Enhancing customer service for millions via smart portals

Project challenges

The customer faced challenges in managing tax exemptions for a significant portion of their customer base. The existing process was paper-based and manual, requiring citizens to download, print, and handwrite PDF forms before submitting them via email or postal mail.

This approach led to numerous issues, including poor legibility, technology barriers for customers, inconsistent submission methods, and unstructured data. The staff had to manually input data from these forms into OpenText Content Management (Extended ECM), causing errors and frequent misfiling.

This inefficient and error-prone system burdened the customer's staff, causing processing delays and potential compliance risks. The company urgently needed a modern solution to streamline tax exemption management, improve operational efficiency and that could be moved to the OpenText Cloud.

Solution

By leveraging Module Suite’s capabilities, we implemented a comprehensive cloud-based solution that could address customer’s challenges, focusing on modernization, efficiency, and compliance.

Key Points

• Data Migration and Modernization: the entire database of historical tax exemption forms was successfully transferred to a new cloud-based system. This involved transforming legacy data into modernized structures, ensuring that improved practices for data historization and archiving were put in place.
• Accessible Public Interface: A user-friendly public web form was developed, making it easier for users to complete forms, attach necessary documents, and submit their applications. Special attention was given to ensuring conformity with Canadian accessibility laws, which made the platform usable for individuals with various physical challenges. Once submitted, the completed forms seamlessly synchronized with the OpenText Content Management (Extended ECM) platform to start the process.
• Automated Workflow Management: A sophisticated automated workflow management system was implemented to streamline the organization and archiving of applications based on province, region, and type. This structured workflow included automated notifications for new applications and status updates. Internal dashboards and business workspaces were also implemented to enable efficient processing and tracking of applications.
• Compliance and Auditability: Ensuring compliance and auditability was a key priority. A dynamic document composition functionality was implemented to generate comprehensive PDF audit reports, which detailed all actions taken on each application. This documentation was easily exportable, facilitating both internal and external audits, as well as any potential legal inquiries.
• Cloud Migration: The previous OpenText Content Management (Extended ECM) based product was successfully migrated to a cloud environment. Existing WebReports were redesigned to improve performance and future maintainability. Outdated dashboards, which had been slow and inefficient, were replaced with streamlined, information-rich alternatives specifically tailored to meet users’ needs.
• Customer Communication: A smooth system was established to notify applicants of their exemption status and efficiently provide clear reasons for any rejections. The process of requesting additional information from applicants was greatly simplified, ensuring that communication remained efficient and responsive throughout the application process.

Results

By implementing this solution, we transformed customer’s process from a manual, error-prone system into a streamlined, efficient, and fully compliant digital workflow. The migration of the entire system to the cloud was a critical component of this transformation, enabling greater scalability, security, and accessibility.

This modernized solution not only improved the customer experience by making the process easier and more intuitive for users, but also significantly enhanced the customer's internal operations. It ensured the accurate and timely processing of tax exemptions, while establishing robust auditability measures to meet regulatory compliance requirements. Overall, successful cloud migration has future-proofed the system, allowing for seamless upgrades and ongoing improvements.

Products

• OpenText Content Management (Extended ECM) - Cloud Edition
• AnswerModules' Module Suite