Why You Need A Document Management System

Back To All Posts | Posted on January 4, 2021
Author: Alison Cooper

Documents, whether physical or digital, are an essential aspect of your brokerage business. But managing all your documents can be a challenging task. Depending on your volume, you might store documents in filing cabinets, closets full of boxes, or even entire warehouses. Tracking and locating a single document can be a daunting job, especially if you’re on a tight deadline from Customs and Border Protection.

Eliminate the chaos and clutter of document storage. With the ITS Document Management System (DMS), your documents are better organized and more secure. Reduce space and costs, save time, and increase transparency and efficiency with DMS.

Top of the Line Security and Storage Space with Azure Cloud

Ensure the security of your documents with DMS. Unlike physical documents, our paperwork will never be destroyed in a natural disaster or lost to malicious actors.

Not only are your documents protected from physical harm, but DMS also guarantees state of the art protection of your digital data. DMS utilizes Microsoft’s Azure Cloud, one of the most secure cloud-based services. Have peace of mind knowing that your data is safe. Because files are end-to-end encrypted, DMS ensures data integrity and privacy.

DMS is a digital filing cabinet that grows with you. Once you upload a document to Azure Cloud, you are never at risk of running out of storage space for your electronic documents. You pay for the storage that you use; no more, no less.

Versioning Makes for Easy Audits

Versioning automatically saves old copies of your files. Whenever you upload an updated version of a document, DMS keeps both the newest and any previous versions. This process provides a clear history of how a document has changed over time. DMS stores the transaction history related to the documents uploaded by users, as well as those documents that are generated during entry (such as 7501 forms, 3461 forms, delivery orders, invoices, etc.). This documentation history is critical for being able to survive an audit by Customs and Border Protection or to perform any rigorous quality control.

When you have a clear history of how your documents have changed, you can explain the cause of any discrepancies. This evidence can help free you of liability. If you have to perform a post-summary correction, having documentation available is very important. By providing the document’s history, you can substantiate the series of events. This history helps to mitigate possible fines and penalties.

Fully Integrated DMS Throughout the Application

Integration makes it easy to upload, view, and send files anywhere within the application. Streamline your processes and systems, saving time and increasing productivity.

Upload Documents Anywhere in the System

You can upload documents for a given transaction (e.g., licenses, commercial invoices, etc.) to a specific customer (e.g., power of attorneys, USMCA certificates, etc.) or for a particular product (e.g., blueprints, specifications, photographs, related PGA documentation, etc.). This helps keep your documents organized and easy to access.

Easily Exchange Documents with Your Customers

Customers can upload their business documents from a customer portal to your DMS. With DMS, there’s no need to exchange information via email, copy and paste it from an email to a local desktop, or by means of centralized storage. Because DMS includes privileged viewing rights, you can determine who can and cannot see certain kinds of documents. This confidentiality feature ensures that only the documents you want your customer to see are visible.

Automate Your Documentation Delivery

DMS integration also gives you the benefit of automated document distribution. You can set up a group of documents that need to be present in a given transaction. Once those requirements are met, DMS will send the documents to a predefined recipient. For example, DMS can send all entry documentation to a customer once a file has been cleared and a 7501 form, a 3461 form, and a delivery order has been created. These steps fully automate all the routine communication that would need to occur on every transaction, saving you and your team time and energy.

Any documentation uploaded to a given product can be included as part of the entry summary documentation. Typically, users generate all entry summary packages manually. This includes collated PDF’s containing various documents, such as 7501 forms, 3461 forms, delivery orders, invoices, and all other related documents. DMS automates the document management process, so there is no extra work necessary. When all the documentation requirements have been met, DMS automatically sends the documents to a predefined recipient. This feature gives you the flexibility to provide or omit detailed product documentation.

Eliminate the chaos and clutter of storage for your critical documents. Contact ITS for a software demo today!