New Forrester TEI Study Proves Big Returns from Business Process Improvement

The Forrester research offers conclusive proof that modernising your System of Agreement – whether on a small or large scale – offers businesses a competitive edge, is appreciated by staff and stakeholders, and can help improve relationships with customers.

A new study conducted by Forrester Consulting, commissioned on behalf of DocuSign, has found that when DocuSign's e-signature technology is adopted within an organisation, the big winner is business process improvement.

While it’s easy to see how e-signature technology can improve the productivity of your internal processes, it’s been difficult for organisations to quantify the benefits in monetary terms. Until now.

Using in-depth financial modelling, Forrester recently conducted a study of DocuSign, to help users uncover the value of incorporating e-signature technology into their business.

The number one benefit Forrester observed, was a significant improvement to internal process productivity. This accounts for 52% of the total benefit of e-signatures and contributes a Monetary Net Present Value of £182,548, ahead of the next highest percentage benefits – reduced operational expense (48%).

Say ‘goodbye’ to antiquated business processes

If you consider the antiquated nature of the paper-based agreement process – one that relies entirely on pen, paper and post – you can understand why e-signatures contribute such a sizeable surge in productivity of internal processes.

The study also revealed that the old process of scheduling face-to-face meetings for document signing, was slowing down the completion of agreements significantly.

Equally, sales teams have historically relied on inherently slow postal services, for sending paper contracts to customers.

Banishing the time thief

The Forrester study found that a paper agreement is typically handled by an average of three internal staff members – two administrative staff and one sales executive. The combined time they spend on each paper agreement is 160 minutes – 20 minutes by each administrative staff member and 120 minutes by the executive.

Once implemented, DocuSign’s e-signature solution makes a significant difference to this time cost, with handling time dropping from 160 minutes to just 64 minutes per agreement. This drop in completion time means admin staff reclaim an extra 8,700 hours of productivity in just one year. Typically, administrators reclaim an extra 8,721 hours of productivity, based on 400 monthly transactions. Meaning you have more time to invest in revenue generating work, or for discovering more time-saving features of DocuSign.

Download the Total Economic Impact™ of DocuSign study to determine the potential ROI of DocuSign e-signature technology – a key step in modernising your System of Agreement.

Reduce agreement errors

How many of your paper contracts have come back with errors and must be handled again in order to be corrected? Even with two admin staff overseeing the process, the Forrester study determined the average number of agreements Not-In-Good-Order (NIGO) to be one in six.

Once e-signatures were integrated into the organisation’s System of Agreement, the NIGO rate dropped dramatically from 30% to just 5%.

What it’s worth?

If you’re looking to quote a financial value, Forrester’s in-depth TEI model found that the value of improved internal process productivity added up to:

  • £61,321 in year one,
  • £69,477 in year two; and
  • £78,717 in year three.

A projected total saving of £209,515 over three years. But the value is more than just financial. The combined efficiencies and savings meant the organisations involved in the research study could confidently set and achieve a bold vision for the future – now free from the shackles of their outdated, paper-based agreement processes.

Why stop at e-signatures?

The Forrester research offers conclusive proof that modernising your System of Agreement – whether on a small or large scale – offers businesses a competitive edge, is appreciated by staff and stakeholders, and can help improve relationships with customers.

Read the full Forrester study, The Total Economic Impact™ of DocuSign, or watch the on-demand webinar and learn more about the bottom-line benefits of using DocuSign in your business, with special guest speakers from Forrester and Camelot.

Read the full Forrester study, The Total Economic Impact™ of DocuSign, or watch the on-demand webinar and learn more about the bottom-line benefits of using DocuSign in your business, with special guest speakers from Forrester and Camelot.

Published
Related Topics