Electronic document management system and method thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to a technical field of document management. The electronic document management system (100) comprises one or more user interfaces (101), one or more processors (102), a network (103), a memory (104) storing computer implementable instructions, on execution a service provider application (107) integrates with a ERP application (105) and an intermediate application (106), wherein a document (108a) created in ERP application (105) get stored under a unique document reference number (DRN) (108) as tag (108a1) in the service provider application (107) through intermediate application (106), and the service provider application (107) transfers back a unique and secured URL (111) to the ERP application (105) through intermediate application (106). Advantageously, the electronic document management system (100) enables synchronization of documents (108a), dynamic access and retrieval of documents (108a) and provides unique reporting features.

Description

[0001] ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD THEREOF

[0002] FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a technical field of document management, and in particular, to a system and method for electronic document management with easier access to stored documents, its retrieval and unique reporting features. Advantageously, the present invention provides various features of document management to satisfy the changing needs of contemporary enterprises.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] In the field of electronic document management, there is an increasing demand for solutions that are user-friendly, scalable, and efficient. Software as a Service (SaaS) has completely changed the software development industry by providing a dynamic platform for online application delivery. The traditional document management systems frequently have issues with real-time synchronization, accessibility, and collaboration.

[0006] Existing background art has disclosed electronic document management systems.

[0007] US5893908A discloses an electronic document management system that provides an automatic archiving of documents and retrieval without the need to navigate through a directory structure or specify a filename. Document comparison is facilitated by automatic retrieval of a previous version of a document. A digital copier alerts a user when a document to be copies already exists electronically within a database.

[0008] US9251236B2 discloses a method for synchronizing a database with displayed data, includes providing a data feed to receive data from the database to provide displayed document data, detecting a database change to the data within the database by a database synchronizer to provide a change event, polling the database synchronizer using an HTTP message to detect the change event, and pushing the database change to the displayed document data to update the displayed document data in accordance with the database change and the polling. The polling includes long polling and short polling. A polling servlet within the database synchronizer performs the polling by the database synchronizer. The database synchronizer updates the displayed document data by way of a data structure.

[0009] The background arts provide of a variety of electronic document management systems that do not have all the features and flexibility needed to satisfy the changing needs of contemporary enterprises.

[0010] None of the systems in the prior art provide a system and method of a SaaS-based electronic document management system that aims to overcome the existing constraints.

[0011] Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method that offers businesses with efficient document management in a stable and adaptable platform, that can provide a tool or an application for secure accessing, retrieval, and reporting of documents to support business and compliance processes.

[0012] OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[0013] It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a system that facilitates the digital transformation of business documents for organizations.

[0014] It is another object of the present invention to provide a system for electronic document management for an ERP application.

[0015] It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic document management system that stores all the documents as tags in a service provider application. It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic document management system which facilitates easier access and retrieval of stored documents.

[0016] It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic document management system which allows the user to include comments in the stored documents and manages it as different versions of the original document.

[0017] It is another object of the present invention to provide an electronic document management system which offers a variety of reporting features such as TAG reports, sync reports, audit report and document health meter.

[0018] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0019] In a principal aspect of the present invention is disclosed, an electronic document management system comprising: one or more user interfaces; one or more processors; a network; a memory storing computer implementable instructions, and comprising an enterprise resource planning (ERP) application, an intermediate application, a service provider application, wherein the documents to be stored are selected from plurality of documents and supporting documents, wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer implementable instructions stored in the memory over the network, and cause the system to perform: enterprise provisioning and integration of the service provider application with the ERP application and the intermediate application, wherein i. the ERP application is configured to create a document through the user interface, and to store a unique and secured URL received from the service provider application for accessing or retrieving the set of document and the supporting documents that are stored as tags in the service provider application; ii. the service provider application is configured to store the document, on successful storage generates a document reference number (DRN) and the unique and secured URL in the custom folder location of the enterprise, stores the document and the supporting documents as different tags under the same DRN, transfers the unique and secured URL to intermediate application; and iii. the intermediate application is configured to act as an interface between the ERP application and the service provider application that transfers the document created in the ERP application to the service provider application by calling a communication interface, and transfers back the unique and secured URL generated in service provider application to the ERP application.

