Articles related to Customer Communication Management

The qualified signature requirement is coming...

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This year brings some new features in terms of document management that you should be aware of.

Will it change in July 2022?

The implementation of Decree-Law 28/2019 has been successively postponed, but its current date of entry into force is July 1, 2022 (Order No. 351/2021-XXII). Under this Decree-Law, it will be necessary to affix a qualified signature or seal in order for tax-relevant documents issued electronically to be considered valid.

What are fiscally relevant documents?

In addition to the invoice, which includes the invoice itself, the invoice-receipt, the simplified invoice or the document amending the invoice, these are also considered to be fiscally relevant documents:

  • transport documents;
  • receipts;
  • any other documents issued, regardless of their designation, which are capable of being presented to the customer and which make it possible to check the goods or services provided, regardless of the medium on which they are presented to the customer.

What is a qualified signature or seal?

A qualified signature involves placing a qualified certificate on the document using a secure device. The simplest example is a citizen's card reader or a digital mobile key signature. However, for entities wishing to sign documents with the name of the company and not with the name of the person legally representing it, the option will have to be the qualified seal, the version applied to legal persons.

To do this, a certificate must be purchased from a CA(Certificate Authority listed by the European Union) and a secure mechanism (HSM - Hardware Security Module) created to affix this seal to the documents. You can see an example of such a process in the image opposite. But don't worry, it's a simple process that can be completely streamlined at Contisystems.

Is it too late?

No, this is a relatively quick process to implement and Contisystems will do its best to prioritize this over the coming months. However, we know that many companies are leaving this implementation to the last minute, so we expect a greater influx of this type of service. Anticipate this and ensure that your document issuance complies with all the requirements.

Certify what?

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As the digital reality grows, so does the desire to move more and more processes into this world. Accelerated by the pandemic crisis that emerged in 2020, the digitization of processes in companies has gained more pace and less resistance. In this context, there is a greater need to find mechanisms that give these digital processes the same or greater credibility and security as those found in the physical world. To this end, in addition to the European legislation created specifically for this purpose - eIDAS - various types of certification have emerged, using more or less sophisticated technology, which are applied to different digital objects (documents, signatures, senders, identities, etc.) and always with the aim of giving credibility to digital documents and their respective issuing entities.

What certificates might I need?

Although this is a constantly evolving reality, at Contisystems we are currently focusing on the certification associated with three types of objects: pdf documents, emails and the signing of documents and contracts. With different options, equivalent to different levels of complexity and security, the certification of each of these objects allows us to add an additional layer of credibility and security to the services already provided under our Unicks platform.

  • To Batch Producer (which ensures the production of batch files, in this case pdf documents) we associate the ability to certify the origin of the pdf document as well as the affixing of a timestamp of the date and time it was created. This is the application of our Certifier block to pdf documents.
  • To the Omnichannel Sender (which ensures the sending of communications, in this case emails) we associate the ability to certify the sending and track the journey of the email until it is delivered, opened, attached files consulted and downloaded. This is the email application of our Certifier block.
  • In a combination of the two previous blocks(Batch Producer and Omnichannel Sender) we can build customized files and send them for signature collection by email. This is how the Certifier block is applied to the signing of documents and contracts.

Certification of pdf documents

There are three types of pdf document certification:

The simple

When you want to identify the issuer of the document in question. In this case, the implementation involves placing a simple certificate purchased by the client on the pdf files produced, attesting to the originator of the document.

The Advanced

When you want to identify and prove the identity of the issuer of the document in question. In this case, the implementation involves placing an advanced certificate purchased by the client on the pdf files produced, attesting to the originator of the document, with additional ways of proving their identity (e.g. biometric data).

A qualified

According to Decree-Law 28/2019, it is now mandatory for tax-relevant documents transacted digitally to have a qualified electronic certificate. In practice, this means that a qualified certificate must be issued and affixed by a certification body (CA), document by document, using a secure signature creation device. This certificate will guarantee that the document was generated by the identified entity, on a specific date and time and with the highest level of security because it was affixed by the certification body.

Certification of outgoing emails

Depending on the scenario in question, email tracking may make sense with different levels of detail:

  • Certification of delivery: If you want to have a document proving that the document was actually delivered to the specified recipient.
  • Certification of opening: If you need proof that the email or even the attached document has been opened.
  • Download certification: If you want to have certified information of the opening of the email as well as the download of each of the attached documents.

