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Post Link: Scanners: I Hate You Scanners: I Hate You ...Aaaaannddd we’re back, with another rant on the wholesale tools we hate. The topic of the hour? Scanners. You may be thinking, “But why scanners?” Compared to fax machines , paper receipts , and printed product catalogs , scanners haven’t been around for quite as long. Indeed, many sales reps are still using them to scan their paper order forms so that they can be emailed out for fulfillment. Well, technology moves fast, folks. And though scanners may be a step up from the fax machine, they’re still not the best tool for the job. Essentially, scanners digitize just one piece of the order writing/submission process, by turning a piece of paper into a digital image that then goes through the same data entry process you’d see if those order forms were mailed or faxed. When there are mobile order writing tools available that can digitize the entire order management process, this seems unacceptable. Here’s why it’s time to ditch the scanner for good: The portability issue. Sales reps are a mobile bunch--constantly on the road visiting their retailers and taking orders, staying at different hotels many nights, and juggling busy schedules. Although there are portable scanners available on the market, carrying that scanner with you everywhere can be a pain.

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Post Link: Scanners: I Hate You

Scanners: I Hate You

...Aaaaannddd we’re back, with another rant on the wholesale tools we hate. The topic of thehour? Scanners.

You may be thinking, “But why scanners?” Compared to fax machines, paper receipts, andprinted product catalogs, scanners haven’t been around for quite as long. Indeed, many salesreps are still using them to scan their paper order forms so that they can be emailed out forfulfillment. Well, technology moves fast, folks. And though scanners may be a step up from thefax machine, they’re still not the best tool for the job.

Essentially, scanners digitize just one piece of the order writing/submission process, by turninga piece of paper into a digital image that then goes through the same data entry process you’dsee if those order forms were mailed or faxed. When there are mobile order writing toolsavailable that can digitize the entire order management process, this seems unacceptable.Here’s why it’s time to ditch the scanner for good:

The portability issue.

Sales reps are a mobile bunch--constantly on the road visiting their retailers and taking orders,staying at different hotels many nights, and juggling busy schedules. Although there areportable scanners available on the market, carrying that scanner with you everywhere can be apain.

Page 2: Scanners: I Hate You | Handshake

Many of the lighter weight, higher quality portable scanners on the market can be expensive,and having a scanner usually requires you to also have a laptop to send the information out. Ifyou’re not using a portable scanner, the situation is even worse. You have no choice but to letthose order forms pile up until you can get to a machine, either by searching for one at yourhotel’s business center (where they may not have one) or a Kinko’s (which may be few and farbetween).

The fact that they’re really not much better than fax machines.

As mentioned previously, the scanner doesn’t really do much to improve the order entryprocess. The only real difference between scanners and fax machines is that with scanners, theoutput is a digital copy, rather than paper.

The information on a scan cannot be copied and pasted out or transferred in any other wayother than having a person read and interpret what’s on the scanned order form, and then re-enter that order into the system. The data entry step is still there, and with that comes similarproblems--illegibility, order errors, etc.

The confusion factor.

It can be confusing to figure out a scanner, especially if you’re inexperienced with it (do I feedthe paper in from the top end? The bottom? Do I put it through facing up? Facing down? Did Iread somewhere that either one would work? Where’s the right button to push? How do I get acolor scan? What if I want it only in black and white? How to do change the contrast settings?The list goes on).

Plus, there are annoying troubleshooting issues--the scan gets cut off and you have to makeminute adjustments to the placement of the page. Maybe you can’t figure out the scalingsettings, and the scan refuses to fill up an entire page, instead showing up as a tiny rectangle. Your scanner won’t connect to your new laptop, or it isn’t compatible with a certain memorydevice. We’ve all been there.

The time when you wanted to scan multiple pages, and then forgot to press“yes.”

Say you need to scan multiple pages into the same PDF document. Your order form has 2sheets, or you want to send all of your orders in one document so it’s easier to email and open.

Say you scan a few pages and then step away for a second. You come back to the scanner,and your heart sinks as you realize you forgot to press “yes” when the machine showed the“Add another page” prompt. The scanner already saved the document, unfinished. And thenyou have to start all over again.

On a personal note, I had to scan about 50 sheets of paper using a horrible old-school officescanner the other day when I was trying to secure my new apartment (I was under the gun,competing against other potential tenants). It was like a video game from hell--trying to get allthose pages into one document. It couldn’t have been slower.

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Using a scanner means paper is still involved.

The fact that you’re using a scanner to scan paper order forms means that you are still usingpaper order forms. And that’s terrible for reasons we’ve already talked about at length. Papermeans illegibility and human error. And all of those things can be prevented.

Do you have other scanner-related horror stories to share? Have you already stopped usingthem in favor of mobile order writing software? Share your stories with us in the commentsbelow.Post originally located at: www.handshake.com/blog/scanners-hate-2

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