Choose the Right Trade Documentation Software with This Guide

All of us remember the times when important documents in our house were stored in separate filing cabinets, arranged in an order which was only understandable to our family members. While industrial documentation was also done manually, the arrangement was generally in alphabetical order, numerical order, or something else defined by the standards in the industry. 

As the world keeps becoming more and more of a digital playground with each passing day, documentation and document management have both become digital too. Competition has also become fierce, making it crucial to provide speed to as many process aspects as possible. 

This is where trade documentation software has been making a formidable impact as far as trade documentation is concerned. With paper storage now gradually losing relevance, a good digital DMS (document management system) has become essential for success. 

In this one, we will take you through the basics of document management systems and a few things that you should consider when looking for one. 

Trade Documentation Software/System

You can think of trade documentation software as digital filing cabinets that can be used by you for organizing all your important documents in one place. Even if you have a lot of hard copies, all you have to do is just scan and upload them for their electronic formats. 

Good trade documentation software also allows its users to use certain metatags or titles to provide the required differentiation between different document categories. A good trade document software also has an in-built search feature too, which allows browsing and finding the needed documents easier and simpler.

Even the most confidential documents can be easily stored securely in trade documentation software, reinforced by permission settings that restrict access to specific documents. 

Trade Documentation Software- Types

When you will start going through the different options for trade documentation software for your operations, you will find a couple of categories in these systems:

- On-premise trade documentation software

An on-premise trade documentation software makes use of your storage and servers, which translates into the fact that you will be responsible for looking into the security as well as maintenance of your software. 

Such software will be more suited to a large IT setup because of the high technical requirements, placing you in direct control of the system. 

The Good-

- Lack of dependency on others because it’s a self-hosted system. 

- No need to stay connected to the Internet always. 

  

The Bad-

- Expensive to set up and maintain. 

- Most systems are not with cross-platform functionality.

- Cloud-based trade documentation software 

A cloud-based trade documentation software allows trade document examination in a very flexible manner, while also making it available to users online. Such systems usually have a monthly or annual fee associated with them, which also includes all software updates as well. 

The Good-

- There is no need for a dedicated IT team to take care of and manage the software on your behalf, without the addition of any upfront costs. 

- The system can be accessed easily from anywhere with an Internet connection. 

The Bad-

- There will always be a dependency on the service provider to ensure the right operational health of the system. 

- If your vendor has an issue with the data center, then file access can be difficult.

Conclusion

While storage and maintenance are pretty important roles fulfilled if you outsource trade services, what can’t be ignored is their pivotal importance in streamlining the trade document examination so that trade never suffers. Global trade banks have been leveraging it to good effect. 

This is why it’s important to choose wisely.