The file moves faster than the workflow design
Many teams have reliable ways to receive and store files, but the workflow around those files is far less stable. Once a file needs review, extraction, escalation, or downstream updates, the process often becomes fragmented across tools and people.
The handoff is where the cost appears
The heaviest manual cost usually shows up at the handoff points. Someone has to understand what the file is, attach the right context, verify the important findings, and make sure the result reaches the right next system. That is where many workflows slow down.
A better workflow keeps the source and the action together
The cleaner model is to keep the file, the evidence, and the next action close to each other in the same workflow. That reduces the amount of context rebuilding the team has to do every time the work changes hands.