[0020] In one aspect of the present invention an electronic document management system, wherein on enterprise provisioning, the ERP application of enterprise is integrated with the service provider application, and a unique secured website is assigned exclusively to the enterprise in the service provider application.

[0021] In another aspect of the present invention is provided an electronic document management system, wherein the supporting documents are added to the document reference number (DRN) as tags in the unique secured website directly in one embodiment or by scanning through a mobile application of the service provider application by any user of an enterprise in another embodiment.

[0022] In yet another aspect of the present invention is provided an electronic document management system, wherein the stored documents along with the supporting documents under the DRN in the service provider application is configured to be accessed by selecting the unique and secured URL transferred to the ERP application.

[0023] In further aspect of the present invention is provided an electronic document management system, wherein the service provider application is configured to i. tag document and the supporting documents as tags under the unique document reference number (DRN) (108); ii. provide list and charts of all tagged documents in the DRN (108), and iii. generates a report on tags (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) in the DRN (108).

[0024] In one aspect of the present invention, is provided an electronic document management system, wherein the tagged documents under the DRN can be edited and annotated, thereby enabling multiple versions of the document and supporting documents to be stored in the service provider application.

[0025] In another aspect of the present invention is provided an electronic document management system, wherein the service provider application is configured to provide real time synchronization report of edited documents in the ERP application.

[0026] In yet another aspect of the present invention is provided an electronic document management system, wherein the service provider application enables an audit report where an enterprise auditor can approve, comment and review the documents in the DRN.

[0027] In further aspect of the present invention is provided an electronic document management system, wherein a document health meter displays the health of the document and the supporting documents defined by the ERP application guaranteeing completeness. In another aspect of the present invention is provided an electronic document management system, wherein, the tagged documents and the supporting documents under the DRN are configured to be downloaded in the ERP application enabling offline document access and processing.

[0028] In second aspect, is provided a method for managing electronic documents comprising steps of: i. integrating an enterprise resource planning (ERP) application, an intermediate application and a service provider application; ii. creating a document in the ERP application; iii. establishing a connection by the ERP application with the intermediate application by calling a communication interface of the intermediate application; iv. pushing by the communication interface of the intermediate application, the document into the intermediate application; v. establishing a connection by the intermediate application with the service provider application by calling a communication interface of the service provider application; vi. storing by the service provider application, the document as a tag into a custom folder location of an enterprise; vii. generating by the service provider application, a document reference number (DRN) to the stored document; viii. generating by the service provider application, a unique and secured URL on successful storage of the document; ix. transferring by the service provider application the unique and secured URL to the intermediate application by calling the communication interface; x. transferring by the intermediate application, the unique and secured URL to the ERP application; xi. storing by the ERP application, the unique and secured URL; xii. adding by the service provider application, the supporting documents as different tags under the same DRN, and xiii. retrieving by the ERP application, the documents and the supporting documents stored as tags under the same DRN in the service provider application by accessing the unique and secured URL.

[0029] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0030] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles.

[0031] Figure 1 illustrates an electronic document management system (100), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 2 illustrates an embodiment of the electronic document management system (100), where the documents (108a, 108b,.., 108n) are created in the ERP application (105) or any external source.

[0033] Figure 3 illustrates a method (200) for managing electronic documents, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 4 illustrates a representative view of hardware arrangement of electronic document management system (100) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 5 illustrates a view of enterprise provisioning (115) into the service provider application (107), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] Figure 6 illustrates a view of adding users as part of enterprise provisioning (115) in the service provider application (107), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] Figure 7 illustrates a view of ERP application (105), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 8 represents a view of creating a document (108a) in the ERP application (105), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] Figure 9 represents a view of a unique and secured URL (111) received in the ERP application (105) from the service provider application (107), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0039] Figure 10 represents a view of adding supporting documents (108b,.., 108n) to the document (108a) forming tags (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) in the service provider application (107), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] Figure 11 represents a view of document health meter (112) in the service provider application (107), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] Figure 12 represents a view of audit report (116) in the service provider application (107), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] Figure 13 represents a view of tag report (117) in the service provider application (107), in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS REFERRAL NUMERALS

[0044] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0045] The present invention as embodied by “Electronic document management system and method thereof’ succinctly fulfills the above-mentioned need[s] in the art.

