Mailroom automation might not be top of mind for your strategic leadership team, but maybe it should be. Do you know what it’s really costing your business to process all your incoming mail on-site? Here are some telltale signs that it might be time to consider digital mailroom services.
Why Switch to Digital Mailroom Services?
Mailroom services are rarely considered a key operational asset of any company. Receiving, sorting, and processing mail, invoices and account receivables is an essential part of your back office operation, but is likely not subject to the same drive for efficiency and synergy your leadership team brings to your core revenue-driving operations.
When shining some light on this issue, it might be time for that to change. Not only do traditional mailroom operations take up more operational resources than most companies like to admit but errors, inefficiencies, and outdated technologies can have a direct effect on getting the right information to the right people. This is a drag on productivity of not being able to respond to your clients more effectively or reduced cash flow by inefficient Accounts Payable processing of incoming invoices.
While you might not have considered an outsourced digital mailroom for your company, the signs might already be there that it’s time to hand off this business function to a dedicated document-handling partner. Here’s what that looks like for many companies:
1. You’re Running Out of Space
Simply receiving, sorting, and distributing mail is taking up more of your office real estate than you would like, and on-site storage for paper files is eating into your expensive commercial floorspace. Digitizing information from its inception will promote a digital work place and reduce the need for filing cabinets.
2. You Have Too Many Mailrooms
How many mailrooms are too many? The answer is more than one. Organizations with multiple locations often deal with mail at each site. ,Duplicating mailrooms means multiplying costs and functions and an increased chance that important documents will go missing or destroyed between offices. Many organizations will also make a copy of mail before sending it on to the head office. Thereby increasing paper storage and reducing security standards.
3. You’re Missing Mail
Lost or misplaced mail can mean a missed invoice, payment, or legal notice. Late payments to vendors or requests for payments that have already been made erode trust and confidence in your company and make it harder to build relationships or lock in repeat business.
4. You’re Making Too Many Errors
These days your business is only as good as your information, and routing mail to the wrong department or person causes confusion and delays to an already paper intensive process.
5. Processing Is Taking Too Long
Ever-longer turnaround times are a classic sign that your existing mailroom setup is becoming overwhelmed. Acting upon information is crucial to any organization. Responding to legal filings, medical request forms or tenant violations are all examples of documents that require immediate action to minimize dire consequences.
6. Your Admin Staff Are Leaving
Overwhelmed office employees are more likely to quit—taking valuable training and expertise with them. An ever-increasing load of repetitive mailroom work is tough on multi-tasking admin staff. Our experienced digital mailroom teams can help you free up overstretched office staff.
Why Digital Mailroom Services Make Sense
A digital mailroom service helps to avoid many of these problems. With ILM Corp’s dedicated outsourced mailroom solutions, incoming mail, emails, and faxes are forwarded to us for:
- Scanning into a single easy-to-manage format such as PDF
- Fax processing and digitization
- Full indexing to make incoming mail searchable and retrievable
Our mailroom service makes all incoming mail—including invoices, checks, payment authorizations, and legal forms—searchable by your ERP system. That means:
- Fewer data entry errors
- Fewer lost invoices or payments
- Faster processing times
- Better data archiving and filing
ILM is able to process data submitted via uploaded documents, web forms, and on portable media like DVDs and flash drives. We also offer lockbox payment processing services to allow you to receive and send payments securely.
Benefits for Your Back Office and Beyond
By streamlining your mail management process, an outsourced digital mailroom service allows your company to:
- Lower office overheads
- Optimize staffing needs
- Free up valuable office and filing space
- Improve data security and privacy
ILM works with you to develop a customized three-step digital mailroom process that works for your company, including:
- Collection: We receive the mail categories you select on our secure servers
- Digitization: We use cutting-edge AI-enabled optical equipment for maximum accuracy
- Delivery: We deliver your accurate, searchable data in a usable format of your choice
Free Up Time and Resources With an ILM Digital Mailroom
Whether you’re a business, a non-profit, or a government entity, an ILM Corporation digital mailroom service delivers critical savings on your back office operation costs and long-term reductions in staffing and capital expenditure. More importantly, it frees up staff and resources to focus on your strategic goals.
Are your best people constantly chasing a long paper trail for small accounts when they should be using their valuable time to drive innovation, lead change or build bridges with key strategic partners?
By handing off repetitive mailroom tasks to our mail processing specialists, you’ll free up time, talent and resources to focus on the things you do best. Just ask some of our existing clients.
Click below to learn more about how ILM’s outsourced digital mailroom solutions can free up valuable resources and maximize your company’s human potential.
