Document management in corporate real estate: how a global technology company manages 2 million documents
A global player in the optics and optoelectronics sector managed more than two million documents for decades: manually, unstructured, and spread across numerous locations. This illustrates precisely why professional document management in corporate real estate is crucial for efficiency and cost reduction. Buildings with a history of up to 60 years accumulated enormous volumes of documents over time, and changing personnel made the filing system increasingly disorganized. Manual searches were time-consuming and expensive, external partners were difficult to integrate efficiently, and decisions were delayed due to a lack of a clear data foundation. Therefore, the company implemented EVANA, a scalable solution that fundamentally transformed document management: location-based, structured, and with measurable results.
problem
Over 2 million documents were manually managed: scattered, unstructured, and some not digitized. Searching and collaboration therefore remained slow, costly, and opaque.
Solution
EVANA was launched gradually at each location. The platform classified documents, removed duplicates, integrated external partners, and then transferred all processes to a unified basis.
Result
Processing times decreased by 60 %, collaboration with external service providers was significantly more efficient, and relevant documents now appear in seconds.
Document management in corporate real estate: Managing decades of documents
When buildings are up to 60 years old and document repositories grow over decades under changing management, an impenetrable archive emerges. Which documents are already digitized? Where are duplicates hidden? Which documents are missing? Until now, these questions have been difficult to answer efficiently.
This is precisely where structured document management in corporate real estate comes in. EVANA started location by location: First, the team collected the documents centrally, then reviewed, classified, and cleaned the collections. This created a structured, fully searchable database for all locations, all document types, and all stakeholders.
Structured migration, site by site
The rollout was deliberately phased in at each location, as this actively involved employees and fostered acceptance. During the migration, the existing file system retained only read access, ensuring data integrity at all times. The platform automatically detected and removed duplicates.
At the end of each site rollout, there was therefore a clean, fully usable document base.
60 % faster, and that's just the beginning.
Since implementing EVANA, the company's operations have noticeably changed. Processing times have decreased by approximately 60,000 pts, resulting in immediate improvements in productivity and costs. Relevant documents and information appear within seconds, and external service providers retrieve and store required documents independently. This also provides the foundation for data-driven decision-making. Further expansion to other locations is already being planned.
External partners seamlessly integrated
A key outcome of the implementation concerns external service providers: They are now fully integrated into the document processes. They retrieve and file required documents independently, without any manual steps or delays.
This increases efficiency on both sides and also leads to measurably higher satisfaction for all involved.
Data-driven decisions in real time
A structured, fully searchable document repository fundamentally changes the quality of decisions. Information is available in real time, reports are generated via Power BI, and an open REST API effortlessly synchronizes all data with third-party systems such as ERP software. In this way, EVANA not only brings order to the document inventory but also lays the foundation for future-proof, competitive processes.
„"Since the introduction of EVANA, our company has benefited from improved document management, which allows us to find relevant documents and information within seconds, thus significantly increasing efficiency."“
More than document management in corporate real estate
The EVANA platform EVANA grows flexibly with additional locations, document types, and use cases. The team quickly onboards new locations, continuously integrates additional document classes, and constantly expands existing processes. In addition to classic document management in corporate real estate, EVANA also supports... Transaction data spaces, for example when buying or selling individual properties or locations.
This gives companies a scalable, future-proof platform for all document-related processes, with open API connectivity, Power BI integration, and the flexibility that global organizations need.
About EVANA
EVANA develops AI-powered solutions for document management and analyzes large volumes of documents. Based on its own infrastructure, the AI automatically recognizes, extracts, and structures unstructured content. This allows companies to access relevant information more quickly and create a reliable data foundation for analyses, processes, and decisions.