[0046] The present invention has objective[s] arising as a result of the above-mentioned need[s], said objective[s] having been enumerated herein above.

[0047] The following description is directed to an electronic document management system and method thereof as much as the objective(s) of the present invention are enumerated, it will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, the enumerated objective(s) are not exhaustive of the present invention in its entirety and are enclosed solely for the purpose of illustration.

[0048] Further, the present invention encloses within its scope and purview, any structural alternative(s) and / or any functional equivalent(s) even though, such structural alternative / s) and / or any functional equivalent(s) are not mentioned explicitly herein or elsewhere, in the present disclosure. The present invention therefore encompasses also, any improvisation[s] / modification[s] applied to the structural alternative[s] / functional alternative[s] within its scope and purview. The present invention may be embodied in other specific form[s] without departing from the essential attributes thereof.

[0049] Furthermore, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather are to provide an understandable description. Throughout this specification, the use of the word "comprise" and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising" may imply the inclusion of an element or elements not specifically recited.

[0050] An Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) is a software solution used to store, manage, and track electronic documents. The EDMS acts as a centralized repository for storing digital documents, tracks change and maintains a history of document revisions, assists in maintaining audit records and the like. The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications are essential for simplifying and maximizing a range of organizational activities in the dynamic world of business technology that helps businesses to manage and integrate their core processes. The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application (105) used in the present invention includes application like but not limited to SAP, Tally and oracle and the like. The SAP product selected from S / 4 On-premises, S / 4 on private cloud, SAP S / 4 on public cloud and SAP ECC and the like.

[0051] Intermediate application (106) used in the present invention includes but not limited to SAP BTP, SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) is a comprehensive suite of tools and services designed to help businesses innovate, integrate, and manage their applications and data. SAP BTP allows seamless integration of SAP and nonSAP applications, ensuring smooth data flow across different systems. The platform supports various cloud environments, offering flexibility and scalability. In the embodiment of present invention, the intermediate application (106) enables seamless integration of ERP application (105) with the service provider application (107) by calling the communication interface (109).

[0052] The service provider application (107) is a cloud-based software application that acts as a document repository of all documents generated from any external source. The documents generated from the external sources includes but not limited to documents generated from the ERP application (105), the service provider application (107), documents scanned by the mobile application (114) and the like. The service provider application (107) of the present invention is selected from cloud computing platforms including AWS private cloud and the like. AWS is a cloud computing platform offered by Amazon which provides a wide range of on- demand services like computing power, storage, and databases, allowing businesses to scale and manage their IT resources efficiently.

[0053] The external source in embodiments refers to users who are subscribed to the service provider platform (107) on any user interface (101) accessed on an user implementable device and upload supporting documents (108b... 108n) from any location.

[0054] Tags according to the embodiment of the present invention are additional records that validate, substantiate, or provide more detail to a main document. They help verify the accuracy, authenticity, and execution of the main transaction and are often required for compliance, audit, or operational purposes.

[0055] A unique secured website (113) as depicted in the embodiment of the present invention, is a unique container allocated to an enterprise while on boarding to the service provider application (107). This unique secured website (113) differs for each enterprise. An enterprise is an entity or an individual user who has subscribed to the services of service provider application (107).

[0056] The communication interface (109) is an Application Programming Interface (API). The API is a set of protocols and tools that allow different software applications to communicate with each other. It acts as an intermediary that takes requests from a user or client, sends them to a server, and then returns the server's response back to the client. The present invention in various embodiments provides a electronic document management system (eDMS) (100) which is configured to integrate a selected Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application (105) and the service provider application (107), for ease of access of documents created in ERP application and all the supporting documents. The system is configured such that the user can access all the documents on a single interface at the service provider application, without storing the documents directly in the ERP application. The present invention in various embodiments discloses an electronic document management system (eDMS) (100) and its method of operation (200) to describe how a document (108a) created in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application (105) of an enterprise and is stored in the service provider application (107) for easy access and retrieval of documents (108a).

