So What Really Is Business Process Automation?

You may start to hear the term "Business Process Automation" circulating - So what is it exactly?

Gartner defines it as "the automation of complex business processes and functions beyond conventional data manipulation and record-keeping activities, usually through the use of advanced technologies." 

Really, the goal of most business software is to take tedious processes and convert them into a push-button workflow that takes the manual out of manual labor. Because logging into a website to approve some invoices instead of Jim chasing after you every afternoon for a signature sounds a little easier... on everyone. 

So you have a lot of paper, I mean a lot of paper, and some days sorting and organizing that paper has the potential to turn your brain to mush. But what if we could implement a process that begins with a few steps at the copier and ends
in a nice convenient digital file cabinet that contains all the business process workflow for each document?

For instance, your job is to take your stack of paper, review each sheet, sort them into the appropriate stacks, have each of the four managers approve their stack in a timely (and I stress timely) fashion, then be able to track down those invoices, new hire packets or expense reports (whatever makes up your "stack of paper") at any given moment.  You might have a tear running down your cheek right now as you imagine yourself in the file room with drawers of file cabinets ripped open and you sprawled out on the floor going through yellow folder after yellow folder (who decided on that shade of yellow anyway?) looking for that one page, only to be interrupted 50 times for things that are possibly more important but that must take a back seat until you can find that one... wait... there it is!

If this sounds familiar, I think we can help...well I know we can help. Business Process Automation isn't just a new trendy term, it is in fact real and we know all about it.  So wipe those tears away and let us know when you are ready to make it a reality. We are here waiting!

Join us in Vancouver, Washington at the Hilton on October 15, 2015 to learn more from our experts! Register now at www.ctx-xerox.com/tech.html

From The New Hire Perspective

“I had an amazing opportunity in getting this job right after college, and I think that speaks a lot about the company in general.  Within these doors, there’s such a unique environment, a mix of tenured folks, who really bring so much knowledge and experience to the table, and the fresh faces, eager to start and flourish in their professional lives.  Instead of there being any sort of hierarchy or selfishness, what really stood out to me the most was how much these experienced reps wanted to help out.  The biggest emphasis in their advice was the importance of relationships and that people buy from people. After being here for a year and a half, that’s exactly how I look at it.

If the bottom line for any sales position isn’t to help people out, you won’t be successful. As most would agree, I think the world of “sales” comes with a certain stigma and that’s something that can’t really be avoided.  But what I have noticed is the people that are the most successful and tenured became that way because they were able to create those relationships and trust with these companies.  If I ever lost my vision in that, I’d walk away.  What I enjoy the most about being a part of CTX and the entire Northwest Group is that they created an environment where I felt that anything less was unacceptable.”

We are always looking for energetic, positive and outstanding individuals to join our team!

Click here to view available job opportunities in our Portland, Eugene, Corvallis, Boise, Pocatello, Redmond, Auburn, Yakima and Kennewick offices!

Stories from the Field

“Great customer service.” What does that phrase mean to you? I hear it nearly every day, and yet I wonder how different people interpret this concept. A wholly intangible idea, this can be difficult to define.

For our customers, the experience begins as soon as they pick up the phone to contact us. While our Field Service Technicians are the face of a customer’s experience with the Northwest Group (CTX and QBSI), our Dispatchers in the Customer Care Center are the voice. If a customer experiences long hold times, unclear communication, or the feeling their concerns are not being addressed, then an opportunity to provide great customer service has already been missed. However, if a customer has a prompt, concise and attentive conversation when calling the Northwest Group, the tone has been set for a great overall experience. But great customer service doesn’t end there.

As important as effective communication is to our Customer Call Center, it is equally imperative to our Service Department. At the Northwest Group, we ask that all of our technicians contact our customers within one hour of receiving their service call to provide an estimated time of arrival. This allows a customer to understand where they fall in our technician’s schedule. Since not all copier repairs go as expected, not every ETA can be achieved, which is why follow-up communication is absolutely critical. If a technician knows they cannot meet an ETA, it is of the utmost importance that they communicate with their customer to update them as soon as possible. Additionally, if a machine is in need of parts that must be ordered from our manufacturers, and the part arrival is delayed, step one is to contact our customer to update them of the situation, and offer alternative solutions, if possible. 

What does this all mean? Communication is the key!

So, what does great customer service mean to me? That our customers immediately know the expectations, are communicated with if there is any delay, and what the plan is if there are any hurdles that our Service Department needs to overcome. Now that’s great customer service.

Jim Wadsworth 

Field Service Manager

www.ctx-xerox.com

www.qbsi-xerox.com

Knowing is Half the Battle

I’m a kid of the ‘80s.

I left my Flock of Seagulls hair in 1984. I left my mullet in 1985. I then left my Bon Jovi locks behind in 1986. Don’t ask me about my Living Color shaved head/dreadlocks from 1988 to 1990. I have successfully “misplaced” the remaining pictures/evidence of that fiasco. When it comes to hair, I learned what not to do in the ‘80s.

However, one thing that I still haven’t moved on from is G.I. Joe. No, I don’t have action figures throughout my office (nor at home). I still subscribe to their tagline, “Knowing is half the battle.” I am a firm believer of “I don’t know what I don’t know”, so when something comes along that causes me to shift my thinking – a paradigm shift – I am open to it. I don’t assume I know everything about even the very industry I specialize in – Managed Print Services.

This open thinking has allowed us at CTX to move into areas we previously have not offered service. At first, we only serviced HP, Xerox, and Kyocera printers but over time, we created a business model that allowed us to take on virtually every make and every model of desktop laser printers. This has opened up so many doors for us. We found a way to meet a need in the market – manage any laser printer out there because our potential customers may have ANY laser printer out there. And we haven’t stopped adjusting our business model as needed.

Now let me turn this back on you and your organization. How much do you know about your energy cost in kilowatt hours? Maybe you don’t know personally, but I am positive you or someone in your organization can look that up easily or call someone at PGE (or some other provider) and find out. Knowing this number gives you opportunities to make smart business decisions around that number.

Can you negotiate it down with your current vendor? Are there better opportunities through other service providers to negotiate that number down? Are there new or emerging competitors that offer different services that can provide the same end result (or better)?

Can you communicate the need to reduce energy consumption to your employees? If you were to create an incentive to do so, how much money could you budget to award employees while still maintaining a net reduction in expenses?

Are you able to pinpoint where your energy goes? If so, can you isolate the “worst offenders” and change business practices and habits so that these offenders use less energy? Are there other assets that could replace these “energy hogs” that will create an attractive ROI?

OK, maybe knowing in this case isn’t “half” the battle – it’s more like 10%. As you can see, there is more work to be done after you are in the know. I gave you an easy example. Oregon (and nearly every other state) has initiatives and incentives revolving around energy. There are rebate programs for putting your company’s personal computers on a power management program (please see me if you have any questions – we have a great solution around this). Let’s move on to one area I’m positive into which you have little visibility – printing.

How much do you spend on generating a single page document?

Don’t know? Well, you really should. I can say that because I have seen through my work that knowing this number has allowed companies large and small to reduce their real expenses around printing in a manner similar to reducing their expenses around energy.

Maybe you think that you could do some simple math to determine your cost per print. You know that Staples charges $149.99 per toner and the manufacturer boasts an output of 6,000 pages for that toner. That seems to work out to $0.025 (rounded) per page. Now, as you walk through the office and you see a stack of papers go uncollected on the printer, you know that is approximately $1.45 (for example) wasted. Multiply that out for a year and that number grows. Are you beginning to see the direction I’m going here? This is a great place to START, but don’t stop there.

How much did the printer cost? How old is it? How much……wait.

I’ll save you the many more questions you should be asking. $0.025 is only the tip of the iceberg for calculating your cost per print.

I highly encourage you to request an assessment from CTX (Oregon and SW Washington) or QBSI (Washington). We specialize in working with your administration and IT staff to determine your true cost per print. Once you know that….well, that’s half the battle. What you do with it at that point is up to you. You can continue to watch money sit wasted on the printer or you can take the next step.

What is that step? Well, we can help with that too. Give us a call today.

Daniel Alexander has been the Director of Managed Print Services for CTX since 2010. He has personally helped hundreds of businesses get their arms around what is known in the industry as one of the last unaudited expenses – print management. He can be reached directly at 503-968-0365.

The Great Command Workstation

In the last 13 years, I have held a variety of positions within our company, from sales to technical analyst, to trainer to now the Marketing Director.  In every one of my jobs, there was always one tool that I would use on a regular basis and that is Command Workstation.

EFI’s Command Workstation is software that can be loaded on any computer, in my case Mac OS10.  It is a direct interface to the Fiery print controller, basically the brain of your production/light production device.  It allows you to do so many things to ease your day, here are a few:

1.)   View the Status of your jobs: There are two areas within the main screen of Command Workstation that show the progress of your job.  Whether it is still processing or it is printing 100 of a 500-page job, all this information is at your fingertips.  In my case, this is especially helpful because I sit about three rooms away from the actual device so instead of having to get up every 5 minutes or better yet, sit and stare at the device, I can just simply open the Command Workstation window to verify my job is running and what copy number it is on.  This is one of the most helpful tools in maintaining a productive working day when I have to print on demand.

2.)   Reprint a Job: With a normal multifunctional device, once your job is printed, it is gone forever unless you specifically chose to save it in a mailbox on the hard drive.  In my job, I frequently proof items to make sure that everything is correct in the document before doing a final print.  With Command Workstation and my Fiery, my jobs are always stored for reprint. Therefore, I can send a job, once again from my desk three rooms away, and when I arrive at the printer, if my proof looks great, I can release 10, 100, 1000 more right there instead of going back to my computer.  This is once again a huge benefit in keeping my day productive and efficient.

3.)   Imposition:  Many of us have had to make booklets and getting those pages in the correct order when it is more then four can be quite confusing. It usually ends in manually taking blanks sheets, making a booklet, writing the number on each page, then deconstructing the booklet to see what page lands where.  Within Command Workstation and the print driver at your desk, you can send a single page document to print and simply choose “booklet layout – left binding” and boom, the 10 manual steps you previously did are gone, just like that!

Although there are so many features to help with workflow, imposition, and composition of documents within Command Workstation, these 3 simple but very important features are what I use on a daily basis.  With these 3 simple improvements in my workflow, the productivity of my day greatly increases so that I can continue to print on demand instead of outsourcing in bulk. This also results in saving a lot of money!

Do you have a fiery on your device and want to have all of this functionality at your fingertips? Visit EFI to download now! http://w3.efi.com/en/Fiery/Products/CWS5

Kristen

Northwest Group 

Director of Marketing

BLACK...It Really is a COLOR!

It may surprise you, but black is one of the hardest colors (shades) to match.

When printing in CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black), different values are needed to give "Black" a certain appearance on the page. For example, a 'Warm Black' would have more Red in it than other colors, or a 'Cool Black' would have more Cyan in the mix.

If you have a large object on a page and only use 100% K (Solid Black), it will appear dark grey rather than a deep black. This is due to the saturation level achievable by the ink or toner on the paper. If you are printing the page in full CMYK color, you can achieve a deeper, richer looking black by leveraging the use of the other CMY colors.

If you blend; C 50, M 30, Y 30 , K 100, you will achieve a 'deeper RICH black' that will be perceived as 'cooler' because it has more cyan in the mix.

If you blend; C 30, M 50, Y 30 , K 100, you will achieve a 'deeper RICH black' that will be perceived as 'warmer' because it has more magenta in the mix.

The term 'RICH' is used to enforce the notion that more colors were used to make black, so it's been enriched.  The term "solid black" refers to the color generated from the used on K "black only" ink or toner.

'Solid Black' is best used for text, lines and thin graphical elements, which help to maintain hard, crisp and clean edges. If you choose to use 'RICH' Black, any minor mis-registration within the printing process will make these objects appear soft edged, lacking clarity.

When using software within Microsoft's Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher) all color is defined in RGB (Red, Green, Blue), not CMYK. Black is defined with a value of R 0, G 0, B 0. The trouble with RGB is that it is a Display (Monitor) Color language, not a Print Color language like CMYK. If you want to print your file in black and white, you must select 'Grayscale' within your print driver for it to generate a black and white service click. If you let your Postscript print driver convert color for you, it will convert RGB Black to CMYK value of C 89, M 83, Y 78, K 100, which generates a color service click when 'Grayscale' is not manually selected.

Adobe Systems, Microsoft's leading software competitor, chooses to define Black within it's software (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop) using the CMYK Color language, setting Black to K 100. So, when printing files which only using Adobe Black, a black and white service click, whether you select 'Grayscale' or not will always be generated.

MY FAVORITE BLACK FACTS
Today a pinch of Black Pepper is added to almost every type of recipe imaginable. Once used as currency and presented to the gods as a sacred offering, it is fortunate that this most popular of spices is now readily available throughout the world.

BLACK AS A SIGNATURE COLOR IN MUSIC:
Johnny Cash — This country music icon was referred to as “the man in black.”

QUOTES ABOUT BLACK:
“Without black, no color has any depth. But if you mix black with everything, suddenly there’s shadow – no, not just shadow, but fullness. You’ve got to be willing to mix black into your palette if you want to create something that’s real.” — Amy Grant

FAVORITE SONG WITH BLACK IN THE TITLE
Baby’s in Black by The Beatles

WHAT OWNING A BLACK CAR MEANS
There is no question that the vehicle you drive is an extension of your personality — According to the experts, the message you send by driving a Black vehicle is your empowered, not easily manipulated, love elegance, and appreciate classics.

TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THE COLOR BLACK
Is there something you know about black, we’d love to hear from you. Share what you know about the color Black

by Brandon Gary
Director of Production Print
www.qbsi-xerox.com  

What's All The Hype With Solid Ink?

What is the deal with SOLID INK?

The first solid ink printer was created by Tektronix in 1991 and printed at 1 page per minute.  The printers were a big hit in the graphic community because of the bright and high graphic output.  In 2000, Xerox bought this technology and continued to develop it with the primary research and development occurring in at the Wilsonville, Oregon location.  In 2009, Xerox released the first multifunctional product utilizing the Solid Ink Technology named the ColorQube 9200 series. There were some very unique and beneficial elements to this new product that made it a huge success to Xerox and its subsidiaries.

1.) Environmental Benefits: Because these devices use solid ink instead of the normal toner that laser devices use, all the parts that go into a toner device don't exist. Therefore, the waste from toner, waste toner, drums, fuser units and the packaging associated with these items is reduced by 90%.  Not only this, but the space necessary to store these items, the trucks used to ship these items all gets reduced! 

2.) Cost Benefits: These devices also utilize a 3-tier pricing strategy. What is that? Normal laser devices have two meters, a color meter and a black & white meter.  There is no gray area.  On the ColorQube systems with solid ink, there is a 3-tier system that doesn't look at whether the system is color or black & white but actually how much color is being used. For documents that have a color logo in the corner and usually count as full color on laser devices, now can fall into the 1st tier with the rest of your black & white documents.  With a percentage of fill between 3% and 7% in color, ColorQube systems will count that page in the 2nd tier and finally the remaining fill falls in the full color click rate. Since the introduction of the ColorQube series, we have seen a huge amount of documents fall into the 2nd tier, roughly 70%, which dramatically reduces the overall expense of printing color.

3.) Technological Benefits: Xerox introduced these devices with the same multifunctional capabilities as a normal laser device.  You are able to scan to various platforms, print both PS and PCL from Windows or Mac as well as fax and copy.  They also included the important security features that come standard on Xerox devices including data encryption, automatic disk overwrite and an optional removal hard drive.  The system was built for the heavy flow of an office workflow and over the last few years has stood the test of time.  Xerox recently introduced the ColorQube 8700 & 8900 to the product lineup that included this very same technology and advantages but fits a smaller environment both in footprint and volume.

For more information on the ColorQube series and Solid Ink technology, let us know, The Northwest Group - CTX, QBSI, Pinnell!

Document Management for Small Business

Has it ever occurred to you that small business is the perfect client to adopt a certified Document Management System? Who needs more resources for growth and less capital than a small startup or single or double agent business?

Consider Jane Smith Insurance. (Not her real name.) Jane had worked in the health insurance industry for over 20 years in administration for a big corporate provider. She noticed there was a real need for small business health plan counseling that often went unnoticed by the larger companies. With her husband close to retirement, Jane began her own agency focusing on those companies. With two computers in their home office, a few file cabinets and a small scanning copier Jane began Jane Smith Insurance. With Jane’s industry background and her husband’s great personality and talent for answering customer inquiries, their insurance practice began to grow.

Soon customer service began to slip. Keeping track of documents and providing immediate answers to inquiries presented a problem…It was time to open an office and hire assistants to keep track of the activity associated to their growing practice…or was it?

With a small business implementation of DocuWare and a back file conversion of existing files Jane and her husband were able to grow their client portfolio to over 400 businesses. They decided to hold the line at 400, as that was the sweet spot where they could continue to provide excellent customer service and manage their client base without adding employees. Frankly they liked the control they had of their business and quality! Their investment in scanning, software and copiers was less than $5000.00. That system today can be leased with a buyout at term end for less than $125.00 per month!

Today Jane and her husband are really retiring. Their practice is worth double the amount of a similar practice because every bit of intellectual, marketing, payment, enrollment and claim information is safely contained within their DocuWare system. They are building a luxury condo in South America, and passing the torch to another entrepreneur. 

Still think Document Management isn’t for small business?

Let us at the Northwest Group (CTX, QBSI, Pinnell) assist you with workflow optimization.

New Opportunity for SMBs - TransPromo

The question is one that many SMBs (small to medium sized businesses) are asking themselves – how do I use advertising in the current climate?  The most tried and true method for SMBs to get people walking into their front doors is by sending out “coupons” in colorful direct mail campaigns.  Check your kitchen drawer full of pizza coupons to prove that.  

But the average household now sifts through 41 pounds of junk mail a year – and only 5-10% of it is EVER read by the intended recipient.  Why should an SMB invest hundreds or thousands of dollars in a marketing campaign which may not reach event 10% of the intended audience?

And when you think of it, “junk mail” is really a misnomer. It’s not junky looking – it’s usually quite slick and impressive looking (especially if it’s been printed on a Xerox). It's just that it’s often very BAD mail – mail that should never have been sent to someone in the first place. Mail that asks someone to clean their carpets when they have hardwood floors, for example. Mail that offers them dog walking when they have a cat.

Mail that looks great – it just isn’t for the person to which it’s been sent.

But there is one type of mail that is ALWAYS for the person it’s addressed to – Bills and Statements - otherwise known as Transactional Documents. It’s no wonder that over 95% of all transactional documents are opened and read by the intended recipient. Ever not open the light bill for a few months?

For the last few years, large or enterprise companies have come to believe that the easiest and most effective “advertising” they can accomplish is to advertise to their current customer base by combining these two types of mail – and that’s called “TransPromo”. The term TransPromo originates from the practice of combining both transaction and promotional marketing elements in one document.

Who hasn't received bank statements, invoices, informing them of performed transactions, or other informational documents in the mail? And who haven’t received coupon advertisements or glossy 4x6 full-color adverts addressed to “your name or current resident” in their mailbox? Effectively combining these two different documents in to one is what TransPromo is all about.  

Major corporations are using TransPromo every day to garner more and more business from current and past customers.

For example, in that stack of “junk” mail, right behind that direct mail coupon for carpet cleaning in someone’s “hardwood floor only” house, a major home renovation retailer sends a coupon for a Hardwood Floor Care system with a monthly credit card statement.  The retailer had drilled down into the data of the customer’s previous purchases and sent them a coupon that was specifically for them, based on their past purchases.

My NEW Hardwood Floor Care System is great, by the way.

Many SMBs who “get” TransPromo think of it as something that can only be implemented within large corporations. However, there are thousands of small- and medium-sized businesses that send out bills and statements each month that can reap the benefits from implementing TransPromo into their communications strategy, from doctors to local auto repair shops. According to the market research firm, InfoTrends, these documents represent almost 32 billion customer touch points and cost these companies about $120 billion per year.

