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Constructing the Business Case and Measuring the Return on Investment for e-Signature Technology

Returns on Investment and Benefits Realized Across Industries

Federal Government

The US Army has successfully reengineered its paper forms-based business serving 1.4 million Army personnel around the world, converting its inventory of 100,000 forms to an e-forms process.  The Army conservatively estimated each paper form took 10 hours to complete, with handling by six personnel throughout the year.  The new forms program, enabled by Silanis Technology’s e-signature platform along with IBM’s content management and forms technology, will save 60 hours a year for each staff member and the Army is expecting to save $1.3 billion annually in administrative processing costs alone when the system is fully automated – compounded by efficiency, productivity and responsiveness gains. For the first time, the Army will have a single, centralized format for electronic documents based upon open standards.

State and Local Government

Seamless integration of the Kansas Department of Transportation’s (KDOT) electronic forms and workflow system with Silanis’s ApproveIt ® electronic signature platform has helped to drive additional value from other technology investments, such as electronic forms and workflow, as processes remain 100 percent electronic. Capturing approvals on forms now takes minutes instead of hours. Turnaround times on processes have been reduced dramatically. Approval times on requests for permits for highway accesses have been reduced on average by five weeks.  And, KDOT estimates it has realized an up to 60 percent reduction in turnaround times on forms.

Financial Services

Shortly after introducing electronic signatures from Silanis, a Fortune 500 Financial Services Provider and a leading provider of 401(k) plans was able to reduce approval times on application packages from 14 days to just a matter of hours. Courier charges, which previously added up to $10 per application, have been virtually eliminated. Scanning costs for completed applications, that were adding $5-6 per application, have also been eliminated. The document now stays in electronic format throughout the entire routing process eliminating the need for both scanning and paper process management. In addition to pure cost savings, this company was also able to streamline processes and significantly improve productivity. By eliminating outdated, manual processes, the company was able to re-focus their account manager’s time back into selling. This shift immediately provided a direct and positive impact on revenue generation, as time is now devoted to acquiring customers rather than managing processes.

Insurance

Today, due to significant advertising, commission, underwriting and IT costs, it takes insurers three to five years to break even on each new customer.  Customer retention during that break even period is critical to survival and profitability.  Add to this the need for insurers to appeal to a new generation of buyers.  Generation X and Y clients of insurers have an expectation of Web-based services.  Insurers must respond with new business models based on straight-through processing technology such as electronic signatures to offer these clients services with speed and convenience.

A leading insurance carrier implemented Silanis e-signature technology across multiple channels and product lines removing the final barrier to straight-through processing.  The company conservatively estimates it can achieve a total return on investment within three years based on hard cost savings, and by factoring in soft cost savings (such as the impact of Internet self-service capabilities) can shave another year off that period of return. 

The company is now able to provide documents for customers to e-sign on the Web within 20 seconds of their consent, and estimates it is able to save $10 per transaction based on elimination of paper, scanning and service costs.  Finally, the company expects to avoid payouts for disputed coverage as a result of incomplete documentation through the use of electronic signatures. This alone could provide the full payback for the project.  

In Summary

Electronic signatures can be instrumental in helping companies across a wide variety of industries achieve new levels of competitive advantage.  Electronic signatures enhance organizational productivity, ensure audit ability of business processes, provide the necessary evidence to support and defend processes in a court of law, and as we have outlined in this paper, deliver outstanding financial returns and benefits to adopting organizations.

The development of a sound return on investment analysis that outlines the costs and expected benefits of such an investment can be an instrumental tool in developing a business case for electronic signature technology, allowing you to secure final decision maker approval on your project, overcome opposition to such a project and can provide hard evidence to pave the way for future expansion of e-signature use across your enterprise.

If you are planning your return on investment analysis in the near future, contact Silanis Technology and our business consultants will be happy to lend their expertise to guide you through the development of your business case. Or, if you are investigating electronic signature technologies, visit our resource center, view an online demo or  call us at 1-888-Silanis (745-2647) to learn how our ApproveIt ® Enterprise Platform can support your full spectrum of e-signature, e-transaction and e-vaulting needs.

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