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75 years ago, the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren created the character Pippi Longstocking, a courageous child with boundless self-confidence. Where others shrink from doing something completely new, Pippi says: ‘I have never tried that before, so I think I should definitely be able to do that.’
A marvelous find by the author. Sadly, this is far from reality.
In the world, there are more people who have never implemented software in the field of Document Output Management than people who have. Among those inexperienced ladies and gentlemen there are probably a few who think they definitely can. We, the people from August Bridge, love to be invited to look over their shoulder to see how they get it done.
In other words: implementing Document Output Management has become a specialism.
What makes this specialism different from, let’s say, that of a brain surgeon or an astronaut is that is seems so easy. Think about it, you have got an ERP system, you have got software to create documents and you have got an image of your company logo. All it takes is dragging, clicking, typing the address data and pressing the enter button, and there is your delivery note, quotation or invoice.
Those who really think it is no more complex than this, will scratch their head when we, the people from August Bridge, pay them a visit. ‘All you do is create documents all day?’ Some even jokingly ask if we have people who make tea for us. ‘Boil water, put a teabag in a cup and remove it in time. How difficult is it?’
We smile politely and then explain that it isn’t quite like that. We tell them about the complexity of the ERP system, that Document Output Management has so many possibilities that users can’t see the forest for the trees, and that in certain situations some possibilities are unwanted. We also tell them that creating and distributing documents is not just another link in the business process. That it is crucial to the company. And we tell them about the consequences if no invoices are sent at all.
In a series of articles over the next few weeks, we will introduce you to the amazing world of Output Management. As we have never written such a series before, we think we should definitely be able to do that.