Here at the Northwest Group (QBSI, CTX, Pinnell), we possess the technology and the expertise to assist our SMB clients with TransPromo. Our technology is second to none in our industry – hardware and software provided by the Northwest Group (QBSI, CTX, Pinnell) can create TransPromo documents that really effect change in our client’s own marketing campaigns. But it’s not enough to just create “Great Looking” advertisement.

At the Northwest Group (QBSI, CTX, Pinnell), we know that color has been proven to increase participation, enhance learning, and increase a consumer’s willingness to read. The proper use of color in our customer’s TransPromo documents requires an understanding of why and how color works. Too much color can be distracting and make a statement look more like an over-the-top advertisement. Not enough color and one misses out on its attention grabbing advantages. Hardware or software can’t tell you how much or how little color a TransPromo mailer needs – only our Production / Marketing specialists can provide that value.

Additionally, when collected and used correctly, data can be a powerful tool. Understanding the data that drives TransPromo, and the resulting personalization opportunities, is imperative to campaign effectiveness. When it comes to data-mining and collecting the right data to use in TransPromo, the Northwest Group (QBSI, CTX, Pinnell) Professional Services can provide real insight into those golden nuggets of data hiding in back-end systems.

So at the end of the day, what advantages do TransPromo documents offer the SMB?

1. Guaranteed reading:  More than 95% of transaction documents are opened and read each month – far more than any other type of direct response effort.  In comparison, standard direct mail has a readership rate of about 7%. A TransPromo document ensures in a better way that the included promotional message will be read.
2. Interest: With TransPromo, SMBs can develop personalized offers with a high degree of relevancy. That’s the secret ingredient in TransPromo success. Many SMBs have data-systems with actionable information on the purchasing histories and preferences of current customers. Using this past purchase history data, SMBs can make their advertising “interesting” to the intended recipient.  In companies that engage in TransPromo, customer response to TransPromo mailers are up to 20 times higher than with regular direct mail campaigns.
3. Impact: When SMBs use TransPromo, they can generate impressive results. Research from the Forrester, TAWPI, Corporate Insight, Bancographyand, among others, indicates that relevant TransPromo content in a marketing campaign can boost year-to-year annual revenue over 36%
4. Cost benefits: SMBs already must send invoices or other transactional documents. Including promotional messages in these documents instead of sending them separately is a tremendous cost advantage. More than 75% of the cost of mail is attributed to postage. TransPromo can significantly reduce mail costs because SMBs can aggregate direct marketing messages or notifications with documents that are already going into the mailstream.
5. Customer loyalty: SMBs can build long-term loyalty by providing valuable information and advice to customers on a one-to-one basis. Helping customers understand key issues and make sound decisions increases their sense of trust in a relationship. Studies have shown that customers that receive TransPromo can be counted on for up to 30% more revenue than customers that don’t receive TransPromo.

TransPromo is an application ripe for the SMB.  Here at the Northwest Group (QBSI, CTX, Pinnell), we can help doctors, auto-repair shops, bakeries – any SMB – to begin to reap the benefits of leveragingwhite space on the "must read" documents they already send out to their customers every single day.

Top 10 Tips To Running Your Copier This Leap Day

Today is leap day and because of this I thought it was appropriate to include some tips and tricks to running your copier effectively.

1.) Don't place the copier near a vent or window, fluctuation in temperature and light will adversely affect the copier output, particularly with color copiers.

2.) When in doubt reboot.  Make sure you know where the main on/off switch is on the machine.  This will be helpful with about 60% of all problems.

3.) Paper really does matter.  If you get 100% recycled paper or the cheapest paper you can find to run through the copier, realize that you will dramatically increase the paper dust in the machine and thus the likelihood of paper jams.

4.) When frustration sets in... Pause, hit the clear all or reset button and start over. Refrain from hitting, kicking or smacking the copier, resist temptation.

5.) Name someone the Copier Guru.  This person will actually know the copier, change the toner and ensure that it is working and when it isn't will know who to call.  It is unlikely that you can expect everyone to take their part in learning the copier.

6.) Put your pages (portrait or hamburger) in the document feeder the same way the paper is in the tray, this will lesson the confusion when trying to double-side and do any other finishing options.

