The digital age has transformed how people communicate. Traditional physical mail is being replaced by the convenience of email, client platforms, and social media communications, allowing companies near-instant response times and a broader overview of trends. Despite that, the U.S. Postal Service still handles over 100 billion pieces of mail per year (even though the numbers are declining slowly). Much of this mail ends up at companies’ doors. Large organizations typically need to devote entire processes, infrastructure, and even roles to handle incoming and outgoing mail. However, there’s no reason to maintain costly equipment on the off-chance you get some mail your way. Third-party services can provide an outsourced mailroom to deliver a scalable and flexible solution that can also handle digital mail. Here’s how.
How an Outsourced Mailroom Works
An outsourced mailroom is an enclosed third-party system that receives and transforms paper (and sometimes digital) mail into useful files that companies can incorporate into their digital pipelines. The process can vary between providers, but it generally relies on a combination of manual and automated work.
Receiving Mail
With an outsourced digital mailroom, the third-party provider collects all your physical mail, including letters, postage, and packets. In some cases, the provider is automatically listed as the company’s mailing address, but this depends on the exact solution and implementation.
The provider might also have the capacity to handle all incoming electronic mail delivered to the company’s primary mail. For these, the mailroom provider might offer some additional options, such as spam protection, automated attachment handling, or role-based forwarding.
Digitization
Paper mail that can be scanned is converted into its digital counterpart at the vendor’s mailroom. Typically, third-party dedicated mailroom vendors have access to some of the latest scanners and optical character recognition (OCR) software. As a result, the scans are high-fidelity and can be quickly converted into more useful, editable formats.
The rise of AI has also improved the process, with recognition technology allowing vendors to extract meta information about mail and determine its value to the company.
Validation and Spam Protection
Companies can develop criteria for classifying documents they receive, and the vendor can use them on all incoming mail to ensure crucial mail receives the attention it needs. Additionally, vendors typically have access to the company’s existing records to cross-check previous information and correct any mistakes during the digitization process.
The vendor will also determine whether the mail is spam and prevent it from ever reaching the company.
Delivery and Integration
After ensuring that the received mail is safe and properly scanned, the mail is delivered to the company via automated workflow tools. The provider usually delivers mail as soon as it’s scanned and validated, but it can also work in batches. Delivery can also include giving company management and other key personnel access to the online repository where the files can be found. In this case, they can be manually reviewed for corrections or forwarded to the necessary personnel.
With some partnerships, the provider’s mailroom is directly integrated with the company’s documentation management system. This streamlines delivery to directly incorporate the files into their correct workplace and flags key personnel on the addition.
Returning or Disposing of Documents
After digitized mail is successfully delivered and processed, the provider can return the physical mail to the company for safekeeping or dispose of it entirely. For the latter, the physical mail is typically shredded to prevent it from reaching anyone else.
How an Outsourced Mailroom Helps Companies
Outsourcing a digital mailroom can help the business focus on other, more important matters, helping the company reach its full potential.
Reduced Initial Costs
If you want to digitize your mailroom, you have to invest in scanners and extra software to process and integrate the documentation into your systems. This might be unfeasible as a single expense for a small company. Larger companies might have to dedicate a physical room to store and forward the mail they receive, which adds to costs.
On the other hand, an outsourced mailroom is typically paid via subscription, with a much lower (or no) initial investment and a generally low monthly price.
Improved Workflow and Turnaround
Mailroom providers partner with many different companies, giving them ample experience in handling all types of physical mail. Additionally, their focus on mail services typically means they have access to more advanced equipment that is simply unnecessary for a company that doesn’t work in the niche.
As a result, an outsourced mailroom can be much more efficient than its dedicated counterpart, with much faster delivery times.
Also, what happens if you have someone picking up the mail and they go on vacation for a week? Do you just stop processing mail? With a provider, the service is operational every working day, ensuring minimal downtime.
Scalability
If business picks up, you may need to invest in more equipment or hire a dedicated person responsible for handling all the mail you receive. This opens up the doors to mismanagement and cybersecurity weak points.
With a provider handling your incoming mail, you know they have the capacity to meet any kind of demand. All you have to do is renegotiate on the partnership terms to account for the increased activity, and the vendor will take care of the rest.
Updates and Compliance
When you have a fleet of different scanners and software solutions, you might need to exert a bit of effort to ensure they’re all up-to-date and compliant with all the recent law changes and security recommendations. And if a scanner breaks, you need to schedule professional maintenance or lose more time solving the issue yourself.
Outsourcing mailroom providers usually focus on obtaining the best devices and software in class and ensuring that they meet all the required standards. Additionally, they handle all the maintenance and updates behind the scenes, so to speak, and all you can see is a service that’s continuously improving.
Centralization Opportunity
If your small business is picking up steam, you might want to open more offices in different states or even countries. Some providers offer cross-border services or centralize your mail delivery systems to ensure that all mail is processed properly.
Integration With Documentation Management
Outsourced mailroom vendors are not always just zeroing in on that particular niche. Some companies also offer more comprehensive IT services, such as management, cybersecurity, or customized documentation systems.
If you partner with a more generalist provider, you can typically get services that work much better together. In particular, a document management provider that also provides a digital mailroom can directly forward the files to your platform.
Letting You Focus
With a provider handling your incoming mail, you don’t have to worry about whether you’re hiring the best person to manage your inboxes and mailing services. You can focus on growing the business and let the provider scale as you do.
Let the Pros Sort Your Mail
With physical mail slowly out of the running compared to mail, businesses can cut down their operating costs by removing dedicated hardware to process and forward mail to employees. An outsourced mailroom can fill that role while also providing first-class service to improve your overall workflow and integrate your physical and digital mail systems.
For companies in Philadelphia, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, IMR Digital is one of the best such partners. As a company that provides accounts payable, document processing, and mailroom outsourcing, you can combine these services to reduce overall costs and fully transform into a digital-first company. Contact IMR Digital today and learn how your business can work better with pros taking care of your vital documents.