Document automation (also known as document assembly) is the design of systems and

workflow Workflow is a generic term for orchestrated and repeatable patterns of activity, enabled by the systematic organization of resources into processes that transform materials, provide services, or process information. It can be depicted as a seque ...

s that assist in the creation of

electronic document An electronic document is a document that can be sent in non-physical means, such as telex, email, and the internet. Originally, any computer data were considered as something internal—the final data output was always on paper. However, the ...

s. These include logic-based systems that use segments of pre-existing text and/or data to assemble a new document. This process is increasingly used within certain industries to assemble legal documents, contracts and letters. Document automation systems can also be used to automate all conditional text, variable text, and data contained within a set of documents. Automation systems allow companies to minimize data entry, reduce the time spent proofreading and reduce the risks associated with

human error Human error is an action that has been done but that was "not intended by the actor; not desired by a set of rules or an external observer; or that led the task or system outside its acceptable limits".Senders, J.W. and Moray, N.P. (1991) Human Er ...

. Additional benefits include: time and financial savings due to decreased paper handling, document loading, storage, distribution, postage/shipping, faxes, telephone, labor and waste.

Document assembly

The basic functions are to replace the cumbersome manual filling in of repetitive documents with template-based systems where the user answers software-driven interview questions or data entry screen. The information collected then populates the document to form a good first draft'. Today's more advanced document automation systems allow users to create their own data and rules (logic) without the need for programming. While document automation software is used primarily in the

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

, and

risk management Risk management is the identification, evaluation, and prioritization of risks, followed by the minimization, monitoring, and control of the impact or probability of those risks occurring. Risks can come from various sources (i.e, Threat (sec ...

industries, it can be used in any industry that creates transaction-based documents. A good example of how document automation software can be used is with

commercial mortgage A commercial mortgage is a mortgage loan secured by commercial property, such as an office building, shopping center, industrial warehouse, or apartment complex. The proceeds from a commercial mortgage are typically used to acquire, refinance, or ...

documents. A typical commercial mortgage transaction can include several documents, including: *

promissory note A promissory note, sometimes referred to as a note payable, is a legal instrument (more particularly, a financing instrument and a debt instrument), in which one party (the ''maker'' or ''issuer'') promises in writing to pay a determinate sum of ...

* environmental indemnity * trust deed *

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...

* guaranty Some of these documents can contain as many as 80 to 100 pages, with hundreds of optional paragraphs and data elements. Document automation software has the ability to automatically fill in the correct document variables based on the transaction data. In addition, some document automation software has the ability to create a document suite where all related documents are encapsulated into one file, making updates and collaboration easy and fast. Simpler software applications that are easier to learn can also be used to automate the preparation of documents, without undue complexity. For example, Pathagoras holds itself out as a 'plain text, no fields allowed' document assembly system. Clipboard managers allow the user to save frequently-used text fragments, organize them into logical groups, and then quickly access them to paste into final documents.

In supply chain management

There are many documents used in

logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...

. They are called:

invoice An invoice, bill, tab, or bill of costs is a commercial document that includes an itemized list of goods or services furnished by a seller to a buyer relating to a sale transaction, that usually specifies the price and terms of sale, quanti ...

s, packing lists/slips/sheets (manifests), content lists, pick tickets, arrival acknowledgment forms/ reports of many types (e.g. MSDS, damaged goods, returned goods, detailed/summary, etc.),

import An importer is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. Import is part of the International Trade which involves buying and receivin ...

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...

, delivery,

bill of lading A bill of lading () (sometimes abbreviated as B/L or BOL) is a document issued by a common carrier, carrier (or their Law of agency, agent) to acknowledge receipt of cargo for shipment. Although the term is historically related only to Contract of ...

(BOL), etc. These documents are usually the

contracts A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

between the consignee and the

consignor The consignor is the party to a contract that dispatches goods to another party on consignment. In a contract of carriage, is the party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of ...