7.) Look for images or stickers on the trays, they usually will help you figure out which direction paper goes in drawer (face-up/face-down/top/bottom).

8.) Place a cheat sheet or user guide near by and let people know where it is. Everyone learns differently and some people love to read the user guide... go figure!

9.) Copiers are usually defaulted to Auto Paper Select, if copying small sizes or to avoid any output malfunctions, you can always override this and select a specific drawer.

And the 10th tip to using a copier effectively is... (drum roll)

10.) Most problems are user error, don't fight the copier, it is on your side!

Happy Leap Day Everyone!

www.ctx-xerox.com | www.qbsi-xerox.com | www.pinnnell-xerox.com

$63,730 for Healthcare Adoption of Electronic Medical Records

Electronic Medical Records (EMS) and Electronic Healthcare Records (EHS) are the terms used to describe a paper-light medical office environment that will get medical practices a payout from the government.

Medical providers that did not take advantage of Oregon and Washington’s EHR Incentive program in 2011 can still begin participation in 2012.  Qualified practices that did not initiate EHR will still get the full $63,750.00 payout over 6 years of consecutive and nonconsecutive compliance until 2016.

Practitioners must bill Medicaid to qualify for the payout. Some restrictions can apply and in certain cases fluctuate. Dental and Chiropractic also qualify.

The first step is to apply for a National Provider Identifier or NPI. This is a unique 10-digit identification number issued to health care providers in the United States by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).  More information can be found at https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov

You then register with your state (i.e. medicaidehrincentives.oregon.gov/OHA/mhit/apply.shtml) and adopt, implement, or upgrade to a certified EHR system, based on the criteria set forth by the state. You must then prepare to attest with your state of jurisdiction. Once you have met the guidelines for EHS you will receive payment, and as long as you meet the requirements you will continue receiving pay outs for the term above.

Ways The Northwest Group (CTX, QBSI, Pinnell) can assist with your implementation:

• The DocuWare Medical Records Division Product Group
• Finding “Meaningful Use” providers to suit your needs
• Workflow optimization assistance and training
• Selection of EMR software that meets your practice culture
• Back file conversion and digitization of client records
• Integrating your current assets into your EHS system

The Northwest Group (CTX, QBSI, Pinnell) embraces this process as part of our 360°™ strategy to offer all areas of your business or practice our expertise in workflow optimization.  The outcome will be higher quality, more efficient healthcare for all of us!

-Chris, CTX Solutions Specialist

The BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) World

Recently, it was reported that over 90 million iPads will be purchased in 2012 –   just a few more than the 40 million purchased in 2011.  Additionally, Amazon reported that a week before Christmas, they were selling over 1 million Kindles a week – thanks in no small part to the Kindle Fire, a $199.00 tablet that does 80-90% of what an iPad can do, for less than a fourth of the price. 

It’s not at all going out on a limb to say that new tablet technology has revolutionized how we think about accessing information. As a consumer product, tablets are amazing: grabbing email, streaming videos, playing games, reading books, browsing the web – there really hasn’t been anything like it since the World Wide Web. 

But what about as an ENTERPRISE device? The Gartner Group estimates over 80% of business will support a workforce that uses tablets by 2013.

You may say, or your corporate IT may say, that “we don’t support these devices”. That’s all well and good, but as you may already know, your knowledge workers don’t really care about your IT rules.

In fact, if John Smith in Accounting already has your corporate wireless internet password and an Outlook Web Access address, that Kindle Fire that Santa delivered to him on Christmas Day is a fully functioning “enterprise device” on your network on January 3^rd – with or without your permission or approval. 

These devices are coming. If you were debating whether or not to buy iPads for your employees last year and never got around to making a decision, you are now left with a stark reality: in the coming months, your network will be exposed to and connected to multiple tablet devices from multiple manufactures, all with different interfaces and apps. 

There’s really not much you can do about it. 

The days of a static, one-size-fits-all policy applied to company-owned assets are over. You are living in a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) world.

It’s a scary proposition, made even more frightening if you don’t have the right technology partner to assist you in traversing this new digital minefield.  

