The Benefits of Implementing a Digital Mailroom Solution

My colleague at Canon Business Process Services, Baron Brady, Solutions Engineer, Legal-Information Governance solutions, points out that becoming paper-lite remains a challenging prospect for many organizations as long as so much incoming content enters the mailroom in the form of paper. According to Baron, a paper-intensive mailroom will struggle to meet the increased demand for accurate information. In this post Baron shares his thoughts on how a digital mailroom solution can meet these demands while also reducing overhead expense.

By using a digital mailroom solution as a central platform for incoming content, there are opportunities to combine all paper and electronic mail formats (email and fax) into the same document workflow. A consistent and complete approach to all incoming documentation makes any content repository more reliable.

Baron highlights the following as some of the key benefits of a digital mailroom solution:

More Efficient Distribution of Data

A corporate mail center often requires high-volume, repetitive tasks, with the handling of hundreds or thousands of pieces of mail. As with any automated process, a digital mailroom solution moves data more efficiently and accurately compared to a manual process. This efficiency can be seen in the following ways:

• Processing of high-volume within tight timeframes;
• Instant notification of a document’s arrival;
• Immediate access to documents that don’t require hand-delivery or scanning in order to share with others;
• Prioritization of urgent documents since automation can trigger expedited workflows;
• Delivery of searchable documentation in an organization’s content management system.

Reduction in Paper Costs

A digital mailroom saves money by reducing the reliance on manual processes. Such processes require mailroom clerks, thereby increasing operational costs. An automated process, on the other hand, can improve productivity with less labor.

In addition to reducing staff costs, a digital mailroom solution can eliminate the cost of physical storage of paper documents as well as reduce costs associated with delivering documents between sites. Most importantly, the reduction in internal costs can refocus investment in making a business more competitive. An automated mailroom process can also eliminate the fees incurred with lost invoices and late payments. When all content is scanned, nothing has to go missing.

Improvement in Customer Service

By automating the routing of business-critical information, a business can reach customers more quickly than with a slower, manual process. A digital mailroom solution speeds up processes considerably by dispensing with the physical sorting and distribution of content.

And by delivering that content directly into a content management system, there’s no longer a need for employees to devote time to scanning and indexing. Consumers value their time and responding to this need is one of the most important ways a company can provide quality customer service. This is why providing customers with instant access to data often translates into a competitive advantage for service-oriented enterprises.

Enhanced Compliance with Governance Policies

By capturing all document content as it enters an organization, a digital mailroom provides a secure audit trail for the entire document lifecycle. With more accurate mail and package tracking, it is also easier to report on trends and diagnose workflow inefficiencies. Mailroom automation can also protect confidential information from inadvertently getting into the wrong hands, by limiting access to certain types of content, such as documentation triggering HIPAA protections.

Reduced Carbon Footprint

The overall goal of a digital mailroom solution is to convert paper to digital format the moment it enters an organization. Reduced reliance on paper makes it easier for any organization to support larger goals of environmental responsibility and sustainability. This helps an organization keep one step ahead of legislative requirements, while also gaining the attention of environmentally aware customers.

Baron adds that organizations preparing for the future are confronting the need for more accurate and readily-accessible data that can be used for purposes of benchmarking and forecasting. While there are cost savings associated with a digital mailroom solution, data-rich processes are invaluable when it comes to growing a business.

Feel free to visit the Mail Services page of our website to find out more about how a digital mailroom solution can help your business. You will find additional information on industry trends and best practices including case histories, whitepapers and a video on how our Digital Intake Solution can provide a variety of solid business benefits.