References:
(1) https://quixy.com/blog/top-digital-transformation-statistics-trends-forecasts/
(3) https://www.fujitsu.com/global/solutions/industry/retail/digital-transformation-trends-retail.html
(4)https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/resources/important-documents-to-digitize.html
(5) https://www.walkme.com/glossary/digital-workflow/
(6) https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-how-of-transformation#/
(7) https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/resources/what-is-a-digital-workflow.html
(8) https://hbr.org/2016/04/a-chart-that-shows-which-industries-are-the-most-digital-and-why