Edocs — What They Are; How They’re Used

By Bill Thomas
From my “DocuBLOG” column
Bill works for USA-ONE Interactive

Edocs is short for electronic documents, but it could just as easily stand for efficient documents because nothing improves efficiency quite like replacing the circulation of printed documents with an edoc.

Typically, organizations will say that their primary reason for using edocs is to “go green.” Edocs definitely cut down on the use of paper and therefore help save our forests, but probably the overriding reason companies actually turn to edocs is economical. The “green” edocs save is a lot of greenbacks!

Edocs are popular with banks, law offices and just about every other organization that circulates information. Even Amazon.com has an edocs division that offers a broad selection of publications available for fast — virtually instantaneous — delivery. Plus, the Amazon edocs are priced lower than traditionally printed works, can be conveniently viewed through Adobe reader and, as mentioned above, have zero negative impact on the environment.

One industry that has made a near complete move to edocs is the cruise industry. A few short years ago cruise lines spent considerable money mailing out fairly elaborate kits containing itineraries, luggage tags, excursion options, contracts, etc. Now, all that is provided through edocs. An added advantage for the consumer is the ability to reprint any edocs that are misplaced without incurring the cost of contacting the cruise line representative and paying a fee to have replacement documents sent. The only disadvantage to edocs used in this way is simply the difficulty in training the public, particularly the often-older consumers who typically populate certain cruises. Now that the system of communicating by edocs has been in use for a couple years or so, consumers have definitely taken a liking to its convenience.

Another industry that has made the switch to edocs is the airlines. Where once tickets were mailed out, now they are emailed as edocs, saving time and labor. Plus, with edocs the airlines have effectively eliminated the problem of lost tickets that have to be re-sent to consumers.

Banks are doing everything in their power to promote the use of edocs too. They encourage customers to switch to edocs for receiving statements and bills rather than relying on traditional snail mail. Both cut costs for the institution and save time and paper.

Whatever the real motivating factor behind the societal move to edocs communication — money savings, ecology, time savings or something else — it is a positive step that appears to benefit companies, individual consumers and the planet as a whole.