When companies choose an Output Management solution, there are several factors to consider. The more complexity, the greater the difference.

One of the first important considerations is the complexity of the external reports and documents that are needed. This complexity often turns out to be more comprehensive than expected. In general, the greater the complexity and the more requirements, the greater the difference between solutions becomes and the more important it is to get it right the first time.

The choice of solution also depends a lot on the company’s risk tolerance in terms of time and finances. Companies should consider their level of tolerance for potential delays and budget overruns.

Do you want to deal with the unknown from the start to avoid unpleasant surprises later, or does an agile model that handles challenges as they arise work well?

To avoid putting the project and the business at unnecessary risk, you should conduct a thorough assessment of the business needs and involve key people and specialists who can evaluate software options and prioritize ERP outputs and documents during the implementation phase.

A wide range of parameters are involved in the assessment, and they all depend on the type, industry, and complexity of the business.

Five key factors to consider before development begins

1. Document needs: Specific requirements for documentation and external documents, including format, distribution channels, countries/legal entities, among others.

2. Business needs: What are the future plans?

3. Finances: Total cost of ownership (TCO) and factors that drive expenses either up or down.

4. Internal resources and special functionality: The company’s capacity to handle complexity and maintain the solution.

5. ERP output security: Security and compliance

To get an overview of which documents are needed in different business areas, start by creating a complete list of all documents, including the desired output formats.

If necessary, look at the documents used in the old system as a starting point and create a list that can form the basis for further dialogue.

It’s possible that some of the existing documents will be renamed in the new system or replaced by other documents due to changes in business processes. However, a list of the currently used documents can be an important input in the discussion about whether “standard” is sufficient or if deeper investigation is needed.

The complete list of necessary documents should then be reviewed and assessed for different requirements based on factors like companies, markets, countries, etc.

Although much of the communication is done electronically in the Nordic countries, this may not be the case in other markets. A classic example is the position of the window on an envelope. Is it on the right or left side? Does the company use the same envelopes in all countries?

In Denmark, there is currently only one VAT rate, so there are no major requirements for displaying VAT percentages. However, in other countries, there are different VAT rates for different goods, and it might be necessary to show details on individual product lines, which will rarely be shown in Denmark.

Number and naming of legal entities from which documents are created through the output management solution. A list of legal entities in the ERP system is needed when deciding the overall architecture of the output management solution and setup.

The language of the documents is often an overlooked element in an Output Management solution, as ERP systems generally have different language layers used in the documents depending on, for example, the recipient’s language code.

However, it is important to identify this early in the process, as the test phase will need to include tests of the layout in multiple languages, which places additional demands on the test cases created.

Documents distributed to multiple countries in various languages often have different requirements for formatting dates and numbers.

Depending on the ERP system and Output Management solution, the formatting of dates and numbers can be handled in different ways. However, it is always important to pay attention to these details, as they often include specific requirements that can become challenges if not addressed in time.

A best practice is to leave all formatting of numbers and dates up to the ERP system, as this typically gives the best output. If best practice is not followed, it will cause extra work on all documents and add complexity to the solution.

In a more detailed review of the different documents and possible variants (for example, a special variant of the invoice in Poland), additional requirements will most likely be identified.

For example, the customer might not want to show the header of the Discount column if no discounts are applied to any of the sales lines. Also, the product description might need to be expanded with customs tariff codes and country of origin if the end customer is outside the EU.

It is often these “small” details that can cause big challenges at the end of a project if the chosen solution doesn’t support what businesses need. Invest time in bringing these details to light early in the project.

The customer should specify and describe each document’s variants, field logic, and outputs. The description should also include the variant’s visuals in current and desired formats.

Variant
A variant is defined when the placement of specific information occurs differently on the same document type. When an invoice is sent physically, the envelope window is located on the left side in Denmark but on the right side in Sweden. That will result in two variants of the same document, as the placement of the address varies. Another variant can also be created if the invoice’s total amount is shown as dynamic or fixed on a particular document.

Field logic
Field logic is when a field has specific rules, depending on which document type it’s appearing on, but the field placement in question is the same. For example, in Denmark, we need to show its CVR number, but we need to show its registration number in Sweden. The ERP customer should state for each document if unique field logic is needed.

Output
The desired output format(s) should be specified for each variant, such as Ehysical print, PDF sent as e-mail, electronic format (EDIFACT, Peppol, OIOUBL).

A visual layout of the document can be delivered in any desired format, either digitally, or drawn by hand.

The visual layout document must provide the numbering of the fields and labels, as seen in the example.

Table relations
An overview of the table relation for all the fields in the document is also represented below.

Field description
• All field numbering from the visual layout description:
• The label used (which TAB or table the data originates)
• Section location
• Absolute (the occurrence of the field on pages)
• Table origin and the subsequent field/method