The proof documents referred to have legal validity, which makes this service a digital equivalent to traditional registered mail.

Certifying the signature of documents and contracts

There are many scenarios in which you need to record someone's express agreement to a document. Whether it's accepting the terms and conditions of a service, agreeing to minutes or even signing a contract between two parties, there are many applications for this option in the Certifier module. Here are some tips on how to address each type of agreement:

  • Simple agreement: You can send a document in which the user fills in a check box or uses an OTP (one time password) to express their agreement.
  • Advanced agreement: You can send the document with a space for an autograph signature. A biometric trace is made and the option can be complemented with OTP.
  • Qualified agreement: By using specific identity certificates, such as the Digital Mobile Key associated with the citizen's card, you can have a totally secure signature.

Who issues these certificates?

All the partners that Contisystems works with to issue certificates are CAs (Certification Authorities) identified as trusted service providers by the European Union. However, if you already have your own certificate provider, we can use any provider that is recognized as a trusted service provider.

What certifications do I need in my company?

This will depend on your line of business, as the applicable use cases may be different, but here are a few pointers:

  • if you issue invoices or other relevant documents in electronic format, you need to certify the pdf documents;
  • if you send email communications that you need to prove were actually sent/read, you need to certify that your emails were sent;
  • if you send communications by registered mail in order to have this proof and are looking for a more agile solution, then we recommend email certification;
  • if you are looking to speed up contracts with your customers or suppliers, then you can use document and contract signature certification;

We hope we've helped clarify this issue, which isn't always simple. Be aware that we will soon be preparing a webinar on the subject, so stay tuned!

Unicks, our new customer communication management platform

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Today was the launch of a new brand to give face to Contisystems' Customer Communication Management services. If you attended the event, thank you for your time, we hope you enjoyed it.

If you haven't been, don't worry, our blog subscribers and readers deserve everything, including a summary! So here it is. 

What is Unicks? 

Unicks is a platform for managing companies' communications with clients, made up of modular services. The options and combinations of these modules, often referred to as blocks, are tailored to each particular solution. See all the blocks as well as some example solutions on the Unicks.com website.

Where does the name Unicks come from? 

Unicks stands for Universal Blocks. Blocks that universally address customer communication management needs. Take a look at the short animation we've prepared to explain where Unicks came from.

Who is Unicks for? 

Unicks is highly flexible and modular, making it suitable for a wide range of situations. Take a look at the sectors section of Unicks.com and see some of the most common solutions for the industry you work in.

Is Unicks replacing Contisystems? 

No, Unicks is a brand wholly owned and managed by Contisystems exclusively for Customer Communication Management services. Contisystems remains the company name and "parent" brand.

How can I find out more? 

We'd be delighted to give you a presentation or demonstration of our service, so please contact us. In the meantime, you can visit us at unicks.com.

Be one of the first to discover our new platform

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We have something new to share with you....

We're preparing something new in the area of Customer Communication Management and we'd really appreciate it if everyone who subscribes to our blog could join us to find out first-hand.

We identified the difficulty that companies have in keeping up with the technologies that support customer communication management and that are multiplying and we realized that old platforms often have to coexist with newer solutions...

We know that we need to make sure that everything works together, what already exists and works well and what's new, but this usually increases the effort and development time.

It was to confront this reality that we developed a new solution.

Register for this online event and be one of the first to get to know this new platform!

Sign up here

Being in the office is no longer for everyone... is it for you?

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Nowadays, due to the context in which we live, teleworking has emptied offices and made them just an address. These addresses, no matter how much you tell them otherwise, end up being the destination of important communications such as invoices, checks, complaints, etc. Picking up this mail occasionally delays its processing, forwarding and accumulates unfinished business, which can often mean delaying revenue and multiplying costs.

What can we do to help?

We then thought that this would be the time to eliminate this operational constraint for companies and provide a mailroom management service that will ensure that all this mail is physically collected by us and forwarded digitally.

But that's not all, we don't want our customers to remain as before, we want them to take advantage of this opportunity to organize and optimize the way they integrate the documents and information that comes to them by mail, not only physical but also digital, into their systems.

What is this service based on?

