Vongchavalitkul University (VU) traces its humble beginnings to 1984, when it was founded as Vongchavalitkul College. In just 10 years, it was conferred university status, boasting 26 undergraduate degree programs, five master's degree programs, and four doctoral degree programs. As the first private university in the North-eastern region of Thailand, it holds responsibility in promoting and upholding five pillars in education – research, academic service, community support, preservation of arts and culture as wellasconservationof natural resourcesandtheenvironment. Offering awide rangeof courses within nine faculties, VU serves approximately 5,500 students at any one time.

Skyrocketing Demands And Overheads

With rising enrollment and function expansion over the years, VU's demands for print and document management skyrocketed. An assorted mix of different branded devices made management of consumables and servicing difficult for the administrators. In addition, printing cost was getting out of control due to the lack of proper tracking. 

The Challenge Of Organisation And Space 

Document management has also become a sore point for VU especially in the department administering the Student Loan Fund. Under the purview of Thailand's Ministry of Finance, the Student Loan Fund moved its administration online in 2008 to provide instant information and assistance to students, as well as to cut down the processing time for loans. Educational institutions, including VU, face the challenge of storing increasingly massive amount of loan documents, as they are required by law to retain the documents for 10 years. Each loan application consists of an average of 50 documents in various formats. Throughout the years of storage, the hardcopy documents are retrieved at various times for processing. In some instances, documents were misplaced or missing. Some were rendered unusable due to wear and tear of constant handling. In such cases, VU would not be able to complete the application for the loan fund.

The Synergy Of A Solid Partnership 

Back in 2015, Canon proposed the implementation of uniFLOW print management solution on VU's existing five multifunction devices and 30 laser printers. The resulting cost savings and improved productivity boosted VU's confidence in Canon's capabilities. VU eventually replaced their old fleet of devices with Canon's imageRUNNER ADVANCE, establishing an even stronger partnership between the two organisations. Working closely with VU, Canon had a chance to gain a fuller insight into its day-to-day operations. The team got up close and personal with VU's massive challenge with document management. Canon soon discovered that the problem had been plaguing VU for years and that they even tried to develop a software to manage the documents but encountered difficulties. Canon proposed the Therefore™ document management solution. 

A New Norm Of Workflow Efficiency 

The implementation of Therefore™ resolved VU's challenge in managing student loan fund applications. Documents of multiple formats can be easily scanned and stored in electronic forms with the help of a digital filing cabinet created in the system. For example, student profiles received in JPEG format were difficult to integrate into any document management system. With Therefore™, this is no longer an issue. Searching and retrieving documents involves only but a few keystrokes and a click of a button. Issues with misplaced or unusable documents became a thing of the past. As an added bonus, information security is enhanced as administrators can now track who accessed what information, when and where. Digitisation of these important documents also means that VU can save cost of physical storage facilities as well as having peace of mind with a document back up system in place.

Canon's partnership with VU started off with a modest software implementation, uniFLOW, back in 2015. Over the years, VU's trust and confidence in Canon gained traction and it resulted in a dynamic and synergistic working relationship between the two organisations. Today, Canon's solution continues to help VU achieve significant cost savings in the document print/copy/management process, higher work efficiency due to improved internal administrative processes and enhanced control and information security.

"Working with Canon has allowed us to experience first-hand the dynamics of a truly professional and experienced team. From the way they seek to understand our working environment to the consultative role they take on in the entire process, the Canon team is always ready to go that extra mile. We are delighted to have placed ourselves in the hands of such a dedicated and well-rounded solution provider." Dr. Kitti Vongchavalitkul, Vice President of Vongchavalitkul University's Administration