SignDoc Software Enables Secure Signing of Electronic Forms
04 August 2011 - Rome
SOFTPRO today announced that Telepass, has deployed devices and software to capture handwritten signatures without paper. The provider of an automatic telematics system covering 95% of the Italian toll motorway network has integrated SOFTPRO’s software for electronic signing in its core application “Gestione client”. This application handles the documentation of contract openings, product distribution and post sales activities. The environmentally friendly solution is enabled by SOFTPRO’s SignDoc software which captures a customer’s electronic signature on a tablet PC and securely binds it to the electronic PDF form via Adobe
® Reader
®. This application is another major deployment of E-Signature technology in combination with Adobe LiveCycle® ES and signature tablets.
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Signature Capturing on SignPad eSignio at toll booths of Telepass
The amount of paper required to sign documents was identified as one of the major areas for strategic improvement of the workflow at Telepass. The assessment was based on Six Sigma principles. As a result the project "dematerialization" was set up.
All processes of signing and processing documentation for sales and post sales operations at Telepass selling points (Punto Blu) across Italian motorways where measured and analyzed. The digitizing of handwritten signatures and their embedding in electronic documents was identified as the key to a faster workflow, cost cutting and waste reduction.
Signature Requirements
Switching to electronic documents involves many stakeholders within a company as it has an impact on many departments. Marco Pirri has the role of a Black Belt in Telepass. He became leader of the project "dematerialization" and responsible for orchestrating all activities to implement E-Signing within Telepass. He comments: “The integration of E-Signing may seem to be complicated and complex in the first stage. However the more involve the people from departments such as sales, distribution, customer care, legal and IT get involved the more benefits are transparent for everyone. It is absolutely with the effort to cope with the challenges and overcome old, rusty processes. For us it helped a lot to follow the principles of Six Sigma to make this change happen.”
Signature Solutions
Telepass has screened the market of E-Signature solution providers intensively. Marco Pirri continues: “It was our aim to find the best solution for integration in a complex system that already exists, offering flexibility, scalability and last, but not least excellent value for money. We were also looking for a company that fully understands all aspects related to capture and manage handwritten signatures in an electronic workflow. According to our research no other company has a similar experience and dedication for this topic like Softpro. Their E-Signing solutions provide us with the comfort of a trustworthy and user-friendly solution.”
Softpro provides Telepass with a combination of hardware and software for E-Signing which is in operation in several countries around the world in banking, insurance, public administration, telecommunication, automotive, health care, education, logistics and car rental.
SOFTPRO’s SignDoc software provides a native integration with Adobe LiveCycle and Reader. Clients such as Telepass can easily add E-Signatures to forms generated from Adobe LiveCycle and gain further leverage by fully enabling this investment using the freely available Adobe Reader software.
Signature Capturing
Telepass has rolled out 300 signature tablets of the type SignPad eSignio (Wacom STU-500). This kind of signature tablet was chosen because signatures captured on its screen resemble the way signatures look on paper almost perfect. Signers experience a natural way of signing on screen unlike on devices known from courier services. They have the visual impression that their signature is taken seriously. The large 5 inch screen of the SignPad eSignio allows displaying corresponding text the purpose of signing clear and crisp and it offers also excellent visibility of content on screen in bright Italian sunshine due to its reflective TFT. Another reason for Telepass to choose the SignPad eSignio was its long life expectancy due to its robust design. The sensor lies below the display surface, preventing the wear and tear found in devices based on other technologies. Softpro hardware partner Wacom has developed the SignPad eSignio based on detailed specifications from the German signature experts. Wacom and Softpro joined forces with the Italian specialist for electronic document processing Kartha who are supplying the SignPads to Telepass.
Signature Effects
Telepass started to manage its post sales documentation. They have selected the operation that deals with around 500.000 post sales operations every year, one quarter of the total amount of post sales operations. Telepass is estimating annual savings between 200.000 and 300.000 Euro after full roll-out. There are environmental benefits too as less paper needs to be produced, printed, transported, stored and archived. A significant reduction of effort for paper waste management is another side effect. The Return on Investment is expected to be achieved below twelve months.
Marco Pirri sums up: “Both our sales team and customers have been quite pleased with this roll-out. When we were collecting customer feedback in the test period we have received an overwhelming 99% user acceptance rate. Almost no one was requesting to sign on paper instead of signing on SignPads. E-Signing with Softpro solutions one of those rare applications where at the bottom end we enjoy cost savings, higher customer satisfaction and a faster and more secure workflow at the same time."
About Telepass
The automatic telematics system (Telepass), provides users with a dynamic means of toll fare payment. The reading and registration of your travel information occur, without having to stop the vehicle in the lanes, by means of a transmitter which is applied to the inside the windshield of the vehicle and allows data to be exchanged with the radio-electric installations at the stations. The service covers over 95% of the Italian motorway network. The Telepass, can be acquired at service centres, commercial offices, and the Punti Blu (specific selling points).
Brief Profile of SOFTPRO - The E-Signature Professionals
The SOFTPRO Group is a world leader in developing and marketing products and solutions for the digital capture, management and verification of handwritten signatures.
Softpro's fastest growing line of business is E-Signing solutions. Softpro produces E-Signing software that ranges from Software Developer Kits to a complete platform for Web-based signing. The products are compatible with a wide range of devices for signature capture - including basic pen pads, Tablet PCs as well as iPad and slate computers. E-Signing solutions have proven to lower daily costs, accelerate business processes, eliminate errors, and protect documents against manipulation. E-Signing with SOFTPRO is environmentally friendly and thus supports Green initiatives and corporate social responsibility programs.
Contact for the Media
Jörg-M. Lenz
Manager Public Relation of the SOFTPRO Group
joerg.lenz@softpro.dePhone +49 7031 66 06 55
SOFTPRO GmbH
Wilhelmstrasse 34
71034 Boeblingen
Germany
