Top 10 Case Management Tools to Consider for 2024

Case management is concerned with the handling of various events in an organization with a knowledge-based approach. As companies grow, the nature of events or incidents that need to be handled changes. Paper-based tracking systems, spreadsheets, and text documents may not be enough for handling, documenting, or investigating events or issues.

As business operations expand, it becomes imperative to use case management tools for handling incidents, complaints, claims, investigations, or issues. Read on to explore case management tools, the need for a case management solution, and top case management platforms to consider for 2024.

What is a Case Management Tool?

Case management tools enable companies to track and store information in a centralized location and report on their data. A case management solution helps organizations reach optimal performance levels and deliver high levels of customer satisfaction. Case management is a process that allows companies to handle incidents, complaints, and issues. Expanding business operations requires much more than paper-based tracking systems, text documents, and spreadsheets, to handle and document incidents and issues. 

A case management tool enables the coordination of business services to resolve a case for individual customers mostly. Case management plays a vital role in optimizing unstructured business workflows that enable companies to strive toward customer-focused service delivery. A case management application helps teams gain speed and agility for knowledge-based work that is unstructured and unpredictable and also for work where data must be collected from varied sources, parsed, and summarized for decision-making. 

Case management software helps organizations reach optimal results for clients. Customer service has gone digital. While many customers still prefer the resolution of their service issues by phone or in person, an increasing number of customers are looking for service that will meet them across every avenue. This means that there are a lot of potential customer service interactions on any given day, making it challenging for customer service representatives to stay on top of each social network. Manual methods of handling cases at a large scale across online and offline channels are inadequate given the slew of incidents and issues. This is where case management tools come into the picture. 

Case management application refers to solutions that help businesses and nonprofits manage their customer interactions across social media and other channels like email and contact forms. Using case management tools, businesses can automatically collect and organize customer interactions into a centralized place for convenient access and a comprehensive view of each customer.

Most of these case management platforms are cloud-based, facilitating instant, out-of-the-box use. With a cloud-based workflow automation platform like Cflow, users can log into their accounts, and immediately view their cases, sort them by priority, and manage everything from one place. 

Cloud-based case management software categorizes cases and sends them to the best department or person to resolve them. Using a case management tool simplifies the job of a customer service agent and also ensures that each customer gets a quick resolution for their issues.

Why do you need Case Management Tools?

What does case management look like in the real world? The meaning of a case varies according to the industry, doctors and lawyers handle medical and legal cases, while IT teams handle help desk cases/tickets. The nature of the cases may be different, but they all have a similar goal, which is improving variable processes where events and milestones do not fit into a timeline. How do you know your organization needs a case management platform? 

Here are 10 indications that show that it is time to consider case management tools. 

• Your teams are using spreadsheets for managing casework
• Teams are drowning in paperwork for each case
• Case reporting is scattered across different systems
• When the Internet connection is interrupted while working on cases, the team finds it difficult to fall back on manual, paper processes
• Your team spends a substantial amount of time searching for relevant information
• People struggle with a lack of consistency and visibility across cases
• Your teams do not have a productive way of collaborating on case details and information
• Compliance issues are of great concern across teams due to the lack of reliable logs to go back in support of the case
• Data is siloed across several different systems and is often inaccurate and outdated
• Reporting is scattered across different systems

Case management is a collaborative process that enables organizations to streamline the process of assessing, planning, and simplifying cases to meet their business needs. Case management involves several unstructured processes, where important data is collected from different systems and analyzed to help decide on appropriate actions. The most common use cases of case management include – ad-hoc team projects, incident management, and handling employee applications, complaints, and claims. 

Types of Case Management

Case management can be categorized into several common process types – decision-making, incident management, service requests, and investigations. 

Decision making

Case management helps structure plans and processes to handle casework. Compliance of the case-handling process is also measured by case management software. The case management platform also ensures that cases adapt to regulation and rule changes. Examples of case management in decision-making include organizational governance, compliance tracking, and product management. 

Service requests

Service requests include customer and employee claim management, structuring of onboarding process routes, and providing instant access to bug statuses. Examples of service request case management include customer service, claims processing, onboarding, procurement, and IT service management. 

Investigations

Case investigations include tasks like identifying the cause of problems and issues, analyzing and providing evidence to help derive solutions, and recommending changes to rules (as required). Examples of case investigations include money laundering and fraud investigation, claims management, underwriting, and legal case management.

Incident management

Incident management cases entail the maintenance and demonstration of a chain of information custody, identification of potential incidents and issues, resolution of disputes, and measurement of outcomes. Examples of incident management include complaint management, disaster management, and quality management.