, so they are very important for both parties and any intermediary, like a third party logistics company (3PL) and

governments A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a m ...

Document A document is a writing, written, drawing, drawn, presented, or memorialized representation of thought, often the manifestation of nonfiction, non-fictional, as well as fictional, content. The word originates from the Latin ', which denotes ...

handling within

supply chain management In commerce, supply chain management (SCM) deals with a system of procurement (purchasing raw materials/components), operations management, logistics and marketing channels, through which raw materials can be developed into finished produc ...

and distribution centers is typically performed in manual labor or semi-automatically using bar code scanners,

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

and tabletop

laser printer Laser printing is an electrostatic digital printing process. It produces high-quality text and graphics (and moderate-quality photographs) by repeatedly passing a laser beam back and forth over a Electric charge, negatively charged cylinder call ...

s. There are some

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

s of high speed document automation systems that will automatically compare the laser printed document to the order and either insert or automatically apply an enclosed

wallet A wallet is a flat case or pouch, often used to carry small personal items such as physical currency, debit cards, and credit cards; identification documents such as driving licence, identification card, club card; photographs, transit pass, b ...

/pouch to the shipping container (frequently a flexible polybag or

corrugated fiberboard Corrugated fiberboard, corrugated cardboard, or corrugated is a type of packaging material consisting of a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards. It is made on "flute lamination machines" or "corrugators" and is used for maki ...

/rigid container). See below for external website video links showing these document automation systems. Protection of Privacy and

Identity Theft Identity theft, identity piracy or identity infringement occurs when someone uses another's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. ...

are major concerns, especially with the increase of

e-Commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

Online shopping Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of th ...

and Shopping channel (other, past references are catalog and

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...

shopping) making it more important than ever to guarantee the correct document is married or associated to the correct order or shipment every time. Software that produces documents are: ERP, WMS, TMS, legacy middleware and most accounting packages. A number of research projects have looked into wider

standardization Standardization (American English) or standardisation (British English) is the process of implementing and developing technical standards based on the consensus of different parties that include firms, users, interest groups, standards organiza ...

and automation of documents in the freight industry.

In legal services

Automation technology may be used in the production of legal documents, such as employment contracts and estate planning documents, potentially with the use of an online interface or decision tree. In large law firms document assembly systems are often used to systemize work, such as through the creation of complex term sheets and the first drafts of credit agreements. With the liberalisation of the UK legal services market spearheaded by the

Legal Services Act 2007 The Legal Services Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that seeks to liberalise and regulate the market for legal services in England and Wales, to encourage more competition and to provide a new route for consumer compl ...

large institutions have broadened their services to include legal assistance for their customers. Most of these companies use some element of document automation technology to provide legal document services over the Web. This has been seen as heralding a trend towards commoditization whereby technologies like document automation result in high volume, low margin legal services being ‘packaged’ and provided to a mass-market audience.Article: The commodities business
Professor Richard Susskind OBE The Law Society Gazette (Thursday 13 April 2006)

In insurance

Insurance policies and certificates, depending on the type, policy documents can also be hundreds of pages long and include specific information on the insured. Typically, in the past, these insurance document packets were created by a) typing out free-form letters, b) adding pre-printed brochures c) editing templates and d) customizing graphics with the required information, then manually sorting and inserting all the documents into one packet and mailing them to the insured. The various documents included in one packet could include the following kinds of documents: * Welcome letter *

Contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

* Certificate * State-specific policy documents * Listing of items insured and insurance amounts * Amendments * Riders * ID card * Company information * Marketing material (other products) * Data A lot of work can go into putting one packet together. In most policy admin systems, the system will generate some kind of policy statement as a starting point, but might need to be customized and enhanced with other required materials.

References

{{reflist, 33em Electronic documents Supply chain management Technical communication Workflow technology

Document assembly

In supply chain management

In legal services

In insurance

See also

References