Going paperless sounds like a no-brainer, but most companies are still holding back. Learn how targeted digital solutions can help bridge the gap at a more affordable price and in more timely way.
According to a 2022 report by CRM and marketing automation solutions provider Act!, around 45% of small to medium-sized businesses still rely exclusively on paper files.
Many of these companies think they’re saving time. However, clinging to this outdated practice slows things down, especially when you’re trying to find an important document.
Drawbacks of Using Paper Systems
Going paperless is not all about bandwagon-hopping. It’s more about mitigating the risks associated with paper-based filing.
Here are six reasons why you should ditch the paperwork:
Searching for Documents Is Time-Consuming
According to a McKinsey Global Institute report, employees waste an average of 1.8 hours a day searching for information. Imagine having to thumb through piles of paper in huge filing cabinets or desk drawers. Each second you spend trying to locate a missing document is a second you could have spent closing deals or generating leads.
Security Risks Are Higher
Figures from a Trustwave SpiderLabs report reveal that the cost of data breaches in the manufacturing sector shot up to $5.6 million in 2025. This total is up almost $1 million year-over-year, showing how costly data loss can be.
Compared to digital systems, paper records come with much higher security risks. You can lose data to internal factors such as theft. You can also lose data to external factors such as natural disasters and fire accidents. External threats are outside of your control, but you can protect your files by being proactive.
The best way to protect your data is by making multiple copies and moving them to an off-site location. But that means additional expenses on paper, printing, transportation, and storage.
Human Errors Can Creep In
One small error (like a typo, misspelling, or even transposed numbers) can create a domino effect that leads to revenue loss. In highly regulated industries like healthcare and finance, these errors can cause compliance violations, resulting in legal fines. Sadly, clients and partners might lose trust in your brand due to a trivial error.
Paper Storage Is More Expensive Than You Think
Think of how much you’ll spend on paper, ink, and physical storage (e.g., filing cabinets) when trying to scale your business. These costs add up quickly, taking a good chunk of your budget. There’s also the risk of misplacing a document. You can choose to replace them or deal with the fallout; either way, this adds another layer of cost.
Paper Systems Aren’t Scalable
As your business grows, you’ll accumulate more and more files. Paper systems don’t grow with you. Therefore, you’ll have to get more space and hire additional administrative staff. Also, your team will spend more time on file management tasks that could be automated. This hurts productivity and efficiency in the long run.
No Business Performance Intelligence in Real Time
If you want to measure your performance and find ways to improve, you’ll need to review lots of paperwork. Not only is this time-consuming, but the insights you gather may become outdated when you’re done. Any decisions you make based on these insights may no longer be relevant, leading to missed opportunities.
Paperless Systems Are a Game-Changer for Your Team
Time-saving is an obvious advantage of going paperless. It saves you hours of creating, sorting, and managing paperwork—and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Check out these four other benefits of going digital.
1. Streamline Your Workflow
When everything is digital, it’s much easier to assign, track, and complete tasks. There’s no more getting stuck waiting for someone’s signature or spending half of your day digging through file cabinets to find a form. You have everything you need at your fingertips because it’s now all in one location: online.
That equates to a streamlined workflow, which means you can move tasks down your pipeline much faster. Instead of spending your time searching for a file that “was just here yesterday,” your team could be making progress with high-impact tasks.
2. Collaborate With Ease
Seamless collaboration is the beauty of a paperless system. Your team can work on the same project simultaneously because everything is in one central hub. You don’t have to pass around a bunch of paperwork. Just assign tasks that trigger deadlines and notify everyone on your team when they’re “on time” or “late.”
Another good thing about going digital is that your team members can grab all the resources they need online. As a result, it only takes a couple of hours to get them up to speed on any project.
3. Speed Up the Signing Process
Paperwork can drag out deals and kill momentum. Think of how much time you’d spend printing documents, signing by hand, and handing them over to your client or partner. Going paperless cuts out all the friction. You can approve projects from your phone and send them across teams with just one click.
Electronic signatures let clients or partners sign documents from any device at any time. This convenience translates to speed. According to PandaDoc, e-signatures improve close rates by over 28% because the signing process has fewer steps.
4. Back Up and Recover Your Data
We’ve all been there—lost papers, untraceable contracts, or worse, water damage from a busted pipe. With paper, there’s no undo button. Even if you’re careful not to misplace or damage your files, external factors are beyond your control.
On the other hand, if you go paperless, you can back up your files in secure cloud storage. Should anything happen leading to data loss or file corruption, recovering your data is as simple as clicking a button.
5. Protect Business-Critical Data
Fortinet’s 2024 State of Operational Technology and Cybersecurity report reveals that 73% of operational technology (OT) assets in manufacturing sites have no fundamental security controls. They are missing software updates, authentication requirements, or network segmentation. These figures highlight the importance of integrating secure digital systems into your workflow.
When done correctly, going paperless provides you with peace of mind, knowing that advanced security measures are protecting your sensitive files.
Is Paperless Manufacturing Safe? What You Need to Know
It’s worth noting that digital systems come with unique challenges. One of these is ransomware. According to Trustwave SpiderLabs, 54% of ransomware attacks now target U.S. manufacturers. Machinery makers are the most affected, with a 14% share of all incidents.
While this sounds alarming, a secure digital system is your first line of defense against data breaches. It offers data encryption, access controls, cloud-based backups, and security updates to protect your data.
Performance Bottlenecks? Efficiency Starts With Going Paperless
Most businesses think using paper is a secure, low-cost way to generate and handle records. However, traditional filing systems are consuming your time and money, causing you to spend more than necessary. Whether due to lost files, human error, or the high cost of materials, paperwork slows down your operations.
If you’re ready to streamline workflows and collaborate without the hassle, try Alpha TransForm. This powerful tool helps you digitize your operations without overhauling your workflow. Simply recreate your existing forms in a digital format and make documents available to everyone on your team. With Alpha TransForm, you’ll manage operations faster and more securely.
Speak with us today, and we'll digitize your first form for you free-of-charge.
See how easy it is to abandon paper trails while improving your process efficiency and, ultimately, beefing up your bottom line.
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