Here are 6 areas to consider when conducting a form review.  By posing these questions, you can implement changes within your company that will reduce your form costs.

1)  Policy and Procedures - Why is the form needed?  Is it for legal reasons or business reasons?  Does it serve as a permanent record or does it provide communications or both?  Is it an internal or external form?  How much flexibility is there in changing the form and how it is used?  Are there policy reasons for the format such as the requirement of a logo or color?

2)  Business Needs - Is the form still needed?  Is it current?  Will something be changing before the next order that will obsolete the form or something on it?  Will something need to be added to the form before the next order?  Are there related forms such as envelopes?  Is there a standard industry form that could be used instead?  Is all the information on the form necessary?  Is it all used for something?  Can the form be combined with another form that performs a similar function?

3) Process - What is the path the form travels?  Does it serve the needs of all those who touch it?  Does it need to go to all those places?  Does it need to go somewhere it doesn't go today?  Is it moving quickly enough through the company?  Is the path it takes efficient and necessary?  Is it completed by hand or machine or both?  Does it get duplicated, scanned or faxed?  Does it get mailed?  Could the form be replaced by email or another automated process?

4) Content and Layout - Can information on the form be combined, rewritten or consolidated to reduce the size of the form?  Is the layout and content logical and consistent?  Does the layout mirror path, processes or data entry from the form?  Is it intuitive or are there lots of written directions?  Can the spaces, logo or text be made smaller?  Does someone other than the forms designer edit the form for spelling, understanding and usability?    

5) Format - Is the type of form appropriate?  Are there too many parts of the form (such as a multi-part form) or are more needed?  Does it need to be sequentially numbered?  Padded?  Hole-punched?  In colored ink?  Can it be on less expensive or plain stock?  Does it fit in the envelope and line up properly?  Is the size appropriate?  Could it be made smaller or into a standard paper size?

6) Quantity and Reorders - How long will this form be required?  Is there anything on the form that will cause it to become obsolete, such as the discontinuation of a product or service?  Is all the stock located in one place or scattered?  It is accurately inventoried?  Are the reorder volumes appropriate?  Could the quantity be increased to improve pricing?  Should quantities be reduced due to frequent form changes?

Contact Cattail Pond, LLC about conducting a form review at your company.  Click here.      

Policy and Procedures

Business Needs

Process

Content and Layout

Format

Quantity and Reorders