More efficient document management with workflow automation in SharePoint

Do your project staff spend a lot of time storing, processing and searching for project documentation? Are many repetitive actions within your organization still done manually? Then you are not only wasting time, but also running the risk of errors and costing you unnecessary money in the long run. It can be done differently!

Optimize and automate processes

By optimizing and automating processes, you keep more time for more important tasks and thus work more efficiently. We have already automated processes for many clients, thereby drastically reducing the number of repetitive tasks. We would like to tell you how we do this. In this blog we take you through a specific customer case where we automated processes in SharePoint using Microsoft Power Automate and the product Trigr from the company Encodian.

Improve document management in SharePoint

Our customer case is about an organization in civil engineering with projects such as the design and construction of drinking water production sites. This involves a lot of documents such as reports, drawings, project plans and budgets. A good document management solution is therefore a must. Although Microsoft SharePoint is already being used and processes have been described, the organization is running into challenges in practice. For example, there is still too much freedom in the use of the system and the different storage locations. So not all employees work in a uniform way. The result? Inefficiency and difficult access to documentation.

Uniform work can be enforced

By further optimizing the process, setting up the system more intelligently and automating certain steps, you can "enforce" a more uniform way of working. Of course it is important to proceed step by step and to have a partner who understands both the processes and technology. At Ditio Solutions we have extensive knowledge of the project world. éknowledge of systems and IT. We advise, offer digital solutions, customization and support. We follow a fixed procedure: research, develop, roll out and support. We involve the organization and create support for the new situation.

SharePoint and Power Automate

Many of our customers work with Microsoft SharePoint for their document management. To automate processes, we therefore use the Microsoft tool Power Automate. It also allows us to link all Microsoft solutions within the organization. This creates a seamless user experience where users can find what they are looking for faster. The tool also makes it possible to create links to other suppliers. Think of systems in the areas of purchasing/sales, accounting and marketing such as Metacom, Exact/Afas and Mailchimp.

Automating approval processes

A common process is document approval. This involves giving a document a status based on approval and releasing it. Organizations that regularly approve and/or review documents save a lot of time by automating this process. To do this, we set up a so-called Power Automate flow that we link to a specific document library. The flow starts automatically in time or when the employee performs a certain action or 'trigger' such as clicking the 'approve' button. So with just one push of a button an entire process is initiated that would normally be done by hand. For example, saving a new version and emailing the document to a particular department or person. Just think how much time you save with this.

Managing Power Automate flows

A nice solution with only 1 drawback: a new Power Automate flow needs to be set up for each document library. Since large project organizations often work with multiple document libraries, this is a lot of double development work. It also leads to a proliferation of flows and makes it very difficult to continue to manage all these flows properly in the future. Returning to 1 large document library in combination with metadata is possible, but not always possible or desired. We found a solution to this problem in the tool Trigr from the company Encodian.

EéOne flow for multiple SharePoint sites or libraries

Developed by recognized Microsoft experts, the Trigr tool integrates seamlessly with Microsoft's Power Automate. It ensures that flows can be reused across SharePoint without having to copy them. The client in our case also works with many different libraries and does not want to completely overthrow these structures and processes. By using Trigr, we only need to build the flow once and can then apply it to all sites and libraries. The investment in this tool more than pays for itself through the time savings in development hours it generates. So for the customer a more advantageous solution!

Smart and cost-effective development

That's what we're all about: helping customers move forward with solutions that are smart and as cost-effective as possible. To do this, we like to look beyond the obvious solutions. After all, there is an enormous amount of tools available in the market; as long as you know where to look and what to pay attention to. We like to do this for our clients because a broad view stimulates innovation. And that is what we stand for with Ditio Solutions.

Request a free demo

Want to improve your document management, too? You can! We will gladly tell you what we can do for your organization. A no-obligation demo is of course also possible. Contact us at solutions@ditio.nl or call 085 210 10 30. See you soon!