This service not only eliminates the hassle of managing physical mail, it also allows the extraction of associated metadata and the creation of an easily searchable archive available via API that can be easily integrated with your CRM. And not only does it do this for scanned physical mail, but also for all the digital documentation that is "loose" in the systems and is therefore not integrated and used, such as the emails scattered around in sales people's mailboxes.

Visit our Mailroom Management page here.

What technology supports this service?

Using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and NPL (Natural Processing Language) technology, we will identify the type of document in order to understand the flow it should follow. From there, using automated processes (RPA - Robotic Process Automation) , the information and communication follow their flow and are integrated into a centralized database. This database stores the communication or document, the extracted metadata that is associated with it, as well as the routing that was given (log).

All information is valuable as long as it is available and actionable, organize your information and maximize its value.

This is just one of the use cases that can be assembled from our modular CCM platform. Discover this whole universe here.

Count on us to streamline your operation in these difficult times. Don't just stay the same, become stronger and more useful to your customers.

#togetherwecan

We guarantee that your information is forwarded at the right time, in the right format, to the right person.

Find out more about our mailroom management service

The importance of data quality

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Many companies find themselves in possession of a considerable amount of data without knowing exactly what value can be extracted from it or how it can be extracted.

Because they are scattered, have different structures and formats or are incomplete, they become very difficult to use. Difficult, but rarely impossible... With the mechanisms currently in place for conversion and validation, good preparatory work can make analysis of great value to the business possible.

Even in a database, a data quality assessment process can find outliers, duplicate records or inconsistencies. find outliers, duplicate records or inconsistencies. A detailed analysis of these situations may identify opportunities for improvement in the ETL (extrat, transform and load) process or even business-related opportunities. business. The same process could include cross-referencing with external data sources, enriching the sources, enriching the data and generating information of great potential.

A model is only good as the data it learns from. Before investing in application of Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence, make sure you have full control over the quality of your data, or your results are doomed, no matter how good the model behind it.

The topic of "Data quality" is very broad and can be addressed at different stages of the pipeline or with different pipeline or with different approaches or technologies. Here are some of the steps that we think are important for ensuring data quality:

Rigorous data profiling and data source control

A good Data profiling tool will be important to examine the following aspects of the data: format, patterns, consistency of records, distributions of values and outliers and whether the records are complete. Data profiling will help you identify problems in your data that can be addressed directly at the source or in the ETL process. To do this efficiently there must be a dahsboard, with general KPIs that reflect the results of this profiling and that allow you to monitor data behavior against expectations.

Detailed design of the data pipeline

The of the data entry pipeline includes areas such as the definition of fields, business rules and database connection rules. In large organizations, it is often the case that several different areas interact with the same record, for example a customer. Ensuring that there is a common understanding of the input fields and that there are no duplicate entries are some of the concerns to be taken into account when designing the pipeline. Communication between different areas of the organization must ensure that rules are defined that are as transposable to the systems in order to reduce human error as much as possible. human error.

Precise collection of requirements

Validating the quality must be seen in a well-defined context. The objective of the analysis in order to define the requirements that the data must meet. meet.

Data integrity

Data integrity is an essential aspect of data quality. If your database is relational, you can ensure this by using primary and foreign keys, validating additional conditions to the format (check constraint) and using mechanisms triggered by specific actions (triggers). The problem becomes more complex when the data is spread across different database systems, but its importance should never be ignored or downplayed.

Traceability of data origin

Another of data quality is its traceability. Whenever a problem is detected in a record, it is essential to be able to quickly identify its origin and correct it without jeopardizing the project deadline. For this is possible, traceability must be at the heart of the data pipeline design. data pipeline.

Automatic regression tests

There will always be time when you want to enter a new set of data or change something in the existing fields. existing fields. To ensure that these changes don't impact the services that are running, it's important to have automatic tests in place. running. This will give you the ability to make migrations without postponing without compromising business-critical data.

Because we have been processing our clients' data since the last millennium, experience tells us that experience tells us that this issue of data quality is often underestimated. underestimated. On our side, we are learning and understanding its importance and how it facilitates further processes. Count on us to invest with you in preparatory data quality treatment processes and solid processes so that, together, we can get the most out of your data. data.

Source: https: //towardsdatascience.com/7-steps-to-ensure-and-sustain-data-quality-3c0040591366