[0057] Documents are a first master document or primary document created within the ERP application (105), and supporting documents are all the documents associated with the master document. Within the ERP application (105) a master document (108a) may be created and for all the further steps within the transaction may have multiple documents which are the secondary documents (108b,..,. . . ,108n) which the user may access at the service provider application (107). The present invention solves a long-standing problem that all documents w.r.t a particular workflow or a transaction over a given period of time are accessed at the service provider application (107). The service provider application (107) is configured such that any document which is uploaded through the ERP application (105) is accessed by the enterprise who has subscribed to the services of the service provider application. The system is further configured such that any transaction that may occur remotely and generates a secondary / supporting / associated document may be uploaded to the service provider application and would reflect as a tag. The application precisely meets the requirements of a single interface to provide access to all the documents. According to an embodiment of the present invention any master document (108a) created on the ERP application (105) can be stored in the service provider application (107) as tag (108ai). The supporting documents (108b,..,108n) created or uploaded in the Service provider Application (107) will reflect as a tag (108bi,..,108ni) within the Service provider Application (107). The system is so configured that a user can access the unique secured website (113) of the service provider application (107) remotely and can scan and upload the supporting document, which will reflect as a tag (108bi,.. ,108m) real-time in the service provider application (107). The first set of documents (108a) along with the supporting documents (108b,..,108n) get stored as tags (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) in the service provider application (107), these tags (108ai,108bi,..,108m) are stored under a unique document reference number (DRN) (108).

[0058] On successful storage of documents (108a) as tag (108ai) in the service provider application (107) a unique and secured URL (111) is generated in the service provider application (107) which then transferred to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application (105) through an intermediate application (106). The enterprise can easily access or retrieve the list of documents stored under an DRN (108) by clicking the unique and secured URL (111).

[0059] Additionally, the electronic document management system provides tag management, version management, and also provides reports on tag, audit, synchronization and document health meter (112).

[0060] Figure 1 and in refence to Figure 4, an electronic document management system

[0061] (100) according to embodiment of the present invention and comprises: one or more user interfaces (101), one or more processors (102), a network (103), a memory (104) storing computer implementable instructions, and comprising an enterprise resource planning (ERP) application (105), an intermediate application

[0062] (106), a service provider application (107). The embodiments disclose an electronic document management system. The document management system stores electronic documents in memory. The documents could be a plurality of documents, and their associated documents are termed as supporting documents.

[0063] The documents to be stored are selected from plurality of documents (108a) and supporting documents (108b,.., 108n), wherein the processor (102) is configured to execute the computer implementable instructions stored in the memory (104) over the network (103) and cause the system (100) to perform the below process. On access of the ERP at any computer implementable device, by a user, the first step is enterprise provisioning (115). The system is configured for integration of the service provider application (107) with the ERP application (105) and the intermediate application (106). On the user interaction at the user interface, the the ERP application (105) creates a document (108a) through the user interface

[0064] (101), and stores at a unique and secured URL (111) for accessing or retrieving the document (108a). The problems of prior art are precisely addressed by the service provide application (107) of the present invention. The service provider application

[0065] (107) is configured to store the document (108a) and the supporting documents (108b,.., 108n) as different tags (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m), on successful storage of the document (108a) as tag (108ai) the service provider application (107) generates a document reference number (DRN) (108) and the unique and secured URL (111) in the custom folder location (not shown in the drawing) of the enterprise, the document (108a) and the supporting documents (108b,..,108n) are stored as tags (108ai,108bi,..,108ni) under the same DRN (108), and transfers the unique and secured URL (111) to intermediate application (106);

[0066] The intermediate application (106) is configured to act as an interface between the ERP application (105) and the service provider application (107) that transfers the document (108a) created in the ERP application (105) to the service provider application (107) by calling a communication interface (109), and transfers back the unique and secured URL (111) generated in service provider application (107) to the ERP application (105).

[0067] Integration of the ERP application ( 105) with the service provider application ( 107):

[0068] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, an enterprise, on onboarding will be assigned a Unique Secured Website (113) in the service provider application (107) and has an option to customize the number of documents required for completing a business process based on the enterprise’ s requirement, that forms part of document (108a) and supporting documents (108b,.., 108n). The enterprise can login to their service provider application (107) using their login credentials.

[0069] The service provider application (107) can be accessed by the enterprise by directly logging in to the Unique Secured Website (113) or through the mobile application (114) using the user interface (101). The user interface (101) includes computer devices such as but limited to desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile phones and the like.

[0070] Storing documents in the service provider application (107):

[0071] On creation of a document (108a) by an enterprise in a module of the ERP application (105), a corresponding document is stored as tag (108ai) in the service provider application (107) through the intermediate application (106) on calling the communication interface (109).

[0072] Upon successful storage of the document (108a) in the service provider application, a unique document reference number (DRN) (108) is generated for the document (108a), and the document (108a) is stored as a tag (108ai) in the service provider application, a unique and secured URL (111) is generated within the service provider application (107) and passed on to the ERP application (105) through the intermediate application (106) on calling the communication interface (109).

[0073] Addition of supporting documents:

[0074] The supporting documents (108b,..,108n) can be added to the document (108a) under the same DRN (108) as tags (108bi,.. ,108m) in the service provider application (107). The supporting document (108b,.., 108n) can be added directly in the unique secured website (113) or can be uploaded by scanning the supporting documents (108b,.., 108n) through the mobile application (114).

[0075] The unique and secured URL (111) is then stored in the same module of the ERP application (105) for future access and retrieval. In certain cases, the supporting documents (108b,.., 108n) can also be created in the ERP application (105) and get stored as tag (108bi,.. ,108m) based on the enterprise’s requirement during onboarding process.

[0076] According to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figure 2, an enterprise after on boarding has an option to customize the services provided by the service provider application (107) that includes the option of creating all the documents including the supporting documents (108b,.., 108n) at the ERP application (105) rather than creating or uploading the supporting documents (108b,.., 108n) in the service provider application (107), on creation of documents (108a, 108b,.. ,108n) at the ERP application (105), through intermediate application (106) the documents (108a, 108b,.. ,108n) gets stored as tags (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) in service provider application (107) under the DRN (108).

[0077] Access to stored documents:

[0078] The documents (108a, 108b,.. ,108n) stored as tags (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) in the service provider application (107) can be accessed from change / display transaction or tile by clicking on the stored unique and secured URL (111) in the ERP application (105).

[0079] The documents (108a, 108b,.., 108n) stored as tags (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) can alternatively be accessed through a unique secured website (113) assigned to the enterprise by service provider application (107) on the integration of the enterprise with the service provider application (107).

[0080] The service provider application (107) is configured to provide list and charts of all the tagged documents (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) in the DRN (108), and its analytics checks the missing tags, these missing tags can be accessed in the service provider application (107).

[0081] User provisioning:

[0082] User access to the service provider application (107) is provided while integration of the enterprise with the service provider application (107). Various roles and user types are configured within the service provider application (107) and assigned to the users of the enterprise. A unique and secured website (113) is also assigned for the enterprise. Single sign on, username password or similar signing in options can be provided. Folder structure for document storage can also be defined to facilitate tagging and searching of documents (108a, 108b,. . ,,108n).

[0083] Document types:

[0084] In an embodiment of the present invention the document (108a) is created in the ERP application (105), and the supporting documents (108b,..,108n) created in the service provider application (107). In another embodiment the master document (108a) is created in the ERP application (105) and the supporting documents are created in any external source and further are stored as tags (108ai,108bi,..,108ni) in the service provider application (107). The document type of these documents (108a) and supporting documents (108b,.., 108n) are related to but not limited to Purchase, Sales, Banking, Cash Payments, Cash receipts, Journals, Production, Material movement, Contra, Debit Note, Credit Note, Service Receipt, Service- related documents and the like.

[0085] Version management:

[0086] Comments to be included to the stored documents (108a, 108b,.., 108n) can be captured by accessing the document through the unique and secured website (113) or the mobile application (114). Upon saving the comments, a new version of the document will be created, thereby enabling version management of the documents (108a, 108b,..,108n).

[0087] Reports:

[0088] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the service provider application (107) provides various reports for easy management of electronic documents (108a, 108b,.., 108n) stored as tags (108ai,108bi,..,108ni), the report comprises of: a) TAG Report b) Synchronization report: c) Audit report: d) Document health meter a. TAG report:

[0089] All the documents (108a, 108b,.. ,108n) from an organization pertaining to the ERP application (105) can be tracked using the TAG report (117). The TAG report (117) is configured to notify every single missing document out of millions of transactional records. b. Synchronization report:

[0090] Synchronization report is configured to reconcile the data from the document entry made in the ERP application (105) against the data fed to the service provider application (107).

[0091] The service provider application (107) is configured to provide real time synchronization report of edited documents in the ERP application (105) to the enterprise. c. Audit report:

[0092] Audit report (116) showcases the status of the audit process of the organization. If the auditor finds any error in the filing of documents (108a, 108b,..,108n), he can place a comment regarding the error which has to be rectified, allows the enterprise auditor to approve, comment and review the documents (108a, 108b,..,108n) stored as tag (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) in the DRN (108). d. Document health meter:

[0093] The document health meter (112) displays the overall health of the document for all the set of documents defined by various departments of the organization pertaining to the ERP application (105). This gives the ability to track and take the necessary actions to improve the performance of that department. The document health meter (112), shows the enterprise what are the remaining documents (108a, 108b,.., 108n) to be uploaded or stored to complete a business process.

[0094] Another application of the service provider application (107) as disclosed in the present invention is seamless migration of technology platform for enterprises. Download / email functionality:

[0095] User of an enterprise can opt to download / email the documents (108a) and supporting documents (108b,..,108n) stored as tag (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) to any intended recipient on a single go, without sending out every single document separately.

[0096] WORKING OF THE INVENTION

[0097] On boarding an enterprise into the service provider application (107), a unique secured website (113) is assigned to the enterprise, and the ERP application (105) of the enterprise is integrated with the service provider application (107).

[0098] The enterprise can login into the service provider application (107) using the unique secured website (113) or through a mobile application (114) using the user interface (101).

[0099] The ERP application (105) of an enterprise is selected from the SAP application, the intermediate application (106) is selected from SAP BTP, when an enterprise creates a document (108a) for exemplary purpose it could be a purchase order. The. purchase order pertaining to a business process “Purchase”, the document (108a) is transferred to the intermediate application (106) by calling an communication interface (109) which is an API, the intermediate application (106) calls the communication interface (109) of service provider application (107), the document (108a) i.e. purchase order is stored as a tag (108ai) in the custom folder location of the enterprise in the service provider application (107), on successful storage a unique document reference number DRN (108) is generated for the purchase order and a unique and secured URL (111) is transferred back to the ERP application (105) through the intermediate application (106).

[0100] To complete a business process called “Purchase”, the enterprise has to add the documents and supporting documents like “purchase order, EWay Bill, invoice, weight slip, delivery challan, and quality certificate” that six documents, wherein the document (108a) is purchase order and the supporting documents (108b, 108c, 108d,108e,108f) are (EWay Bill, invoice, weight slip, delivery challan, quality certificate) and any other associated or supporting documents.

[0101] The enterprise can retrieve and access the purchase order from the unique and secured URL (111) stored in the ERP application (105), without storing the purchase order document in the ERP application (105).

[0102] The supporting documents (108b,..,108n) including EWay Bill, invoice, weight slip, delivery challan, and quality certificate, can be added as tags (108bi,.. ,108m) in the same DRN (108) directly through the unique secured website (113) of service provider application (107) or by scanning through the mobile application (114). For example, a user remotely may login on to the mobile application (114) of the service provider application (107) and save a particular document, for e.g. A delivery challan, it would be converted into a tag on the service provider application for access. The service provider application (107) maintains the tag report, audit report, synchronization report and document health meter report.

Claims

WE CLAIM:

