An initiative to completely redesign its printing processes has enabled the SABC to cut costs, enhance productivity, reduce errors and wastage, and deliver an improved service to customers.
The Audience Services (ASD) and Broadcast Information Technology (BIT) divisions of the SABC have achieved these objectives with the help of the Adastrip data extraction utility and Mobius ViewDirect electronic report distribution and document management system from Bateleur Software Solutions.
The rationale behind the project was based on a need to update all processes around the printing of correspondence - extracting information from the TV licence database, selecting suppliers, printing the stationery, quality control and formatting. The project entailed analysing, designing, developing and implementing an internal system to change all pre-printed stationery used for TV licence statements and letters onto one standard system using only blank stationery.
The SABC used Adastrip to enhance its existing extraction procedures, thereby drastically reducing the extraction times for its processes as well as statement production times from 15 to seven days. The newly-created statements and documents are stored on Mobius, enabling internal users and call centre staff to view the various documents quickly and easily rather than searching the mainframe reports. For the creation of the different document layouts Oc'e PRISMAtools - FGL (Format Generation Language) and SLE (Smart Layout Editor) were used.
The benefits delivered by the project include quicker delivery of statements and correspondence to clients, resulting in swifter revenue collection, reduced stationery and development costs, automated statement and letter print jobs, increased productivity, tighter controls, faster processing times, and enhanced sorting and mailing processes. Postage costs are reduced as the documents are collated and printed in postal code sequence. All print jobs are now automated and controlled by ASD users and BIT operations staff.
In addition, users have taken responsibility for designing the various reports required, using parameters to select or reject clients based on specified selection criteria and deciding when they want to submit the required jobs to extract and print the correspondence. It is no longer possible to print on incorrect stationery.
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