As the largest pension fund in Tanzania, the Public Service Social Security Fund (PSSSF) serves a vast membership base of nearly 700,000 individuals across the nation, supported by a staff of 1,000 and numerous financial partners. Formed from the merger of four distinct funds over the past seven years, the organization embarked on an ambitious mission: to become the country’s best provider of public sector pension services. This goal required a significant business reengineering effort, particularly to harmonize disparate systems and automate critical processes. PSSSF’s strategic investment in Laserfiche has proven to be a cornerstone of this transformation, fundamentally reshaping how they manage documents and deliver services.

Before adopting Laserfiche, PSSSF faced significant operational challenges stemming from its historical mergers and a reliance on manual, paper-based processes. Managing an immense volume of member documents was a constant struggle. “We had the challenges of searching documents during our processes, and storage occupied quite a big space. Security of the documents was also a challenge,” explained Erik Kato, director of information communication technology at PSSSF. This led to inefficiencies, delays, and a less-than-ideal experience for both staff and members.

The manual nature of operations meant that processing member benefits could be a lengthy ordeal. “Processing benefits could take up to 60 days in some cases,” Kato said. For members, this led to inconvenience and cost. “Some people used to travel more than 900 kilometers to visit our offices to submit documents or inquire about their benefits.” The organization recognized the need for a solution that could centralize records, streamline workflows and enhance accessibility.

The pension fund undertook a thorough evaluation of various systems before selecting Laserfiche. Their decision was driven by Laserfiche’s proven capabilities in enterprise content management, its user-friendly interface, and its robust capacity for document storage and rapid retrieval. “We found Laserfiche was quite easy to use,” Kato explained. “Laserfiche can also store quite a large number of documents and the searching capabilities, when compared with other systems, are very fast.”

Laserfiche was strategically implemented to become the digital backbone of their operations, with a primary focus on membership and benefit processing and payment. The solution enabled the fund to securely store, classify and easily access member records, which is paramount for a pension fund. “With Laserfiche, we can store members’ records in the way that we want them to be stored — we can classify the information and make it easier for our staff to process payments,” said Neema Kuwite, PSSSF director of finance.

Another key aspect of the solution was seamless integration. “We have integrated [Laserfiche] with our system which processes benefits to create an easy experience and eliminate the need for switching applications,” Kato said. Laserfiche integration extends to other critical business areas, including contract management and procurement, creating a unified digital environment. “These integrations have streamlined processes because you don’t have to move from one system to another. For example, from within our benefit processing system, an employee can access member documents from Laserfiche, which can be checked, processed and routed. Processing becomes very fast and easy.”

Furthermore, Laserfiche supports the fund’s broader automation agenda. “We’re looking forward to having Laserfiche support us in other administrative chains,” said PSSSF CEO Abdul-Razaq Badru. “It will help us implement the full automation program that we are embarking on, which includes connecting internal systems and integrating with larger databases to boost overall efficiency.”

The adoption of Laserfiche has delivered transformative results across the organization, validating PSSF’s investment. These include:

Cost savings: Both the organization and its members have realized substantial cost benefits. “We save time and we save people the headache of having to be in the records office looking for documents,” said Kuwite. The shift from paper to digital has also freed up valuable physical space. “Laserfiche has helped us to reduce the space we used to keep those records on paper. We can now use the space to hire more people or rent out to others who need office space. It’s really given us a return on investment.” For members, the ability to apply for benefits online means they don’t have to travel, saving them time and money.

Enhanced customer satisfaction: The ability to process payments quickly and provide online access to records has significantly boosted member satisfaction. “With our members, Laserfiche provides increased customer satisfaction by shortening the time it takes to process benefits,” added Kuwite. A customer survey confirmed this, with results showing members are “so comfortable and happy with our services, and the fact that we can pay them in a timely manner. Laserfiche has played a big role in that.”

Strategic and cultural transformation: Laserfiche has become one of PSSSF’s two core systems, alongside the organization’s ERP. “Laserfiche is going to help us achieve our aim of becoming a fully automated enterprise,” Badru explained. The platform is also fostering a culture of technology-driven, evidence-based decision-making. “It is actually pushing us also to think of how we can take advantage of our existing database and use the data for decision making in the future.”

By strategically implementing Laserfiche, this leading pension fund has successfully navigated the complexities of merging legacy systems and transforming into a highly efficient, member-centric organization. The dramatic reduction in benefit processing times, coupled with significant cost savings and enhanced member satisfaction, underscores Laserfiche’s pivotal role. “Laserfiche solves all your problems in processing, especially if you have significant amounts of manual processes or you’re a semi-automated organization,” said Badru. “Laserfiche takes care of all those manual troubles you have.” Looking ahead, the organization is excited about further integration with AI tools, anticipating an even brighter, more automated future.