Situation
Too many insertion orders, invoices and media kits create a need to save physical space and reduce paper at a Rochester, NY media planning agency.
Objective
Reduce storage space dedicated to storing insertion orders, invoices and media kits; provide easier access to forms; and for all employees, reduce filing errors and lost documents.
Solution
A KODAK Scan Station 100—accessed by multiple employees—allowing anyone to scan to networked folders without requiring a dedicated computer or scanning operator.
Comments
“The Scan Station 100 is the ideal answer for us. It’s easy to use, the image quality is outstanding, and the reduction of paper and related hassles provides real value to our business.”
~ Peter Platt, Vice President of Online Media, Butler/Till |  | When your company grows from three people in 1998 to 60 in 2008, it stands to reason that there will be an incremental increase in paperwork. And when you expand your services and geographic reach, that volume of paper grows even more rapidly. That’s the position that Rochester, NY media planning agency Butler/Till found themselves in; and before long, they were stashing media kits everywhere, and buying more and more file cabinets and boxes in which to store insertion orders and other client-related documents.
Explosion of media creates an explosion of paper
20 years ago a media buying firm dealt with radio and TV stations, newspapers and magazines, and outdoor advertising companies. Beyond those choices, there weren’t a great many other media options. Today, the media marketplace has exploded. Online and interactive possibilities abound on the Web, on cell phones, in movie theaters and literally hundreds of other places. Despite the virtual nature of most of this universe, “They still like to send you something tangible to promote themselves,” says Peter Platt, Vice President of Online Media for Butler/Till Smart Media Solutions. The “they” he refers to are the world of companies wishing to promote and create awareness of themselves as viable alternatives for media dollars.
More outlets mean more insertion orders, invoices and proofs of performance that must be generated and retained by Butler/Till. And more outlets mean much more paper in terms of media kits and promotional materials.
“A few years ago we looked at a total document management solution for our accounting system, but we didn’t believe the value was there for what the cost would be,” recalls Platt. “However, we were beset with what I imagine are typical problems in terms of paper. For example, if a person downstairs wanted the media kit for a TV station in Scranton and another person upstairs had it, there was no way of knowing where it was unless they had signed it out properly. Things got misfiled at times. Plus, we had an ever-growing amount of insertion orders, tear sheets and other documentation; and were running out of storage space.”
Butler/Till took steps to cut paperwork, such as generating all media orders electronically, then e-mailing a PDF to the client for approval. “In most cases, the client faxes us back the order; and we may need to countersign it, so we still wind up with at least one piece of paper,” Platt says.
A scanner that everyone can access anytime
Once it was determined that a complete ECM solution wasn’t the ideal answer at the moment, Butler/Till realized it needed a paper-slashing solution. “We have other Kodak Scanners, including a KODAK i1220 Scanner, but those are associated with a specific PC,” Platt notes. “We found the KODAK Scan Station 100, as a network device, offered everyone scanning access without interrupting any one employee or adding to that person’s workload.”
Initially, Media Planner and Buyer Kelly Kilpatrick began scanning stacks of insertion orders, creating client folders on the server, and then recycling the hardcopy originals. As Butler/Till sends out about 10,000 insertion orders alone each year, the paper storage reduction was immediately significant.
“We used to keep active orders in binders, then store them in boxes,” Platt says. “If we needed one for reference at a later date, we had to go dig it out; and as we were storing boxes all over the building, it became more and more difficult to locate the specific one you needed. It was a real productivity hit when someone spent way too much time searching for one piece of paper.”
Media kits were another big storage issue. Each media kit typically consists of a folder with multiple inserts. Today, kits are scanned and organized by geographic region and city/locality. Now, everyone has simultaneous access to every media kit, and misplaced or misfiled kits are a thing of the past. “There’s much less running around and frustration,” says Platt. “I suspect we save a day of manpower per week not traipsing all over the building trying to find something. The Scan Station 100 has been a significant productivity boost for us.”
Though he has tested competitors’ scanners, Taube says, “We didn’t look at competitive products this time. We’ve always been satisfied with the products and service from Kodak. They give us great value. Kodak makes best-inbreed machines, and so we stay loyal to scanners from Kodak.”
A smart idea delivering smarter advantages
After obtaining their KODAK Scan Station 100 in 2006, Butler/Till was up and scanning in no time, with Platt noting that the learning curve was more of a gradual incline that got everyone comfortable with the scanner, quickly. “I think that the way this system was implemented led to immediate buy-in,” he says. “We didn’t mandate use, but as more and more people took advantage of it, others saw the benefits, and before long it became a smart part of the way we do business.”
As for reliability and quality, Butler/Till has yet to require any type of service, and the agency finds the image quality excellent. “We scan primarily in grayscale at 150 dpi, and the automatic image enhancement features also help us keep file sizes small, so—in essence—we’re also saving storage space on our server as well,” says Platt. For larger documents, such as newspaper ads that need to be scanned for proof of performance, Butler/Till uses the flatbed tethered to their KODAK i1220 Scanner.
Platt says the door is still open for a more fully featured document imaging system at Butler/Till, especially as the firm continues to grow. “But for now, the Scan Station 100 is the ideal answer for us. It’s easy to use, the image quality is outstanding, and the reduction of paper and related hassles provides real value to our business. Because it’s a networked scanner, no one is inconvenienced, and everyone who needs to can walk-up scan. We call ourselves a ‘smart media solutions’ company, and the KODAK Scan Station 100 is a smart idea that’s absolutely right for Butler/Till.”
(Note: The KODAK Scan Station 100 has been replaced by the Scan Station 100 Plus, offering inbound/outbound fax capabilities and other enhancements.) |
