In the interview with Klaus Beck-Dede, Managing Director of iDocpro.de GmbH

There are certainly many ways to Rome. The same applies to process optimization for SMEs. Digitalization is the central pivot point here. It should be simple, quick to implement, flexible, and, above all, cost-effective. After all, SMEs don’t want a small SAP solution but rather a digital control center where, like in a cockpit, you can easily manage the most important information across communication, CRM/master data management, and order processing. While searching for solutions that work seamlessly from craft businesses to SMEs with hundreds of employees, we came across the system from iDocpro. In an interview with Klaus Beck-Dede, Managing Director of iDocpro.de GmbH, we’ll discuss “digitalization beginners” and “admin averse” users, as well as the integration of order confirmations, invoices, document management systems, time tracking, cost accounting, and third-party invoices into a single tool.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Mr. Beck-Dede, as the local office of the BVMW – Federal Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, we have a lot of contact with SMEs. There are still many companies here that try to manage their invoices and accounting using simple tools from office software. Where do you start in a project when you encounter such a company?

Klaus Beck-Dede: For processing quotes, order confirmations, delivery notes, and invoices, the right software can quickly create efficient and error-free workflows. Unlike Excel and Word, these programs allow data to be evaluated since it isn’t stored in individual office documents. Additionally, with the right software, you can generate an order confirmation from a quote or a delivery note or invoice from an order confirmation with the push of a button—minimal effort, but fast, error-free results. This is something that office documents often fail to deliver.

Of course, this only works with accurate master data for customers and suppliers, including their contacts, as well as properly stored products and services. These need to be regularly updated. You also need pre-formulated text modules for quote and invoice creation, which only need to be set up once. Both measures help save a lot of time and improve efficiency in recurring tasks. That’s why we review the customer’s processes with them and show how suitable, one-time preparations can drastically speed up workflows while also creating greater clarity in data storage.

Many companies struggle to manually sort generated documents into directory structures organized by customer, document type, and order number, using meaningful names. This effort can be eliminated immediately. We also check whether the company has employees working in the field who regularly need to process paper documents for field service. For such companies, digitalization offers even greater potential to make business processes faster and more efficient than for companies that operate exclusively in the office.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Can you summarize the three most important steps for starting a project from this process for us?

Klaus Beck-Dede: The success of a project is determined by three key factors:

1. Clear definition of objectives — What should be achieved in which areas?
2. Baseline analysis — Where are the major problems and how does the company operate today?
3. Project organization — How can affected employees be involved from the very beginning?

With our workshop-oriented approach, these three points can be effectively developed with customers at the start of the project. This creates a shared foundation for the ongoing project work.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: The main arguments of many managing directors, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises, often boil down to two things: first, the feared high and monthly license costs, and second, the fear of changing existing processes and thus causing (even greater) chaos. Why does your solution offer a genuine alternative for these two points in particular?