WebCon Workflow

WebCon Workflow is an extensive solution realizing documents’ circulation in SharePoint environment. The system manages documents’ circulation at its every stage, starting with scanning documents, through its description and marking with a bar code, up to exchange of a document among workers. A built-in OCR system allows to automatic combining scanned document with its description.

Description of the solution

WebCon Workflow allows to model any documents’ circulations in a company, e.g. a circulation of coming and leaving correspondence, a circulation of  business trips, a circulation of expenses’ invoice, a circulation of complaints and the like.

The system allows to scan documents in a paper form directly to SharePoint environment. After being described and marked with a bar code, documents are scanned to the system and they start their circulation. The system uses OCR system which is automatically able to match a scanned document (marked with a bar code) with its description. A choice of specific passage path for a document may be chosen on the base of a document’s type, a place of scanning, a kind of dispatch and the like.

Each step in which a given type of a document may find, has not only definite passage paths, but also the maximum time of waiting for a user’s action which prevents keeping documents by a given person longer than precisely definite time.

A user of the system while entering his/her own personalized site of a workflow system, can see documents which has come to him/her. He/She can browse the history of each of them, find out who is the author or the author of alterations. The system automatically notifies a user about coming of a new document via e-mail.

Security

Workflow system entitles individual users to carry out only those operations which are available to them. A secretary, for example, can only give a number to a document and send it to an appropriate person; the manager gives his/her approval to a document. Integration with external systems
At each stage of workflow, there is a possibility of integration with external systems with the help of available functions in the form of WebService. Due to integration with ERP external systems, there is a possibility of using data gathered in a system managing reserves of  a company in the form of dictionaries containing a list of clients, names of companies, codes of products and the like. This solution in a considerable degree simplifies one’s work. Additionally, at each stage of workflow, there is a possibility of sending data to ERP system. Due to a complete integration both of those systems, exchange of information and its processing have become easier than ever.

Supported external systems are SAP and CDN XL.

Integration with Office System

WebCon Workflow is based on SharePoint platform and it integrates with applications of Office 2003 / 2007 package. Plugins provide a direct access to reservation of numbers or forwarding addresses, and tasks assigned by a system can be also seen in Outlook application. The integration with external systems. The system is equipped with the set of interfaces which allows to the easy integration with external systems. It has adaptors for chosen ERP systems which allows to import of data e.g. using a list of clients or a list of accounts. In a case of necessity, a modular structure allows to an easy extension with new adaptors. Apart from a possibility of extension a system with import and export of data to and from external systems, WebCon Workflow makes its functions available on the outside in the form of an interface based on WebService. It gives a possibility of controlling a workflow from outside systems e.g. initiation or going to the next stage can be initiated by sending SMS.

Extension

If in a given step of workflow we need advanced functionality, there is a possibility of creating an application module to its realization. A new module uses API program interface making WebCon Workflow data available. An example of workflow extension is a WebCon Budgeting module which allows to control budgets on the base of intended limits and expenses’ invoices being in the system.Modules of expenses’ invoice description, advanced calculators e.g. credit rating, are frequently extensions of the system.
Bar codes
Each document in the system has its unique signature which can be marked on a paper document in the form of a sticker with a bar code. Marking documents with a bar code allows to an easy search of a document in the system with the help of bar codes’ light pen. The system automatically recognizes a bar code on a scanned document and assigns them to the description of a document without an operator’s interference.

Reporting

WebCon Workflow has a reporting module containing a number of reports describing a general condition of the system as well as individual workflows together with a list of users keeping documents.

The business benefits

To the company

• A fast circulation of information in a company – also among different departments.
• Reduction of used paper and operating materials (limitation of paper documentation).
• Limitation of quantity of lost documents.
• Control of time in which documents are in a given place.
• Possibility of classifying and searching documents.
• On-line access to documents.
• Control of access to individual documents.
• Getting a confirmation of familiarity with documents.
• Access to the history of circulation of an individual document.

To the accounts:

• Documents in the paper form go directly to the accounts which reduces the risk of losing an invoice.
• Every document can be explicitly identified e.g. on the base of a bar code. Every document has a complete description in a Workflow system.
• Automatic process of posting to ERP system from a Workflow level.
• Controlling reports accessible to accounting department’s workers created with the help of Microsoft Reporting Services. Among other things there is information about invoices registered in the company, invoices being in the flow process together with information about how long they are in the company and who is keeping them.

To department managers:

• Organization of coming and leaving correspondence to a department.
• An access to elements via www browser.
• Automatic notifying about new correspondence/ new invoices and the like.
• The description of expenses’ invoices in an electronic form.
• An access to all the expenses’ invoices in one’s department
  • Control of expenses
  • Current information about posting process or the completion of payment
• A list of expenses in a given department against a background of planned budget
• Easy searching out of the correspondence with a given client.

To the front office service:

• Very simple registration of correspondence.
• Automatic distribution of notifications about new elements.
• Automatic suggesting:
  • Department managers.
  • Passage paths on the type of documents.
• Levels of an access to elements.
  • Automatic recognizing of scanned documents and attaching them to entered elements.