Here at the Northwest Group (QBSI,CTX, Pinnell), we’re developing multiple mobile and cloud based technologies that will support the onslaught of BYOD.

For example, the Xerox Mobile Print application allows tablet users (any make or model) to print to any Xerox device on their network. Your best customer walks in with a copy of the latest contract on their iPad and they want to review it? No problem. Have them email it to cloud@yourcompanyname.com and let them pick it up at the Xerox device by the reception desk. No fuss, no muss. 

Additionally, by utilizing DocuShare, Xerox’s content management system, customers can take old, paper-based forms and easily convert them to fillable e-forms capable of being brought up on a tablet or a smartphone. Imagine filling out your vacation request form, time-card or adding a new baby to your healthcare plan by simply accessing an App on your Android, iPad, iPhone, Kindle or other mobile device. 

Cloud-printing? Mobile App development? Tablet computing? This doesn’t sound like a “copier company”, does it? 

The fact is, by all accounts, we are in the middle of a sea of devices – devices that our IT departments don’t purchase, don’t control and don’t support. But there they are, connected to our networks, accessing our email, our files shares, our documents – and it’s only going to get worse. 

At the same time, business are moving more and more applications off enterprise servers and off to the cloud.  And what better way to access cloud services than through a Mobile Device? 

So whether it’s something as simple as printing from an iPad or as complex as teaming with Cisco to help develop, deliver and support a “borderless network” cloud service to clients, Xerox is leading the pack with innovative new ideas and new product offerings.

So, we’re not just your neighborhood copier vendor anymore.

The commercials say Xerox is “ready for real business”.

At the Northwest Group (QBSI,CTX, Pinnell) we’re eager to be your real business partners. 

- Derek, QBSI: Solutions Specialist

The Cloud?

Technology is really amazing these days.   I’ve sold office equipment for many years and I’m convinced that 2012 will be the year we see technology such as Smartphone’s, Kindle’s, and iPad’s affecting the way I approach my customers.   Why…. Because of the Cloud.

Two years ago my neighbor, who works at a large software company in Washington, told me he was working on the “Cloud” project.  He explained that the “Cloud” was virtual servers that would replace traditional servers that business’s typically own and maintain on site.  That seemed cool to me but not too impactful to my approach to business.  I was mistaken.

What is most exciting to me about this major shift in business document needs is that Xerox is in the best position to help customers solve the Cloud Document Puzzle.   The Northwest Group (CTX, QBSI) has the best professional services team to help navigate through the security, network, software and hardware business objectives for organizations in the Northwest.  

Bring on 2012 …with technology and the Northwest Group with workflow optimization.  I can’t wait!

-Meredith : Major Account Manager

Service & Our Continuous Improvements

At the Northwest Group (Copytronix, QBSI and Pinnell) we are not just a copier company, we strive to provide the very best solutions and service in the marketplace.  This is not a stagnant operation, in fact, we continuously look for new ways to improve our processes both internal and external so that our service is seen as superior and our customers are satisfied.

One significant change we have made in 2011 is our use of BEI Services. Business Equipment Information Services is a tiered approach to managing service results.

This is how it works:

BEI provides us with a worldwide database of equipment performance. We can quickly compare our equipment performance to national standards and take the guess work out of whether or not the equipment is performing as expected, and if not, some insight as to why.

It shows us the most and least effective volume bands for each individual model. We can also instantly compare our results in some critical areas such as parts and labor cost, copies between visits, time between failures and most importantly our ability to fix it the first time, without having to order parts or be called back for any reason before a certain criteria of copies and time make it a quality service call.

Technician territories are set based on data from BEI which builds effective territories based on training, travel, and technical efficiency. It is workload distribution that gives us the best chance of having the correct technician responding to the call with the correct parts to get it fixed the first time.

Along with benchmarking and building effective territories, we can then offer an incentive program to our technicians that rewards doing a total service call, having the correct parts to fix it the first time and making the equipment run as long as possible between service calls.

By benchmarking results, running efficient territories and using parts wisely, we are becoming a better service organization for our customers. That is the ultimate goal.

- Ed: Service Manager