How Implementing a Digital Mailroom Can Benefit Your Business

Traditionally, the company mailroom has been seen as the most chaotic department in an organisation, flooded with packages and envelopes and a constant buzz of activity. But it was a drain on resources in terms of staff, time and cost. Today, the Digital Mailroom offers benefits that go far beyond simply calmer environs; it enhances your business procedures, services and reputation too.

Of course, the rise of the digital mailroom is largely down to the continued growth of digital communication in a business. Where once suppliers sent estimates and invoices on paper, they now email templated document.

However, the flow of paper-based communication is still significant. According to research, 23% of UK businesses receive over 5,000 items of inbound mail every month, while 60% of company mailrooms receive faxes. And while 75% admit they have tried a paperless office initiative, a huge 81% have said they have not yet adopted a digital mailroom.

But how can adopting a digital mailroom really make a difference to a company? There are several ways, not least these four.

1. Greater Efficiency

When communication is paper based, the volume of documents that need to be handled, sent and re-directed can be mind-boggling. Getting through each letter, package, notice, report and document can take up a huge amount of time – time that could be spent on more constructive things.

Achieving greater levels of mailroom efficiency is always going to be welcomed as progress, and a digital mailroom can deliver that because it can sort and distribute data automatically and in an instant.

The benefits include:

• • • successfully meeting tight timeframes
    • immediate access to specific documents
    • instant notification of document arrival
    • no time spent photocopying or scanning
    • urgent documents can be automatically prioritised
    • searched-for documents delivered to CMS

2. Greater Operational Efficiency = Better Customer Service

When systems are automated, the systems run faster and more smoothly. This, in turn, has a run-on effect on other areas of a business, not least customer service. The reality is that, where data is critical, a business that can access that data faster can engage with customers more quickly.

Because a digital mailroom distributes data so efficiently, it ensures faster response times to requests and queries and more accurate understanding of content. Employees no longer need to spend so much time scanning and indexing, and can instead spend time meeting consumer needs.

3. Reduces Operational Costs

As already mentioned, a traditional corporate mailroom needs staff to manually manage the waves of envelopes and packages that come in every day. Digital mailrooms don’t need this staff, and for that reason it can be seen a practical way to reduce operational costs.

The use of paper also accounts for a large amount of operational costs, with documents printed and then reproduced through photocopying. And then there are the associated costs, such as renewing ink cartridges, paper supplies, equipment servicing, and delivering documents off-site, usually through a courier service.

By removing a process that relies on these aspects, a business can dramatically reduce their costs and feel free to invest in other key areas of the organisation. This can greatly enhance a business’s competitiveness. What is more, AIIM research reveals that the payback for the costs involved in setting up a digital mailroom is just 12 months or less for 46% of companies.

4. Greater Policy Compliance

When documents are manually dealt with by employees, there is always the risk of human error, files falling between the cracks. But an automated digital mailroom captures digital documents as they arrive, filing and organizing them immediately and making them accessible to everyone who is approved to see them from one single location.

The digital mailroom provides a clear audit trail for the entire document lifecycle while also making access easy. What is more, mailroom automation ensures confidential documents are properly protected. And this is especially important when it comes to complying with the strict conditions of GDPR.

Click here to learn how Kefron’s solutions will give you peace of mind and confidence when it comes to your company’s Mail management.