Components of a Case Management Software System

Case management systems are made up of 5 elements, as mentioned below – 

1. Case Intake

A good case management system uses a variety of intake mechanisms for complaints or reports. The most basic intake mechanism is an internal online form that presents users with the fields that need to be filled. Other mechanisms include public web form, telephone hotline, email, chatbot, suggestion drop boxes, or even a designated person or office for receiving complaints. The case management system employs the following intake mechanisms –

• Recording new cases using an intake form
• Automatic creation of a new case file to store all the information
• Integration with other systems to create cases and pull information into the case file
• Assignment of cases to those responsible
• Notifications to parties that may be involved in other cases

2. Case management

The bulk of the activities in case management software revolve around case management. Managers are provided with the tools they need to 

• Record notes
• Set alerts and reminders
• Assign tasks
• Set appointments
• Track deadlines
• Send and receive emails
• Attach files
• Request approvals
• Follow investigative best practices through rule-driven workflows
• Link cases that have common issues or parties

3. Reporting

A good case management system has a strong reporting mechanism for making sense of all the data gathered during the case management phase of an investigation. Case reporting is crucial for visualizing trends, conducting risk management and prevention, and detecting hot spots. Effective case reporting allows users to –

• Create new reports easily and quickly
• Create drill-down reports for deeper visibility
• Choose from a variety of different charts and graphs as per what is being visualized
• Export reports to PDF, Excel, txt, csv, and MS Word
• Build personalized dashboards
• Distribute reports automatically or on an ad-hoc basis

4. Workflow

Case management systems are driven by rules and alerts to ensure that due dates are met, which makes it easy for investigators, managers, and executives to quickly understand the status of cases. Alerts can be set to advise users of:

• New cases created
• Upcoming due dates
• Case assignment
• Overdue escalation notices
• Case inactivity
• Requests to review cases or steps

5. Access and controls

Case management software systems enforce access controls for the security and confidentiality of case files. Access to case information can be restricted depending on a variety of criteria – 

• Role – investigator, executive, manager
• Department – Legal, HR, corporate security, compliance, health and safety
• Geography – country, state, region
• Individual – information can be blocked from someone who is related to a case or with a conflict of interest

Case management software is a powerful tool for investigators or anyone who manages cases in a team environment. A case management tool replaces cumbersome spreadsheet-based systems and equips teams with secure access, collaboration, and reporting capabilities for resolving cases faster and boosting prevention.

Must have Features of Case Management Tools

With the need for case management tools clearly established, let’s move on to understanding how the case management application helps improve organization results. Case management tools not only help you manage cases efficiently, but also provide benefits such as centralized tracking, documentation tracking, audit trails, and communication tools. Case management tools must provide the following features – 

Case management – The solution must equip companies to manage any type of casework, structured or ad hoc. The software must be able to manage all the 5 types of cases mentioned above. The case management solution must be able to track and categorize customer interactions across online and offline channels. 

Unify data and actions – The software must consolidate data from multiple systems into a centralized location. Centralization improves data access and visibility and accelerates decision-making. 

Automate complex processes – The software must be able to automate and simplify complex processes from end to end. This increases efficiency, minimizes errors, and lowers costs. 

Dynamic exception handling – The software must be capable of managing exceptions and ad-hoc activities with task capabilities and actionable data views. 

Ease of use – Case management software must have an intuitive interface that is easy to grasp. Users must be able to freely navigate through the platform. Low-code platforms like Cflow can be used even by citizen developers to create case management workflows. 

Pricing – The price of the case management software is an important factor that organizations consider while choosing the software. 

Customer support – All case management software offers support during work hours. Workflow automation software like Cflow provides insane levels of customer support. 

Benefits of Using Low Code Case Management Tools

There are several benefits of using case management software. Case management solutions allow you to organize your cases more efficiently. This can help you find information quickly, track patterns clearly, and build reasonable cases for clients. Other benefits include – 

Seamless integration with existing systems – Low code case management platforms can be seamlessly integrated with existing systems. Integration with existing systems ensures that case management happens smoothly. 

Coordinated communication – Team members can collaborate and communicate effectively through the low code case management system. 

Simplified development and deployment – A low code case management tool simplifies the development and deployment, as it does not involve any coding. Even citizen developers can easily create case management workflows. 

Improved process management – No code workflows are devoid of redundancies and inefficiencies. Process management is significantly improved by automating the workflow. 

Efficient time tracking and billing – Case management workflows enable efficient time tracking and billing. 

