Digital Transformation can’t just be a slogan or a flag to wave.
To be a true revolution, Digital Transformation must be mature, and it must involve all business processes and all the internal and external workflows of a company. It is here, in this 360-degree paradigm shift, where the true power of digital transformation lies.
Digital Transaction Management (DTM) systems are strategically and decisively part of this type of change…even if they don’t always get the attention they deserve.
In this post, we want to focus extensively on this topic: we’ll do so by starting with definitions; then, we’ll analyze the advantages and opportunities of Digital Transaction Management systems. Finally, we’ll focus on an important starting point that is at the base of everything: document dematerialization.
Digital Transaction Management – what is it?
Let’s get right to the point: Digital Transaction Management is a broad category of cloud services built to digitally manage document-based transactions.
In concrete terms, it’s about electronic transactions, document transfers, certifications, secure and dematerialized archiving (and we’ll come back to dematerialization at the end of this post), digital signatures, authentications, legal aspects of “non-repudiation”, co-browsing between company and customer… Without getting too technical, these are only some of the most important aspects.
From this overview you can already see that we’re talking about a very broad field, and that the advantages of implementing DTM systems are many, diverse, and interconnected. Before isolating the 5 that seem most important to us, here’s a telling statistic from a recent study:
In 2021, the global Digital Transaction Management market was valued at $8.04 billion, and it’s estimated to grow from 2022 to 2030 at an average annual rate (CAGR) OF 25.5% (source: grandviewresearch.com).
In short, we’re talking about figures that show extensive growth and which still seems to be at the beginning of its soaring curve. In this sense, there are many opportunities to be seized.
Now, as promised, we’ll take a look at the 5 main advantages that companies can gain from DTM systems.
1. Savings of time and money
The first advantage of using Digital Transaction Management systems is the most intuitive, simple, and direct one.
Digitizing the flow of documents and transactions leads to financial savings because the costs of printing, communication, archiving and certification can be eliminated (as well as the related personnel – internal and external – employed in these operations).
The savings aren’t just in terms of money. In fact, by digitizing and automating processes, you save time as well: and we know how the two aspects are closely related.
A concrete example: for processes related to signing documents, the average time estimated using Digital Transaction Management systems is 37 minutes, compared to the average of 5 days to close the same procedure with traditional systems (source: penneo.com).
This difference doesn’t require much commentary! There is also time saved on the customer front! This aspect has a significant impact on the Customer Experience (we’ll return to this point later in the post).
2. Increased safety
DTM systems save you time and money, while providing efficiency.
It’s even more important to emphasize that, in this way, the processes are also made safer: the risks related to physical document storage, to the loss or damage during transfers, to the risks of counterfeiting and of data leaks or losses in general are all reduced. In fact, everything is always perfectly traceable, recoverable, and verifiable, while the risks of intrusion or clumsy management of information are minimized.
And when DTM systems are based on a solid structure, the level of security and privacy protection is also guaranteed at an incomparable level compared to the past.
It’s worth repeating: along with security, privacy is also strengthened, with continuous updates regarding the regulations in force.
3. Flexibility and scalability
As we have already seen, Digital Transaction Management systems are built on Cloud Computing structures. All of this translates into a marked increase in security but also – and above all – in the enormous advantages that derive from flexibility and scalability.
In this very dynamic and fluid productive ecosystem, for example, the cases of start-ups that find themselves growing on the wave of a rapid – and sometimes unpredictable – success are not rare. However, such success could soon be suffocated if the infrastructure in place is not scalable so that operations can be increased out as quickly as possible. In short: the risk is to create bottlenecks that slow down growth.
The elasticity of Cloud Computing systems is a perfect solution for overcoming these issues.
In fact, you can manage services and computing capacity on demand, expanding your Digital Transaction Management infrastructure in a very short time. At the same time, when necessary, this “infrastructure” can return to be more contained, with maximum flexibility, without upheaval and without further expense for downsizing.
4. Integration with CRM and CCM
We already highlighted this point at the beginning of our post: Digital Transformation is really mature when it involves all processes and workflows, in a total integration that offers benefits at all levels, both on the company side and the customer side.
And here we come to a decisive point: the possibilities of integrating Digital Transaction Management systems with those of Customer Relationship Management and Customer Communications Management.
Without getting too technical, let’s start with a question: what is the key point of this type of integration?The answer is very simple: it’s data.
In this digital virtuous circle, all transactions and customer relationships remain tracked and traceable. This mass of highly granular information allows you to optimize processes, first and foremost, by quickly and automatically identifying delicate points, snags, and anything that could be improved. But that’s not all, of course.
In fact, data analysis makes it possible to refine the knowledge of your audience of customers, their characteristics, their preferences, their habits, and their possible needs like never before.
It’s no longer a single and indiscriminate target, but a composite of many different micro-targets, all to be analyzed with the utmost attention and then approached with customized actions and processes.
The point of arrival? People. Or, to put it another way, improving the Customer Experience, which we will focus on in the fifth and final point.
5. Improving the Customer Experience
In the digital age, market challenges are played around the Customer Experience. Just think of how the giants of the technology sector are moving in this direction: companies such as Amazon, Apple, Microsoft or Google (to name just the most famous and prominent names) put the customer at the center of everything. And the entire digital experience revolves around the individual customer.
First and foremost, it’s a question of the digital Customer Journey: which must be fluid, intuitive, and fast.
And here – even in this field – DTM systems are proving invaluable…or rather, indispensable.
None of us want to deal with paper-based processes that waste time. Contracts that have to wait in the mail box to be signed and then returned, paper-based legal agreements, exhausting bureaucratic procedures to conclude simple transactions: all of this is increasingly a thing of the past.
The future of relationships and transactions between company and customer, however, is all within a few clicks or a few taps on your smartphone.
Here’s a very telling statistic about this:
In a Forrester study commissioned by DocuSign, 32% of respondents said they had abandoned closing contracts, agreements, and transactions because they were discouraged by paper and manual procedures (source: docusign.co.uk).
Upstream of everything: document dematerialization
We’ve defined Digital Transaction Management and the broad field of its applications, and we’ve collected the advantages of implementing DTM systems in five key points.
The last and main question remains: what is the starting point upstream of it all? In this case, the answer is very straightforward: document dematerialization. Let’s be clear: digitization and dematerialization are two different concepts. Here, we’re talking about differences that concern the legal and operational level.
In fact, dematerialization is a concept that goes beyond that of simple digitization: with it, paper documents can be completely eliminated, as their digital counterparts take on full legal and probative value.
In this area, of course, you can not improvise. And it is essential to rely on companies who are specialized in this field. In particular, the dematerialization services offered by Doxee are not limited to fulfilling legislative obligations and guaranteeing constant updates on regulations: they are designed according to the needs of each individual company so that they can be integrated with CRM and CCM systems in an omnichannel and data-driven perspective.
This is how the circle closes: cost savings, optimization of digital processes, and a new relationship with customers that is ever closer and more efficient.