Case Studies- Government
The Challenge:
Governments are under increasing pressure to improve the management and delivery of information within the public sector, without increasing infrastructure or administrative overheads. The Provincial Government of Alberta has become a model for creative solutions to public service initiatives that partner with the private sector, delivering superior technology and service to Albertans with fiscal responsibility to its taxpayers. Service Alberta (SA) is responsible for providing and administering a wide range of services within the Alberta government, among them to provide cost-effective departmental and public access to forms and publications. An initiative was started in January, 2002 to consolidate all the government's document collateral under a single, off-site service provider, and to roll out a ministry and agency wide e-commerce requisitioning system by the end of the year. This was a difficult challenge, as the majority of this document collateral existed within both on and offsite locations throughout the ministries, and no centralized requisitioning process had been established.
The Solution and Results:
Service Alberta turned to DATA to assist in centralizing this massive amount of document collateral under the company's network of integrated warehouse systems, consolidate inventory under our database systems, implement inventory management strategies, and deploy a customized web-based ordering tool that could accommodate requisitioning requirements both within government departments and external agencies. DATA worked with the department to assess current operational, strategic and technology plans to develop a transitional implementation process that would meet both the short term and long term requirements of the government moving forward. Understanding the nature of the products stored in the warehouse and the 
individual servicing requirements for each department was a key requirement for this initiative, particularly when it came to security products. DATA's experience in dealing with controlled documents was critical in ensuring item-level security parameters for the storage and requisitioning process. Our secure document procedures were created several years earlier in conjunction with the Provinces Registries and Municipal Affairs to handle controlled products and raw stock materials, setting the mark for the industry well before the recent regulatory requirements released in January 2004.
DATA worked with Service Alberta to assess current operational, strategic and technology plans to develop a transitional implementation process that would meet both the short term and long term requirements of the government moving forward.
Coordinating with the Government for shipment, receipt, and consolidation of collateral as it was shipped to our warehouse facilities, DATA was able to quickly build a centrally controlled and audited inventory storage and management system for the entire province, including the following departments:
• Human Resources and Employment
• Department of Justice
• Solicitor General
• Environment
• Government Services
• Health and Wellness
• Children Services
Working with Service Alberta, DATA was able to complete this phase of the engagement on time and on budget while exceeding the original expectations for turnaround and launch of our e-commerce solution. The adoption of DATA's on line document management tools allowed for Service Alberta to manage all inventory items from the desktop. A fully functional, integrated system, The DATA Document Manager has delivered on the promise of better information and reporting management of document collateral, generating an estimated $1,300,000 in inventory management savings to the department in the first year of operation. DATA customized a registry process for ministries and agencies to access the requisitioning functionality of the system through the department's intranet, now boasting over 3,000 registered users of the system. DATA continues to work with the Ministry in the advancement and implementation of their revised forms and publication strategy, and in streamlining the associated storage and distribution costs.