What are the real costs of manual data re-entry and how to avoid it?

Anyone who knows the hurdles and complexities of running a business is familiar with the fact that data re-entry is one of the toughest chores to maintain. And with a growing business on hand, manual data re-entry is not only unscalable but also more prone to mistakes. And the cost of these mistakes can add up to a fortune which can be highly detrimental for businesses of all sizes. And in this age of cutting-edge technology, investing in a completely integrated data system is the only key to solving this issue. In this article, we will talk about the real costs of manual data re-entry and how you can avoid it.

The “cost” of manual data re-entry

The process of manual data re-entry is risky and extremely time-consuming. Here the ‘cost’ of manual data re-entry refers to two sorts of costs.

• First, the financial cost of engaging a large group of staff to manually enter each and every data with the risk of human error in the system.
• Second, the opportunity cost of time and the irregularities which can have an adverse effect on the production and maintenance of the business.

All you will need to mitigate these risks and damages is a solid standard operating procedure for data consistency and an integrated software system for your company to ensure such consistency.

Here is a list elaborating on the problems caused by manual data re-entry that can take a heavy toll on your company.

1. Human Error:

The first and foremost reason manual data re-entry is considered risky is human error. A growing business generates a significant amount of data every day and to keep the company up and running without any lagging, data re-entry has to be done daily which is a simultaneous process and during the process, multiple human errors occur simply due to mistyping, misunderstanding or even distractions. This doesn’t only result in inaccuracy in the system but also leads to various wrong orders and wrong decisions. And the fiscal cost of manually entering all these data and then refurbishing the errors is defined by a 1–10–100 rule, which means it costs $1 for data accuracy verification while entering, then $10 for correcting identified errors. Those that remain uncorrected can cost the company $100 or even more. This is how the companies lose tons of money every year by manually re-entering data, and most importantly, the system becomes untrustable due to these errors. Due to this, the flexibility of work gets significantly distressed. According to research conducted by IDC, human error in the system can cost a company up to $315 per employee, which can annually sum up to 18 billion dollars in terms of both US and UK economy, and worldwide businesses lose up to $2.7 trillion.

2. Unavoidable delay:

The most detrimental problem caused by manual data re-entry is the vast time consumption. It takes around 10,000 to 15,000 keystrokes per hour to achieve a reasonable rate of data entry manually taken from the paperwork. And the amount of data that a growing business has to handle on a daily basis only gets more overwhelming. Even if a whole group of people was to sit all day doing backup and re-enter the data in the system, it could take hours. Also, not everyone in the crew can have the same speed to process and enter data; hence irregularities are bound to occur. As a result, there can be a significant delay in production, delivery or any sort of work that engages through data. For instance: due to the delay in data entry, there will be a delay in production house getting their necessary updates and instructions, production process, QC process, delivery and all of these will require extra work hours hence causing much more extra expenses. Furthermore, it can also be counted as a demerit of the company, making a dent in the company’s management and reputation. And all of these can only occur due to manual re-entering of data.

3. Poor data quality:

Anyone who works with data knows that data is not just a set of right or wrong information. There is much more to it, and there are a handful of categories that the data has to pass through in order to be rendered functional. For instance, data without a label, just a set of numbers without the unit and blank values. All of these are poor quality data which can hardly be of any use. These types of mistakes are common for manual data re-entry and also extremely hard to spot amongst hundreds and thousands of data points which further costs both money and time.

4. Mismanaged system:

Due to the unavoidable problems manual data re-entry causes, such as poor data quality, unnecessary time consumption and data errors, the entire data system of a company can become untrustworthy and create massive bottlenecks. Hence, creating hindrances in the way of management’s work which then makes it hard to fulfill the company’s daily tasks and affects the company’s bottom line. And this mistrust on the system is the most detrimental effect of manual data re-entry on your company. This won’t just slow down a company’s growth but also result in immeasurable losses.

5. The way to avoid the cost:

Since we have been pointing out all the adversities of ‘manually’ re-entering the data, it should be comprehensible by now that the only way to avoid these issues is to invest in a completely digitized and automated solution that integrates with all data sources from your company’s fragmented database. An integrated software that can take care of all the data entry and backup within seconds, has very little chances of inconsistency, is easily programmable to maintain data quality and increase productivity to boost the growth of your company. To incorporate such data management procedures, Nuport might be your best option.

Nuport Data Management Service

Nuport has the expertise to provide a well-defined pathway for your business, starting with its automated and geo-coded order management solutions. Nuport’s modules such as order management, product management, inventory management, accounting and finance integration, fully accessible automated analytics and data management can help you refurbish your company’s entire infrastructure. It could also help you gain the upper hand in the market by boosting your company’s preparedness for growth. To get a fully personalized consultation, schedule a demo today!