Efficient customer service – Automating case management workflows enables efficient handling of incidents and service requests, which in turn improves the efficiency of customer service. 

Top Case Management Solutions for 2024

If you are looking at improving the quality of customer service by streamlining case management operations, then investing in a case management tool must definitely be top on your priority list. We have curated a list of the top 10 case management tools to consider for 2024. 

1. Cflow – A highly versatile workflow automation tool for efficient case management

A no-code workflow automation solution that can automate just about any business process easily and quickly. The visual workflow builder can be used by anyone in the team (citizen developers included) to create simple or complex workflows. Real-time reports and analytics keep you informed on the status of your cases, so you don’t miss out on any review or approval. Automated routing and notification feature makes sure that all stakeholders are on the same page w.r.t to the status of issues and service requests. 

2. Salesforce – A customer service platform for managing and resolving customer issues/inquiries

Salesforce Service Cloud provides companies with a call center-like view for tracking and managing cases that come in. This case management software also routes and escalates cases that are the priority. The Salesforce CRM-powered customer portal empowers customers with the ability to track their own cases. The social networking plug feature lets users join conversations about their company on social networking sites. The analytical tools and other services like access to customer’s entitlement and contracts make Salesforce a preferred case management tool. 

3. Bonterra Case Management – Cloud-based case management solution for nonprofits of all sizes

Case management by Bonterra is a cloud-based solution that is designed to bring data to the forefront for bolstering the impact of nonprofit organizations. This software helps organizations save resources and time by managing data more efficiently so that users can spend more time on delivering the mission. This case management tool offers configurable forms and fields so that organizations can customize their experience to the clients and mission. Users get real-time access to their data to facilitate collaboration and insights into program performance. 

4. Appian – A low code development and business management platform

Appian provides a software development platform that combines enterprise low code and full-stack automation for delivering business applications. Appian can significantly improve customer experience, simplify global risk and compliance, and achieve operational excellence. Visual modeling and drag-and-drop interfaces in Appian simplify the creation of case management workflows. Other features include platform security and scalability, reusability, and platform user management. 

5. Pega platform – No code app development for building scalable, enterprise-grade CRM

Pega is no code app development platform that can build scalable, enterprise-grade CRM, Robotic Process Automation, BPM, and Case management apps on a unified platform. Pega platforms transform business stakeholders into citizen developers with a no-code, visual app development experience. Notable features of Pega include – process design, process simulation, SOA support, model execution, and business rules engine. 

6. Hyland Nuxeo – A cloud-native, cloud-first scalable solution for developing creative workflows

Hyland Nuxeo Platform is a cloud-native scalable solution that utilizes automation technologies for improving efficiencies, increasing accuracy, and providing its capabilities. The low code technology helps implement Hyland’s Nuxeo Platform with customizable features that allow organizations to develop creative workflows. Enterprise content management features offered by Nuxeo include content capture and imaging, content search and retrieval, automated workflows, file sync, storage, and archiving, and content publishing and creation. 

7. Alfresco – An open platform that controls the content and optimizes processes

Alfresco is an open platform that controls the content, streamlines collaboration and optimizes processes. This automation software boosts business productivity significantly, helps keep track of sensitive information, and delivers great customer experiences. This cloud-based software enables users to manage content, drive context for users, and deliver apps across devices. 

8. Proofpoint Intelligent Compliance – AI-powered Collection, classification, supervision, and predictive analysis

This platform offers enterprises regulatory compliance safeguards while simplifying corporate legal protection practices. This platform offers AI-powered collection, classification, detection, prevention, search, eDiscovery, supervision, and predictive analysis, which helps companies adhere to complex compliance and information governance obligations. 

9. Intapp Conflicts – AI-assisted clearance for clearing conflicts within teams

AI-assisted clearance provided by Intapp Conflicts allows conflict teams to allocate their time more effectively for analyzing firm data to group conflict search results into groups that do not require action versus those that pose potential conflicts. 

10. IBM Case Navigator – A reliable tool for end-to-end case management

IBM case manager is a case management solution that allows customers to resolve complex cases by providing persistent access to information, workflow, tasks, and analytics. The case manager is widely used to resolve complex workflows/cases by leveraging the use of case manager API to connect to content engines and connect to the user through a rich interface.

Final Thoughts

Case management tools can be extremely useful for investigators and anyone who manages cases in a team environment. A case management tool replaces traditional spreadsheet-based systems with a streamlined knowledge-based approach. A no-code workflow automation solution like Cflow can automate case management workflows efficiently and quickly. Discover the value add that Cflow brings to Case Management by signing up for the free trial.