CASE STUDY

A Pharmaceutical Company Streamlined Search and Retrieval Workflow with Custom SharePoint Search Solution

industry_pharmaceutical

Business Case

The Research and Development (R&D) department of our client was struggling with inefficiencies in information retrieval across multiple (2000+) SharePoint sites. The decentralized storage of vital documents and information has led to a cumbersome search process, hindering productivity. The lack of an efficient search mechanism made it challenging to locate specific documents promptly, resulting in wasted time and resources. 

They sought i2e to devise a solution that streamlines the search process and enhances the retrieval of documents. The objective is to develop a user-friendly search equipped with advanced filtering capabilities, enabling users to swiftly locate pertinent information across SharePoint sites.

Our Solution

After a comprehensive analysis, our team built a custom search page using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript to navigate the documents present within the SharePoint sites. 

The first step was to restrict the search results to only those SharePoint sites that were relevant to the users within the R&D group. We fine-tuned the search query, ensuring efficient data retrieval from designated SharePoint sites and document libraries, resulting in faster and more precise results. 

By harnessing managed properties, we integrated custom metadata to refine search outcomes, enabling users to pinpoint information accurately. The team introduced filters allowing users to specify desired sites and file types for more targeted results. 

Our solution also incorporated features to save searched keywords and bookmark frequently accessed documents, enhancing user convenience and productivity. To handle large data volumes effectively, we implemented a custom lazy loading feature, enabling seamless data retrieval by simply scrolling, optimizing performance and usability.

Challenges Overcome

  • Effectively managing the extensive volume of data stored across multiple SharePoint sites.
  • Optimizing performance of the solution to ensure swift search results and seamless browsing with such a large volume of data.

Benefits

  • Users can swiftly fetch data exclusively from designated SharePoint sites and document libraries, leading to faster and more accurate results.
  • More précised and targeted results with custom metadata.
  • Streamlined access to frequently used documents with saved keywords and bookmarking.
  • Enhanced usability and reduced load times with lazy loading feature.

Results