Mailroom automation can help businesses of all sizes meet core objectives while reducing overhead, risk, and liability. Here, we’ll discuss a number of the advantages mailroom automation offers companies.
What Is Digital Mailroom Automation?
Digital mailroom automation is a process that takes your physical mail and faxes and converts them into electronic format. From there, the digital data is sent on to your company, where you can easily sort and store it.
Here’s how the mailroom automation process works.
1. Data collection
Mail, payments, faxes, and other correspondence are collected by a third party, sparing you the paper pile.
2. Digitization
Each document is digitized, converting it into a PDF or other electronic format. These documents can also be made searchable through OCR and indexing.
3. Delivery
The electronic data is delivered to your company. You can then forward it to the right people and store it in your company’s hard drives or servers, keeping it secure while minimizing clutter.
Reasons Why Businesses Use Mailroom Automation
There are many reasons why businesses choose to use mailroom automation. For some, the goal is to improve customer service, while others simply want to reduce overhead.
Offload peripheral processes
Sorting through the mail, storing it, and keeping it secure is seldom the central process of a business. Mailroom automation allows businesses to offload those processes onto a third party, thereby reducing overhead.
Improve control and visibility
It’s easier to track a digital document through your system than it is to locate missing paper mail. Visibility and control increase with mailroom automation.
Solve staffing issues
Many businesses have limited resources to dedicate to staff. By using a digital mailroom, companies can save on personnel costs.
Improve customer service
For many businesses, improving their customer service is the goal. Mailroom automation serves to reduce response times and improve customer satisfaction.
Benefits Of Mailroom Automation
Mailroom automation helps businesses manage their incoming data in a far more efficient and secure way than would be possible by relying on paper alone. Some of the benefits of mailroom automation include the following.
Streamlined storage
When mail arrives in digital format, it’s much easier to store than paper documents would be. You don’t need bulky filing cabinets or physical access control measures to maintain your digital data. It’s all handled in a compact format that can be easily stored on an existing hard drive or server.
Lower personnel costs
Mailroom management typically requires dedicated personnel, particularly in larger enterprises that have to handle lots of incoming and outgoing correspondence. Allowing this process to be automated and managed by a third party reduces the need to divert revenue toward paying extra salaries, benefits, etc.
Tighter security
Physical filing systems are typically secured with access control and security measures, including keys, locks, and surveillance cameras. Keeping digital documents secure, however, requires few physical assets. Instead, encryption and passwords can keep digitized correspondence secure right on your servers.
Reduced loss
Physical mail can also get lost or otherwise compromised between receipt in your office and delivery to the right department. By automating the process, the odds of correspondence getting lost in transit diminishes significantly.
Improved productivity
With fewer labor hours being put into sorting and storing incoming mail, your staff has more room in the workday to focus on your core business processes. As a result, productivity increases.
Faster response times
Paper mail can be cumbersome, and as a result, response times are often much longer than they would be with an automated solution. Without having to wait through lengthy processing times, you can respond much more quickly.
Centralized document management
With mailroom automation, your mail can be handled through a centralized document management system. If your other documents are digitized along with your correspondence, it’s easy to maintain it all on a single server with cohesive access control protocols. The result is a more efficient office.
Industries That Use Digital Mailroom Automation
Many industries can benefit from a digital mailroom solution. These industries include the following.
Manufacturing
Manufacturers can simplify their operations and maintenance processes by streamlining their correspondence. Mailroom automation allows them to handle purchase orders, shipment-related documents, and other communication quickly and accurately.
Retail
Retailers rely on documents for tracking purchase orders, payments, and other correspondence. Mailroom digitization makes that process as quick and simple as possible.
Financial institutions
Banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions process large volumes of payments and highly sensitive correspondence every day. A fast and consistent workflow here is key to minimizing liability and maintaining customer satisfaction.
Healthcare
Hospitals and doctors must adhere to strict rules regarding the privacy of patient data. Managing data and payments transmitted by mail without exposing sensitive information is vital to their success.
Law firms
Sensitive client data, payments, and other communication are a major part of a law firm’s operations. When it comes to handling it all as securely as possible while lessening the burden, mailroom automation is an excellent solution.
Insurance companies
Insurers must make sure their correspondence is both processed efficiently and handled securely. Mailroom automation helps insurance companies protect their customers’ information while quickly processing premiums, bills, and so forth.
Government entities
Mail to and from government organizations can be handled efficiently with the use of a digital mailroom. The result is a faster turnaround for correspondence, monetary services, and healthcare.
Discover The Benefits Of Digital Mailroom Solutions
Mailroom automation can help you reduce overhead, improve security, limit losses, and ultimately enhance your internal processes and customer service.
ILM makes it easy to experience the benefits of a digital mailroom. Let us show you how a custom solution can work for your organization.
