Missing signatures as process killer in everyday business life

Berlin, 08.08.2019 – About the study: The study was carried out in January 2019 by an independent market research institute on behalf of FP and surveyed a total of 1,004 employers, employees and self-employed persons from 38 sectors on the handling of documents and signatures in their companies and on digital signatures. It paints an accurate picture of document management and the degree of digitisation in German companies. The study is special in this form.

Theses and selected figures of the study:

1) Due to delayed signatures, business transactions are often not concluded: one in five companies (20%) sees a clear connection between the duration of the signature process and the failure to reach a business agreement. 51 percent of companies regularly miss deadlines due to missing signatures.

2) The longer an offer is available for signing, the more likely it is that it will not be signed: 36 percent of companies regularly lose revenue as a result.

3) Entrepreneurs often don't believe their business partners' reasons for missing signatures: the study asked about the most common reasons for delayed signatures. Companies think that at least 31 percent of the cases are excuses.

4) Digital signatures have been shown to increase the number of deals: Companies that already use an electronic signature service are more than twice as likely as companies that do not to believe that they will lead to more deals. One third of companies (32%) that use digital signatures report that they are closing more deals.

5) The use of digital signatures can significantly accelerate business processes: Up to 40 percent according to the study. Companies that already use digital signatures receive documents signed twice as often as those sent by email.

We can offer you the following information about the study and the theses:

- Study results for the listed theses

- Guest contributions to the listed theses

- Statement / Interview with Stephan Vanberg, global project manager for FP Sign and expert on electronic signatures

- Infographics "The most frequent reasons for delayed signatures" (in German)

- Test access for the FP Sign digital signature service from Francotyp-Postalia

Note: A live introduction to the electronic signature product will take place from September 2019 at the FP Sign Deutschlandtour in Berlin (03.09.19), Hamburg (11.09.19), Frankfurt am Main (15.10.19) and Stuttgart (22.10.19). If you are interested in checking digital signatures for practicability yourself, please let us know and we will organise a contact person for you on site.

About FP Sign

FP Sign, FP's new digital signature solution, enables companies across all industries to implement efficient and binding signature processes: With FP Sign, companies of all sizes can have their documents, whether contracts, offers, invoices or other business documents, digitally signed - mobile, anytime, data secure and legally compliant. The transparency of the signing processes with FP Sign, which can be traced at any time, ensures an implicit request for action on the part of all contracting parties: signatures are set more quickly, work becomes more effective and business processes more binding. Thanks to its cooperation with sign-me, Bundesdruckerei's remote signature, FP Sign offers the highest available signature level in accordance with the European Signature Ordinance eIDAS and thus the highest data and legal security of the electronic signature.

Further information can be found at: www.fp-sign.com/fpsign

www.fp-sign.de (German website)