Does Digital Transformation Really Eliminate Paper?

Tuesday, Jun 28th 2022
multitasking woman using tablet, laptop and smart phone, with blank screens, indoors on a table

Decades ago experts and analysts forecasted paperless offices would soon become the norm and it had already started. That was in the 80’s. Interesting that the paper industry today claims that more paper is used today then before and usage is still on the rise; they also claim that paper-based mail consumes less energy than an email!

Where does the truth stand? Somewhere between hype and hard-facts most likely. New technologies are introduced quicker than ever before but it seems that the adoption of new technology “shifts” need decades to replace the former tech with the new one. IDC predicts from 2015 until 2018 still 60% of all companies will have paper-based communications as the most used channel.

Is digital better? Tablets , e-readers, smartphones cover no doubt an amazing amount of communications and displays it at the right  time on the device I interact with the most, with the exception of paper that is. Paper  - is still there – in instances where I need good readability, or an essential piece of information that needs to be archived, or the off-chance I need to download a utility-bill for my Mom...she still can’t do anything with an electronic device, but with paper it’s easy.

 A glimpse into the future of Customer Communications Management (CCM)

Paper is a very easy media: you don’t need frequent or scheduled updates or the latest device with a 6-inch screen and a 5MP front-facing camera to read it. Enterprises should give customers the option to choose the media and hence device of their choice based on what’s convenient for them personally whether paper, digital device or as the tech improves even wearables. 

All channels, be they digital, voice, paper will have a co-existence for sure in the near future (maybe 2 decades from now?). Many projects I have seen so far demonstrate how enterprises and successful brands are considering these aspects of choice in communication.

That means for customer communication management (CCM) in enterprises it’s worthwhile to invest in an omnichannel platform to communicate over the entire spectrum of media, devices and preferred channels. Think about a health payer who still needs communications for elderly people on paper vs. an early tech adopter who only wants to ban via their iPhone or Apple Watch?

But what’s about the process? Paper is not dictating the process anymore, it’s easy to use, but sometimes blocks any process improvements. Here I think the digital transformation will bring the big and disruptive advantage. Client onboarding benefits from e-signature, customers benefits from preference management and it goes with saying customers benefit from all aspects of mobile banking or insurance apps.

On the enterprise side - streamlining internal workflows across teams driven by digital collaboration as one example, with a behind-the-scenes automation of administrative process both on the front-end and back-end allows for a easy and seamless customer experience. This will be THE competitive differentiator in years ahead. All this shows that not only the displaying device (from paper to the latest Android or iPhone) is as important as the digitization of the entire process to leverage a hassle-free customer experience.