Effectively handling the massive influx of mail, faxes, and other incoming data is challenging for any business. The entire process requires tremendous money, time, and resources. This is why many companies are automating their mailrooms and taking advantage of improved productivity, reduced labor requirements, and increased security.
To discover if digital mailroom services and document scanning are right for your organization, you’ll need to first determine if outsourcing makes sense. For a thoughtful analysis, consider these important factors:
- Finding out your total volume of incoming mail, email and faxes
- Determining what the current mail is
- Considering how documents are being received
- Discussing with your team what the turnaround or how quickly they need access to their incoming mail
- Determining if you want your outsource partner to perform remote check deposits
Read on to learn more about how to determine if mailroom outsourcing is right for your company or organization:
Total Volume
You’ll first need to look at the amount of incoming mail your staff is currently processing and classifying. Simply counting the amount of mail trays and envelopes is enough to give an estimate. Is this steady throughout the year or seasonal? Knowing the quantity of mail, FedEx or incoming faxes is a basis for any outsourcing discussion. You will also want to consider the time your staff spends processing, distributing, and managing correspondence.
Related: What your business needs to know about outsourcing
Mail Classification
Understanding the different types of mail that is being received will help determine how it is classified and what information is to be captured from each mail piece. Invoices, Checks, Legal documents, applications, medical forms, etc are just some of the basic classifications used to sort the incoming mail.
Receipt Methods
Consider the various methods of receipt you currently handle. Will the vendor handle each method, or will some stay internal? Many different types of mail processing could be cost-effective to outsource:
- Paper mail
- Electronic mail
- Faxes
- Uploaded documents to the cloud
- Physical media such as DVDs and flash drives
- Web forms
Turnaround times and SLAs
How quickly do you need access to the information once it has been delivered to the mailroom? Turnaround times may vary by the type of document. For instance, invoices may need to be processed within two business days, whereas checks are to be handled same day.
Check Deposits
Speed to deposit is critical to avoid bounced checks and maximize incoming cash receipts. A smart outsource provider can handle deposits such as paperless Check21 or remote deposit capture to a wide variety of financial institutions. Also the ability to digitize the remittance or reply device that often accompanies checks.
Mailroom Outsourcing Benefits
Whether you have limited staff or are looking to reduce overhead costs, mailroom automation outsourcing offers many advantages:
- Less Physical Space—Mail record maintenance and storage take up a massive amount of physical space. Your company or organization can save tremendous money by digitizing your records. You’ll also be able to reduce on or off-site storage space significantly.
- Greater Efficiency—Physical mail requires sorting, distributing, processing, and storage. This cumbersome process takes up time and money and pulls employees away from performing their daily work.
- Better Security—Cameras, locks, and alarms are required to protect critical business information, such as physical checks or proprietary data. It’s far easier and more cost-efficient to secure a digital file than to protect paper records.
- Decreased Overhead—Outsourcing your mailroom processes will help eliminate unnecessary overhead costs, such as storage, access, and security.
Stay Ahead of the Data Flow with Digital Mailroom Services
The above tips and questions will help you assess whether or not to outsource digital mail services. Every organization has unique requirements that may affect the decision to fully or partially outsource. While reviewing these tips, we encourage you to contact ILM with questions or to learn more about our experience and processes.
ILM is armed and ready to manage your incoming mail. Click below to get a quote or learn more about partially or fully automating your mailroom.
