Steve Wakefield

Automate workflow without compromising customers, irking employees or vexing vendors. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Well, that's where businesses could be headed if the transition to online management isn't carefully thought out—and rolled out. And if companies don't parlay their time saved through automation into enhanced personal service, they could end up taking some serious heat. According to Tom Cutler, president and CEO of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida-based TR Cutler, the biggest mistake a company can make is to forget that people are at the heart of online management. Everyone in the loop—customers, employees and suppliers—must benefit. "There

Which model to choose, however, is the question. It's not quite daybreak when the buyer of one of TopForm Software's clients sits down at a computer to get an updated report on the status of the company's print product orders. Without a single phone call or fax, the buyer retrieves the information and is free to start the day. That is just one of the great benefits of online forms management, said Julie Pritchard, president, TopForm Software, Norcross, Ga. "Customers can check a real-time status of their orders whenever, and from wherever, they want." This no fuss, no muss solution explains much of on-line