Business need: Ensure compliance with regulatory standards
Engineers for a global manufacturer with a complex supply chain need ongoing access to current and reliable information to ensure compliance with ISO, ATM and any other manufacturing or regulatory requirements. The company’s knowledge management manager, who oversees the technical center and library, is responsible for providing this and other information to engineers, designers and executives across a global enterprise.
The risk of supply chain and manufacturing mistakes is costly and exacerbated by lack of access to current and correct standards. During the last few years, her staff of 2.5 employees had dwindled down to one full-time librarian, due to retirement and cost-saving measures by company executives who didn’t see the value in replacing those dedicated information resources when engineers could find the information themselves.
Business solution: Obtain library and technical research support as a service
Knowing that additional permanent staff was not an option, the KM manager began exploring other options. She began an online search using the term “contract library services” and found LAC Group on page one of her search results. She asked her retiring librarian for ideas and the librarian also suggested LAC Group. The KM manager reached out to LAC Group’s research and intelligence team, initiating a contract for virtual research support at the start of 2018.
Working virtually and securely across company email and LAC Group’s research management system (RMS), employees of the client submitted their research and information requests to LAC. Virtual research librarians conducted the search and return the documents or other results to the requester. All was tracked by the RMS, with the KM manager receiving reports on what was requested and fulfilled.
Business outcome: Reduced risk and valuable savings in research time and expenses
The KM manager received great feedback from those that have used the service, including one purchasing employee who was the licensed subscriber to an information resource and now saves the time and cost of printing out product standards and other documents. She also appeased and impressed company executives by finding a way to provide research and library resources without adding additional overhead costs.
