Finance Express Home Loansand Ricoh

”

We have a system and partnership that, while already having delivered on our immediate needs,

have the flexibility to go well beyond.

‘‘

Located near the border of Victoria and New South Wales,

Albury-based Finance Express Home Loans is a locally owned

business that has gained a strong reputation for high levels of

client service in a competitive market. The company, which is

owned and operated by two well-established brokers, is renowned

throughout the region as being responsive and, above all,

professional and reputable.

In early 2010, that professionalism and responsiveness was given a

boost with the introduction of a Ricoh-based document management

solution that delivered time savings, streamlined document

management workflows, security and cost reductions.

Challenge: A paperwork nightmareThe world of finance is, by its very nature, one of a seemingly endless

stream of paper. Contracts, building permits, plans, general

correspondence – they’re just a handful of the myriad of documents

that are accumulated daily by Finance Express.

For Marg Bevis, the company’s administration manager, maintaining a

paper-based file system had reached almost nightmare proportions.

“We had filing cabinets all throughout the offices and even more in a

nearby storage facility,” she says.

“And even though I’d tried to keep them organised, it wasn’t unusual

for it take up to half an hour to locate a client’s file.”

Time spent locating a file, though, was only part of the time equation.

Add to that the time required for properly collating incoming

documents then inserting them into the correct file, distributing them

to brokers then refiling, and it was easily becoming the most labour

intensive administration task within Finance Express.

Solution: A Ricoh Laserfiche solutionIt was a visit to the Finance Express offices by a representative

from a Ricoh Business Partner, that marked the opportunity to end

the nightmare.

“Our Ricoh Business Partner had already had discussions with one of

the owners about our document management problems,” Marg says,

“and when he came in and talked to me about what could be done

with a Ricoh MFD [multifunction device] and Laserfiche solution, the

benefits were immediately obvious.”

A solution for the pastWhere Finance Express offices and off-site storage were previously

almost overflowing with filing cabinets and archive boxes, the Ricoh

MFD and Laserfiche solution is the means by which the tide is being

stemmed and pushed back. Archived files, which can easily have

anything up to 300 pages, are now being scanned on the Ricoh MFD

and stored in Laserfiche within a matter of minutes; and according to

Marg, that’s just about the worst case scenario.

“By the time I’ve stacked a file’s documents in the Ricoh MFD’s feeder,

pressed the ‘scan to folder’ button then returned to my desk, every

page has been scanned, processed and ready for a simple drag-and-

drop into a new Laserfiche folder,” Marg explains.

Even with thousands of files in archives, representing hundreds of

thousands of individual documents, it is expected that six years of

archived files will be transferred to the new solution within a matter of

months. “And that,” Marg says, “is without having to bring in

additional people to help deal with the backlog.

“Whenever I get a few minutes, I simply grab more files and run them

through the system. It’s no disruption to my workday, and in fact, as I

add more files to Laserfiche I’m actually saving more time every day by

cutting back on the time previously spent locating and retrieving files.

Most importantly, we’re providing a more secure and accessible

solution to deal with the thousands of active and archived files.”

A solution for the presentWhile there are any number of large business and enterprise Ricoh

MFD and Laserfiche solution successes, the single seat licence model

at Finance Express is a clear demonstration of how well the Ricoh

solution works across organisations of any size. After all, more

efficient document management and distribution are imperatives

within any company serious about streamlining business operations.

In citing an example of how the Ricoh solution helps streamline

the Finance Express business, Marg says: “It’s quite common for a

client to visit our offices unannounced and request a meeting with

one of the partners.

“Accessing the client file in Laserfiche and sending it through to the

partner via email takes seconds; and it really is quite impressive.

Almost as soon as the partner has greeted our client and they’re

“By the time I’ve stacked a file’s documents in the Ricoh MFD’s feeder, pressed the ‘scan to folder’

button then returned to my desk, every page has been scanned, processed and ready for a simple

drag-and-drop into a new Laserfiche folder.”

”

‘‘ Most importantly, we’re providing a more

secure and accessible solution to deal with the

thousands of active and archived files.

resulting in a stack of paper, the MFD automatically emails it to me as

an attachment. From there, I’m able to forward it on to one or both of

the partners, drop it into a Laserfiche folder and, if required, print out

only those pages that need to be printed.

“Considering we often receive faxed contracts of up to 40 pages from

financial institutions – and generally only two of those pages need to

be in hard copy – the paper savings are continually increasing.”

A solution for the futureThe time, paper and space savings being realised by Finance Express

as a result of the Ricoh-enabled document management solution are

seen as just the starting point. In partnership with the Ricoh Business

Partner, the company is continually exploring new possibilities to

exploit the Ricoh solution’s potential; and all those possibilities point

towards even greater savings and efficiencies.

“We have a system and partnership that, while already having

delivered on our immediate needs, have the flexibility to go well

beyond,” Marg states. “Essentially, the Ricoh MFD and Laserfiche

solution is the foundation for any number of new process

improvements within the business.

“As the business grows – and this is definitely occurring – improved

efficiencies are crucial; and the Ricoh solution and partnership with the

Ricoh Business Partner is enabling us to capitalise on that growth

without the burden of having to employ additional personnel or

purchase and implement additional support systems.”

sitting in an office, the entire file has been delivered in an email and is

only a single click away.”

With the Ricoh solution resulting in much improved speed of file

location, distribution and access, Finance Express is gaining more of

one of business’s most critical commodities – time. Where it may have

taken anything up to half-an-hour to locate a client file stored off-site

and have it delivered to the partner, it’s now close enough to being

considered immediate.

Clients aren’t kept waiting. Partners aren’t kept waiting. And an office

managed and administered by a single staff member is now more

time-efficient than all too many large organisations.

Contributing further to the time efficiency of Finance Express is the

Ricoh solution’s fax management model. When it comes to outgoing

faxes, a document required by a bank, for example, can now be faxed

to the bank, emailed to one or both of the partners, and automatically

stored to Laserfiche with nothing more than a few pressed buttons

on the Ricoh MFD. It’s a case of a single operation invoking a

sophisticated document workflow for multiple outcomes.

Then, of course, there’s the issue of reducing paper consumption in an

industry that seems to have paper as its very lifeblood, as evidenced in

the Finance Express offices of old. Well, that used to be the case,

especially when it came to incoming faxes.

“In implementing the system, the Ricoh Business Partner configured

the MFD as our central incoming and outgoing fax management

platform,” Marg explains. “Now when a fax is received, instead of

Ricoh Australia Pty. Ltd. 8 Rodborough Road, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086. Phone: 61 2 8977 1111 Fax: 61 2 8977 1100 Web: ricoh.com.au | Product code: B950541Ricoh New Zealand Pty. 60 Stanley Street, Parnell, Auckland New Zealand. Phone 0800 2 Ricoh (0800 2 74264) Fax: 64 9 915 1401 Web: ricoh.co.nz

Accessing the client file in Laserfiche and sending it through to the partner

via email takes seconds; and it really is quite impressive. Almost as soon as

the partner has greeted our client and they’re sitting in an office, the entire

file has been delivered in an email and is only a single click away.

”

‘‘