As a veteran traveler who has 3 million miles on American Airlines flights over the past 16 years, I’ve  become somewhat of an expert organizer when it comes to packing my travel gear.   My luggage is always filled with the essential items that I like to travel with, except for a refill or two of those 3 ounce or less bottles.   One thing that has changed over the past few years is the need for a portable scanner.   As an executive of a company, I have to be sure that I’m also well equipped with everything I need for my “mobile office”.

In this fast paced work environment, there are numerous contracts and sensitive business documents that require my sign off in order to keep business moving.  Many times, these contracts need to be executed immediately and forwarded back to the appropriate party.  Having them printed at my hotel is easy, but having them delivered to the recipient by fax can be costly and unreliable, and presents the risk of ending up in the wrong hands.   With my ScanSnap, I can print my documents at the hotel, instantaneously scan them back onto my PC, sign them and then personally email the digital images to the correct recipient.  The best part is that I get immediate delivery confirmation by emailing the documents and have the luxury of a built-in tracking system that recognizes if there are any issues during the transmission process.   Now all I need to consider is investing in a portable paper shredder to destroy the excess paper waste.

I have also found that after a week or two on the road the restaurant, taxi, lodging and other business receipts that require reimbursement start fading away or are accidently misplaced or forgotten.  Having the convenience of a mobile scanner allows me to immediately preserve these documents into digital form.

Using my ScanSnap has made my travel a lot easier and more productive. It not only reduces the mess of documents that used to crowd my computer case and saves me time retrieving them, but it has freed up enough room for me to easily find the portable pepper grinder that comes to my rescue, just in case the flight attendants fail to bring enough of those tiny little seasoning packets when I’m having my mid-flight meal.

Doug Rudolph, Vice President of Product Management and Business Development
Fujitsu Computer Products of America