1. An electronic document management system (100), comprising: one or more user interfaces (101); one or more processors (102); a network (103); a memory (104) storing computer implementable instructions, and comprising an enterprise resource planning (ERP) application (105), an intermediate application (106), a service provider application (107), wherein the document to be stored are selected from plurality of documents (108a) and supporting documents (108b,.., 108n), wherein the processor (102) is configured to execute the computer implementable instructions stored in the memory (104) over the network (103), and cause the system (100) to perform: enterprise provisioning (115) and integration of the service provider application (107) with the ERP application (105) and the intermediate application (106), wherein i. the ERP application (105) is configured to create a document (108a) through the user interface (101), and to store a unique and secured URL (111) received from the service provider application (107) for accessing and retrieving the set of document (108a) and the supporting documents (108b,..,108n) that are stored as tags (108ai,108bi,..,108ni) in the service provider application (107); ii. the service provider application (107) is configured to store the document (108a), on successful storage generates a document reference number (DRN) (108) and the unique and secured URL (111) in the custom folder location of the enterprise, stores the document (108a) and the supporting documents (108b,..,108n) as different tags (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) under the same DRN (108), transfers the unique and secured URL (111) to intermediate application (106); andiii. the intermediate application (106) is configured to act as an interface between the ERP application (105) and the service provider application (107) that transfers the document (108a) created in the ERP application (105) to the service provider application (107) by calling a communication interface (109), and transfers back the unique and secured URL (111) generated in service provider application (107) to the ERP application (105).

2. The electronic document management system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein on enterprise provisioning (115), the ERP application (105) of enterprise is integrated with the service provider application (107), and a unique secured website (113) is assigned exclusively to the enterprise in the service provider application (107).

3. The electronic document management system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting documents (108b,..,108n) are added to the document reference number (DRN) (108) as tags (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) in the unique secured website (113) directly or by scanning through a mobile application (114) of the service provider application (107).

4. The electronic document management system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stored documents (108a) along with the supporting documents (108b,..,108n) under the DRN (108) in the service provider application (107) is configured to be accessed by selecting the unique and secured URL (111) transferred to the ERP application (105).

5. The electronic document management system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the service provider application (107) is configured to i. tag document (108a) and the supporting documents (108b,..,108n) as tags (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) under the unique document reference number (DRN) (108);ii. provide list and charts of all tagged documents in the DRN (108), and iii. generates a report on missing tags in the DRN (108).

6. The electronic document management system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tagged documents (108ai,108bi,.. ,108m) under the DRN (108) can be edited and annotated, thereby enabling multiple versions of the document (108a) and supporting documents (108b,..,108n) to be stored in the service provider application (107).

7. The electronic document management system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the service provider application (107) is configured to provide real time synchronization report of edited documents in the ERP application (105).

8. The electronic document management system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the service provider application (107) enables an audit report (116) where an enterprise auditor can approve, comment and review the documents (108a) in the DRN (108).

9. The electronic document management system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a document health meter (112) displays the health of the document (108a) and the supporting documents (108b,..,108n) defined by the ERP application (105) guaranteeing completeness.

10. The electronic document management system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tagged documents and the supporting documents (108a, 108b,.. ,108n) under the DRN (108) are configured to be downloaded in the ERP application (105) enabling offline document processing.

11. A method (200) for managing electronic documents, comprising steps:i. integrating at step (201) an enterprise resource planning (ERP) application (105), an intermediate application (106) and a service provider application (107); ii. creating at step (202) a document (108a) in the ERP application(105); iii. establishing a connection at step (203) by the ERP application (105) with the intermediate application (106) by calling a communication interface (109) of the intermediate application (106); iv. pushing at step (204) by the communication interface (109) of the intermediate application (106), the document (108a) into the intermediate application (106); v. establishing a connection at step (205) by the intermediate application (106) with the service provider application (107) by calling a communication interface (109) of the service provider application (107); vi. storing at step (206) by the service provider application (107), the document (108a) as a tag (108ai) into a custom folder location of an enterprise; vii. generating at step (207) by the service provider application (107), a document reference number (DRN) (108) to the stored document (108a); viii. generating at step (208) by the service provider application (107), a unique and secured URL (111) on successful storage of the document (108a); ix. transferring at step (209) by the service provider application (107) the unique and secured URL (111) to the intermediate application(106) by calling the communication interface (109); x. transferring at step (210) by the intermediate application (106), the unique and secured URL (111) to the ERP application (105); xi. storing at step (211) by the ERP application (105), the unique and secured URL (111);xii. adding at step (212) by the service provider application (107), the supporting documents (108b,.., 108n) as different tags (108bi,..,108ni) under the same DRN (108), and xiii. retrieving at step (213) by the ERP application (105), the documents (108a) and the supporting documents (108b,.., 108n) stored as tags(108ai,108bi,..,108ni) under the same DRN (108) in the service provider application (107) by accessing the unique and secured URL (111).

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