Backlogs can keep you from getting the most out of your available intelligence...

Whether you're struggling to work your way through a stack of DNA samples or a stack of invoices, backlogs can create a number of problems, not least of them being an impediment to accessing the information you need. In the former context, as described by a story fresh off the Associated Press, authorities in Maryland were sitting on evidence that could implicate hundreds of criminal suspects, and did not even realize it:

Gov. Martin O'Malley says more than 250 people have been arrested throughout Maryland as a result of DNA samples that had not been examined when he took office.

O'Malley, a Democrat, made it a priority to clear up the state's backlog of nearly 25,000 DNA samples.

State officials say there have been 267 arrests resulting from DNA samples that were sitting on the shelf. That means roughly 1 percent of the samples have led to arrests.

In the latter context, any Accounts Payable manager or specialist will tell you about the problems posed by backlogs. They can lead to a "mad rush" at month's end to ensure the books are in order. They lengthen processing times, potentially denying the company untold sums in early payment discounts. Data entry personnel struggling to keep up may be more prone to making careless errors; TAWPI estimates that 1 in every 40 keystrokes produces an uncorrected error, and one could reasonably assume that a heavier workload only serves to exacerbate this problem. Perhaps personnel levels are increased, driving up labor costs.

In addition to simple invoice processing, there is also the matter of matching those invoices to internal sources. According to APEX Analytix, a typical company that processes 100,000 invoices annually will pay out $25,000 to $300,000 in duplicate payments. An IOMA study suggests that an average of 1.6% of vendor payments have errors. When faced with a heavy backlog, how successful can one be in reducing errors within their A/P department?

By eliminating their backlog and verifying the data against available resources, Maryland's law enforcement organizations were able to unleash the intelligence to proceed with more than 250 criminal cases. If you had the opportunity to eliminate your backlog and access the intelligence therein...what opportunities might you find?