Explore our blog
Customer Stories

How signNow helps a life science company save hundreds of human-hours on paperwork

SignNow Team
26 Aug 2021
signNow’s eSignature for Integra LifeSciences
6 min read

Unlike any other business resource, time is not renewable, which makes it the most valuable asset. This is why Integra LifeSciences prioritized their employees’ time even before adopting eSignatures.

Prior to the transition, the company used to spend massive amounts of time on wet-ink signing. But when they realized how cumbersome and disruptive their processes were, they started looking for an eSignature solution for life sciences that would eliminate unnecessary hassles and related paperwork expenses.

This is how Integra came across signNow and switched from inefficient, paper-based processes to fully digitized document workflows. In less than a year, the company managed to remove the overhead associated with hard-copy signing and speed up document cycles by leaps and bounds. Today, Integra enjoys smooth and uninterrupted business operations with eSignatures.

Customer profile

Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, Integra LifeSciences specializes in medical technology, offering global customers a wide range of high-tech solutions for special surgery, wound repair, skin regeneration, and burn care.

Challenges before switching to signNow

  • Low operational efficiency with wet-ink signing: Since Integra is a global company, its contracting processes span multiple countries. Therefore, sending agreements for signature via mailing services and then waiting for documents to return took weeks. Inside the organization, managers and compliance specialists were constantly struggling against repetitive paperwork chores involved in the approval and sign-off processes. Also, some documents could be easily forgotten about in the piles of paper that quickly built up.
“Even when we’re in the office, having somebody printing it out and dropping it off on somebody’s desk with posted notes saying “sign here, sign here, sign here,” you think about the resources of somebody’s time, the paper, that person — especially when you get to more senior-level management.”
John Treder,
IS Contracts and Software Assets Manager at Integra
  • Inefficient usage of labor resources: In addition to higher overall costs, paper-based signing put a considerable strain on the company staff, especially the management. Signing contracts and approvals consumed much of their time, which they could have spent on more important tasks.
“It is harder to quantify, but, especially for C-level people, time is one of the most valuable things to them. And to have them be able to execute things quicker and easier, and free more of their time up, that right there is well worth it.”
  • The need to sign documents remotely: Before switching to electronic signatures, Integra’s team used to sign documents in person, which took away the flexibility needed to maintain seamless and uninterrupted operations. Integra’s top managers were the first to acknowledge the need for a transition to digital signatures.
“They [managers] are not in the office every day, they’re traveling to different locations, they have busy schedules, and […] sometimes you’d be waiting a week to get a document back.”
  • The lack of visibility into the signing process: As the company’s compliance department needed to sign off on system changes and upgrades for various products, simplifying signature workflows and document tracking was essential for ensuring the transparency and consistency of the team’s internal processes.

Solution: Switching to signNow eSignatures

When Integra decided to move away from traditional wet-ink signing, they contemplated a few eSignature solutions for the life sciences industry. Some of the company employees already had experience with different eSignature apps. However, there was no standardized platform, and the IT department at Integra was determined to establish one.

signNow appeared to be the most attractive solution considering its pricing and functionality. But the decisive factor was its superior support. When Integra contacted the signNow team, they were offered free FDA-ready test subscriptions, comprehensive user documentation, and free training to make sure that employees at Integra feel comfortable with what signNow has to offer.

“The response that the signNow team gave us, compared to the competition, was the differentiating factor that made us go with signNow. Because you look at it — the features, functionality — there are some slight differences on the margins and stuff, but the service really was the thing for us that made us choose signNow.”

First, Integra’s technicians introduced signNow to leadership teams and their assistants. Then, they implemented eSignature workflows for quality groups in Princeton.

“Everybody who’d used other electronic signature solutions really thought it [signNow] was very intuitive, very user-friendly, easy to use. The signNow team was great in terms of helping us make sure it was successful when we launched it.”

Besides the excellent service, Integra has appreciated the following signNow features:

bitmap

21 CFR Part 11 compliance: Organizational settings and security features that allow healthcare businesses such as Integra to manage documents according to FDA standards.
bitmap

Role-based eSigning: The ability to assign different fillable fields to specific signers and set up a signing order.
bitmap

Signature tracking: The possibility to monitor the status of each document and to see who signed it and who didn’t.
bitmap

Signer reminders: signNow sends notifications to signers, reminding them to complete documents on time.
“The ability to take a document, upload it, and then set up the signing order, and just hit “Send,” knowing it’s going to route to the person. Once they sign, it goes to the next person, everybody gets it in the end. Setting it up with reminders for the people you know who tend to miss things when they come in their inbox is also helpful.”

Results achieved with signNow

After successfully introducing eSignatures, Integra has seen the following improvements:

bitmap

Faster document cycles: The contracting and sign-off processes that formerly took weeks are now completed in hours.
“The time savings are enormous. Even if you saved five minutes on each one of those documents, you’re talking hundreds of hours over the course of a year per person.”
bitmap

Improved operational efficiency: Streamlined eSignature workflows allow employees at Integra to cut out paperwork-related overhead and save time for more creative and strategic tasks.
“It’s really improved a lot of the way that some of our groups do their business. It’s definitely made them more efficient, freed up people’s time to do more important tasks rather than signing something and dropping it off at somebody’s desk.”
bitmap

Remote eSignature workflows: The company’s staff no longer have to visit the office to sign documents by hand since they can now do it from anywhere, using any device.
“I know somebody [in the company] who appreciated the fact they had the ability to sign documents while they were waiting at the teabox, rather than having to go into the office later in the day or go back home and sign something. The flexibility of being able to just use your iPhone to sign is great.”
bitmap

Better traceability of signatures: Tracking documents sent to multiple employees has become much easier thanks to signer notifications and the ability to monitor the status of documents in real-time.
“On the contracting side, it’s great because it’s much easier to keep track of who signed it [a contract], who didn’t, and where it is. It makes it a lot easier like that.”

Future plans

Satisfied with the results of their eSignature implementation project, Integra is planning to introduce signNow across other departments and locations around the world. In addition, they are considering the possibility of embedding the signNow API with their Salesforce system.

“The ability to just put a request in through signNow and have it come back, and if I need to set up reminders for that, it just makes it so much more efficient than the old wet-ink signature: printing it out, signing it, scanning it, and emailing it. It’s just so much more efficient, such a time saver.”
John Treder,
IS Contracts and Software Assets Manager at Integra
Tags:
Related resources
Table of contents
Related resources