Eletronic documentation as a way of optimizing processes

Digitization reduces bureaucracy

The adoption of online systems is leading to the reduction of bureaucratic steps in Brazil, from the collection of labor contributions to export taxes. To this end, in 2018, the federal government set in motion the Brazilian Strategy for Digital Transformation, which establishes a set of 100 actions to boost the digitization of productive processes within four years.

The results can already be felt. This year, the electronic work card was launched and all companies had to join E-Social, putting labor data online. In commercial activities, the Single Export Declaration, known by the acronym DU-E, used in the process of shipping goods abroad, has also become mandatory.

Digitization is already a reality for the Wilson Sons, one of the largest independent shipping agencies in the country, which provides ship handling and commercial representation services. Even before electronic documentation was required for export services, there were customers already adhering to the new system, says Wilson Sons Agency’s division CEO Christian Lachmann. “The tendency is that companies are increasingly requesting digital processes, as this leads to a reduction in time and resources spent on activities, optimizing costs and increasing the competitiveness of Brazilian companies in the market.”

Encryption and Blockchain

This digitization and consequent unification of processes not only leads to the reduction of paper and bureaucratic steps, warns consultant Thadeu Vigné, but also results in a profound transformation in the logistics environment. “With this digital evolution, many intermediaries in the logistics phase will disappear,” says the expert, who does a thesis on supply chain dynamics, in which he studies the case of blockchain adoption in US soybean exports to China.

In Brazil, until now, banks would be the big supporters of this innovative architecture, created to meet the demand of digital currencies, but the expert believes that innovation will reach all productive sectors. “The way blockchain works by gathering encrypted data about a block transaction makes information inviolable and transparent at the same time, which is a demand of our increasingly digital society,” he explains. When discussing security in digital processes, there is no way not to talk about electronic signatures, although it is still new to many professionals and segments. “The electronic signature is in force in Brazil and has been legally approved for 17 years, so there are no legal restrictions on its use. But the massification, the great use of solutions, platforms that allow companies’ internal or external processes to be fully realized on the digital platform, is still lacking,’ says lawyer Alexandre Atheniense, a specialist in Digital Law.

In his opinion, the government is doing its part and now it’s time for businesses and the market to join in and follow up on official initiatives by creating the infrastructure for digitization. “Today, there is no obstacle for companies to carry out all their activities in a 100% paperless way, but there are still practical challenges to overcome,” he says.

The expert points out that the trend is to follow the evolution of how people are communicating over the internet. As expressions of will by electronic means can be carried out by mobile communication devices, smartphones, tablets, etc., government and business solutions need to address these devices. “This is the topic of the moment as the regulator recently passed the digital cloud certificate usage legislation, which will allow electronic signature use to work on mobile communication devices,” he concludes.

The past also becomes digital

Founded 12 years ago, the Wilson Sons Memorial Center (CMWS) has scanned almost every document in the group, and it’s worth pointing out that it’s 180 years of history! The collection has some precious items such as Princess Isabel’s 1878 imperial charter, a 1924 commercial encyclopedia, and a photo of the Rio-Niterói Bridge’s central gap.

In all, there are more than four thousand cataloged documents, which can be consulted by collaborators, researchers, and students. The collection is open to the public and visits can be made by advance booking, through the email [email protected], to search for information, data, and documents related to the sectors in which the company operates and already acted. The documents and information gathered do not only refer to the remote past, but cover all phases of business development, including recent periods.