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Executive Brief: The Power of Paperless


Businesses are swimming in paper. The promise that technology would reduce paperwork and create the paperless work environment has yet to come to pass for the mobile workforce.  Reducing the use of paperwork through automation can have a big impact on an organization's bottom line in terms of real costs (the purchase, storage and transmission of paper) as well as other financial improvements in productivity gains, reduced billing cycles and more.  Paper forms are not only expensive, but they have a tremendous impact on the environment.  Paper waste is probably the biggest item in any company's landfill and waste costs, and copiers, printers and fax machines are the fastest growing area of energy consumption in the typical office. Almost half of the paper used in offices is for daily use so all of the energy that was put into harvesting, processing and shipping that paper was, in the end, for less than a day's use. A few quick facts about the effects of paper and paperwork on a company and the environment:
  • Indirect costs of a paper form can be up to 10 times the cost of the form, e.g.:
    1. Photocopy toner and printer ink
    2. Storage space and filing equipment
    3. Supporting staff costs
    4. Postage and overnight delivery costs
    5. Document destruction equipment and services
  • 1/3 of all forms are outdated nearly the moment they are printed.
  • The typical time to re-enter data into backend systems: 20 min/form. The typical time to pull original paperwork for reference: 20 min/form.
  • Data on paper forms are vulnerable to inaccuracy when they are re-entered into backend systems.
  • If the United States cut its office paper use by roughly 10%, or 490,000 metric tons, greenhouse gas emissions would fall by 1.45 million metric tons. This would be the equivalent of taking 280,000 cars off the road for a year.
  • The paper industry emits the forth-highest level of carbon dioxide among manufacturers with only chemical, petroleum and coal production ahead of the paper industry.
  • A midsized company with 1,000 employees and $100 million in revenue will produce 30 million pages of paper a year which equates to cutting down 1,369 trees and producing approximately 300,000 pounds of CO2 every year.
Finding quick, easy, and economical ways to reduce the use of paperwork throughout a workforce (mobile or otherwise) will be a key focus for organizations moving forward.
james_quigley
James W. Quigley
CEO and Co-Founder
Canvas