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The Advantages of Paperless Data Collection
Going Green can Save Your Business Some Green
“Going green” is a pretty popular buzzword right now. More and more companies have some kind of mention on their website about their commitment to the environment whether it’s donating to 1% for the Planet or “going paperless”. While going paperless is certainly a responsible move, it has far more value than giving your company a good environmental reputation. It actually affects your bottom line in concrete business terms.
When transitioning to a paperless system, most people immediately think about how much money they’ll save by not having to buy paper. And, obviously, that’s true. However, the real savings is far beyond the cost of the paper itself. Consider all of the other things your company buys just to support the use of paper:
- Staplers
- Staples
- Staple Removers
- Paperclips
- Pushpins
- File Folders
- File Folder Hangers
- File Cabinets
- File Labels
- 3-Ring Binders
- Sheet Protectors
- Folders
- White Out
- Highlighters
- Printers
- Ink Jet Cartridges
- Fax Machine Ink
- Clip Boards
- Paper Stands
- Paper Shredders
If you put a dollar figure next to every item on the list above and add it up, you’d end up with a much bigger number than just your total paper costs. Of course, switching to a “paperless” system won’t eliminate the need for these things 100%. But it will significantly reduce it.
And businesses aren’t the only ones to benefit. Any institution or organization can reduce costs by reducing their addiction to paper. During their research on penguins in Argentina, a team of biologists from the University of Washington collected data on 55,000 penguins, 25,000 eggs, and 174,019 chicks. All of the data was written down in paper field books. Since 2008, they have amassed 1,838 books. But what’s worse, it that after the research, it took them 6 months to transfer the data from paper to their database. The team decided to switch to a paperless field data collection solution. Now, all of their data can be transmitted from the field to their database electronically, saving them not only the cost of all of the above, but also the cost of paying 2 people to manually enter the data into their system. And of course, it will save them a significant amount of space too.
While there is an initial cost involved with switching to a paperless system, the long term ROI cannot be denied. The problem with paper (and all of its accoutrements) is that they constantly have to be replaced. Once you switch over to a paperless office, your upfront costs start to pay for themselves immediately. So now, it’s not just your PR person that can feel good about going paperless: your CFO will too!
