We are a transport company and are looking for enterprise content management (ECM) software. Increased digitization should facilitate internal work and simplify collaboration with external partners. Expiring processes should be automated as far as possible. To achieve this, we are looking for an ECM solution as a central element.
The software should meet the following requirements:
- Views similar to Windows Explorer to ensure a quick transition for employees
- Task planning with assignment, deadline, and reminder functions
- Automatic and uniform storage of files, documents, etc. with the option of manual intervention
- “Cloud” functions (storage of large files that cannot be sent by email and simultaneous work on documents)
- Electronic signature, digital signing of applications and contracts (distinction between contractual and official activities, signatures by several external parties)
- Review, comment, and correction options for internal and external documents (with red stamps for applications)
- Search and filter functions
- Delivery options for electronic notifications with time stamps to ensure deadlines are met
- New incoming mail should be automatically assigned to projects based on a unique characteristic
- Notification of the respective employee when new documents are received, tasks for related projects
- Exchange of documents in the context of legal proceedings
- Assignment and linking of documents to other documents
- Red markings on funding applications and stamps, as well as the creation of custom sketches in applications
- Assignment of user-definable document statuses
- Evaluation and analysis for financial planning
- Automatically generated project history for a quick overview of the overall status
- Voice output for visually impaired persons and font size adjustment (accessibility) should be possible.
- E-file
Required modules
- Incoming and outgoing mail
- Scanning process for letter mail
- Electronic circulation folders
- Invoices
- Invoice numbers for outgoing invoices must be assigned automatically
- Automatic invoicing for annual invoices should be possible (instead of one invoice listing all months of the year together, it should be possible to send a monthly invoice automatically at a predefined time)
- The invoices created must be linkable to the vehicle and accident files, etc.
- If the vehicle designation provided by the invoicing party differs from our master data, an error message must be displayed (“The specified vehicle number could not be found”), which triggers a manual check or an automatic comparison (“Is this vehicle number meant instead?”).
- A dunning system for outgoing invoices must be implementable (first an automatic payment reminder, e.g., to the collective email address of the accounting departments in the companies, then a reminder); this must be synchronizable with the account statements so that no payment reminders or reminders are sent out despite payment having been received.
- There must be a way to track invoice cancellations and credit notes.
- E-invoices must be able to be processed.
- Invoices must be filed and stored in accordance with applicable regulations and GDPR.
- Invoices should be included in an overall balance sheet and reflect the current financial status.
- Human resources management
- Application management with recording of applicant data
- Qualification tool for handling in-house training, including planning and correspondence with seminar providers, hotels, employees, and an overview of completed qualifications; reminder function for training courses that are required by law at certain intervals, e.g., fire safety training
- Automatic monitoring of sick days and determination of the need for workplace integration management
- Automatic calculation of maternity leave and parental leave days and their impact on vacation entitlements; also when switching from full-time to part-time and vice versa
- Automatic calculation of transitions to the next pay grade and pay amounts with notification to the tax office that processes the payroll; also for company pension schemes
- Ongoing management of documents for each employee, including change history for contracts and other documents
- Secure, encrypted exchange of data with external bodies such as social security institutions, etc.
- Approval management for access to personnel files
- Automatic generation of (serial) letters to employees or employees and other parties
- Group formation for different employees (employees, civil servants, students, student assistants)
- Option to integrate digital sick notes
- Finance
- Documents containing financially relevant information (e.g., incoming and outgoing invoices, income and expenditure calculations within the framework of transport contracts, personnel costs, etc.) for the business plan should be automatically included in the overall balance sheet
- Support for financial planning
- Document management
- Comprehensive document management from capture to archiving with GDPR compliance
- Flexible assignment of rights
- Collaboration
- Simultaneous work on a document should be possible
- Project rooms with the option of submitting notes or comments on projects in chat form
- Electronic signatures
- Signatures for contract signings
- Signatures for official activities or administrative acts
- Signatures for invoicing
- Workflows (including multi-level approvals)
- Ad hoc and predefined
- For process handling, e.g., application processing including approval process
Technical
- Windows compatible
- Compatibility with various technical graphics software (e.g., Corel Draw, MS Project, MS Visual Studio, Abbyy Finereader)
- iOS compatible for company cell phones
- Accessibility - Compliance with EN 301549 and ISO 9241-171 (DIN ISO 14289-1.). An external report by an independent body must be provided. The report must demonstrate whether the accessibility criteria have been met. It must also show in a workflow that an application can be used in the usual way and without any particular difficulty, for example with a screen reader or magnification program.
- Processing of common Office files and PDFs as well as special file types, e.g., for digital plans (CAD, BIM, other types arising from 3D planning), videos
- Individually customizable workflows: - Does the software allow only administrators or all user types to design workflows?
- Manual intervention option for automated processes
- VPN client capable of remote access
- Other necessary interfaces
- TYPO3 version 9.5.4 - CMS of the website
- In-house created Access databases
- State e-mail office for e-invoice receipt
- Link to the state's cash register system
- Option to transfer to the state archive
- Intelligent links to official websites such as the State Office for Statistics (LSx online database) would be a helpful feature
- Various themes to enable eye-friendly working regardless of the hardware available
General
- For cloud solutions, certification according to ISO 27001 and data center in Germany, as well as local backup option at any time
- GDPR compliance must be demonstrated
- References in the area of public administration and/or public companies must be available and verified.
Organizational
- User types
- Administrators (IT)
- Standard users
- Special users of internal data (management, personnel?)
- Special users of external data (management, secretariat)
- Accountants (state cash register system, online banking)
- Ensure that two users in two other cities can use the software without noticeable restrictions, even with a slow internet connection.
The software is intended for approximately 90 users. It must be possible to expand the system at any time when new users join.