THE RESULTS
KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING.
SHARE THE KNOWLEDGE
Xerox(r), The Document Company(r), the stylized X, and all product names and numbers are trademarks of XEROX CORPORATION. Produ ct appearance, configuration and/or specifications are subject
to change without notice. Not all services may be available on all systems.T rademarks of other companies mentioned are hereby r ecognized and acknowledged. Printed in the U.S.A. 9/99 (insert 610P#)
SUMMARY
Document Centre with DocuShare is working so
well that Ross W eatherby routinely fields
requests to make presentations about how
Algoma is using Xerox digital technology to
transform business. Document scanning, archiv-
ing, and sharing have leveraged Algoma� s expert-
ise, providing an intelligent paper capture system
and a digital filing system. "We�ve even had the
Police Department over taking a look," W eatherby
laughs.
"The insurance industry overall is struggling to
use current technology , and Algoma has always
embraced it. Now we�re proving this is a solid
solution. Document Centre and DocuShare are
helping us to be much more effective,"
Weatherby explains. "Xerox� s total digital solu-
tion has revolutionized our business in the past
six months."
osus ossifragi agnascor rures.
W eatherby estimates that Algoma is saving up to $40,000 per year
in labor costs alone with Document Centre. "W e documented that
we were spending one person year in time just searching our
paper files. W e�re not doing that anymore," he laughs. "Now any
paper document that has lasting value is automatically scanned.
DocuShare then helps us easily search records and databases by
key words, customer names, and numbers. No more digging
around in file cabinets. I figure Document Centre paid for itself in
the first three months of operation in salary savings alone."
Customer teams at Algoma love the difference Document Centre
and DocuShare are making. "W e�re making much better business
decisions because we�ve got better information," he says. "Better
business decisions mean fewer claims and greater profit."
But the greatest business result is more time for customer service,
according to Weatherby. "W e went from spending a lot of time on
paper administration to spending a lot more time on our cus-
tomers. That�s the real pay off for us."
ALGOMA INSURANCE LIMITED �
TRANSFORMING BUSINESS WITH
XEROX DOCUMENT CENTRE AND
DOCUSHARE
THE INDUSTRY:
Insurance
THE DEPARTMENTS:
Personal
Commercial
Sales
Administration
THE APPLICATION:
Manage all documents � paper
and electronic � with a web-
based digital "filing cabinet"
THE CHALLENGE:
Make complex document
processes less paper intensive
THE SOLUTION:
An affordable digital gateway �
Document Centre 230ST with
Docushare
Converts paper documents to
digital forms for easy knowl-
edge capture and electronic dis-
tribution
THE RESULTS:
Better business decisions; more
company profit
DOCUMENT CENTRE 2330ST
CLIENT PROFILE
Algoma Insurance Brokers
Limited
Y ou might not expect to find an insurance
industry leader in the reaches of northern
Ontario, Canada. But that�s where you�ll find
Algoma Insurance Brokers Limited.
Algoma�s staff of 41 handles a lot of docu-
ments � applications, payments, photo-
graphs, and claims � which guide its insur-
ance decisions. For example, photos of a wood stove in a home give underwriters visual information about insurance risks,
including details about location, installation, and condition. Similarly , home inspection reports contain valuable informatio n
about insured assets which must be tracked and filed. Add to that the industry updates that Algoma teams need to serve
their customers responsibly , and there is a paper stockpile that occupies over 2000 square feet of storage.
Algoma is motivated to transact the majority of its business electronically , and is using current networked technologies,
including full-time internet access. That� s what led Algoma�s President, James Horbatuk, and Technical Administrator , Ross
Weatherby , on a fact-finding mission: find out how new technology could help reduce costs, revolutionize business practices
and increase profits and customer satisfaction.
"The insurance business is paper intensive," states Ross Weatherby, Technical
Administrator at Algoma. "W e looked at how we were doing business, how
we managed customer files and other documents. We could spend up to 8
hours a day just locating and pulling paper documents from our storage files
for reference and claims. We were drowning in paper."
Algoma� s biggest challenge was managing it.
The search for a better way of doing business started when Algoma began
using digital cameras to photograph customers� insured assets, instead of
standard photography . Using digital photography, Algoma immediately dis-
covered how valuable it was for customer teams to have quick electronic
access to those photos. Digital image files accessible from their desktops put
an end to frustrating, time-consuming physical searches to locate paper pho-
tos to support business decisions or claims.
As the one responsible for bringing new technical business solutions to the
company, W eatherby was well aware of the possibilities. "We saw the poten-
tial of electronic storage, access, and retrieval for our business," says
Weatherby. "W e just needed to find the right software and hardware to
make it gel � a digital filing solution that would easily integrate with our
needs and our network."
THE CHALLENGE
THE SOLUTION
�
Ross Weatherby
Technical Administrator
Algoma Insurance Brokers Limited
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
�
�
We knew
we needed to transition
from our time-consum-
ing, expensive paper-
based methods to a new,
easy-to-use electronic
system.
THE RESULTS
Quick desktop scanning,
printing, faxing, copying,
searching, and filing
improve work processes
Reduced document
storage space require-
ments
Less time on document
management; more time
on customer service
When we saw what
Document Centre could
do for our business � at
an extremely reasonable
cost � we knew it was
just the solution we�d
been looking for. The
competitors� offerings
couldn�t even come
close to Xerox.
�
When W eatherby attended a Xerox seminar about Document Centre and
DocuShare, an easy-to-use digital filing solution for workgroups, he knew he
was on the right track. "When I saw the demonstration, it just clicked for me,"
he remembers. "I saw how easily we could use DocuShare to store and share
information in electronic customer files, including our digital photos."
Then W eatherby saw Document Centre 230ST scanning functions, and he
knew he had the answer to his other problem � managing paper. "With
Document Centre scanning, we can easily convert that paper flow into digital
files that can be stored, shared, and accessed by everyone," Weatherby
reports.
He recounts evaluating competitors� offerings. "We were looking at high end
document management systems that were $50,000 to $100,000 to license 40
seats," he says. "The DocuShare feature and price � under $10,000 (CDN) for
50 seats � made it a very worthwhile investment."
Along with functional and costs benefits, Document Centre 230ST provided
Algoma superior copy , print, and fax functions, all in one device and easily
accessed from users� workstations. "Document Centre makes scanning so
easy , any one can do it, and DocuShare makes it painless for users to save
documents and perform powerful searches to find exactly what they need in
a customer�s file. It� s a powerful combination for us," Weatherby notes. This
solution turned their office into an efficient knowledge-sharing center.
Ross Weatherby
Technical Administrator
Algoma Insurance Brokers Limited
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada