Case Study: Large American Aerospace Engineering Company achieves 60% reduction in printed documents and cuts engineering approvals from days to minutes with DocuSign Signature Appliance

DocuSign Makes Heavy Processes Take Off for Aerospace Company

A large U.S. aerospace engineering firm that designs, modifies and certifies aircraft faced a slow, paper-heavy approval workflow: Engineering required about 3,000 authorizations monthly, converting AutoCAD drawings to PDFs, printing them for up to seven signers, then scanning and archiving—while needing enterprise-wide scalability and strict compliance with FAA, EASA and other regulatory rules (including FAA Advisory Circular 120-78) and seven-year archival/verification requirements.

The company deployed the DocuSign Signature Appliance, an on‑premises electronic signing solution that integrated with Active Directory, supported multiple graphical signatures, time stamps and reason codes, and ensured long-term verifiability. The change kept documents electronic end-to-end, met regulatory standards, cut printed documents by 60%, reduced the approval cycle from days to minutes, enabled hundreds of electronically signed drawings per month, and significantly lowered administrative overhead.