Mailing out

Simon McNair, Head of New Business, Digital Services at Restore Information Management on the benefits of outsourcing mailroom operations and how AI is transforming operations

Many organisations, including FM providers outsource their mailroom operations, with the key reasons for this strategic decision being:

Cost efficiency: Outsourcing eliminates the need for significant in-house investment in mailroom equipment (e.g., franking machines, scanners), software and physical storage space. It also reduces overhead costs related to hiring, training and managing dedicated mailroom staff. Outsourcing provides benefit from economies of scale and consolidated postal rates.

Access to expertise and technology: Using our in-depth knowledge of best practices, compliance requirements and data security regulations we utilise advanced technologies such as document scanning, optical character recognition (OCR) and secure digital platforms, which might be too expensive to implement and maintain in-house.

Focus on core business: By offloading mail management, an often resource-intensive non-core task, companies can reallocate staff and resources. This improved focus enhances overall productivity and helps the business achieve strategic goals.

Improved efficiency and speed: Rapid and accurate mail processing through automation and streamlined workflows reduces errors, prevents bottlenecks and ensures faster turnaround times for important documents like invoices and customer communications.

Scalability and flexibility: External mail services can easily scale up or down based on fluctuating mail volumes and changing business needs, which is particularly beneficial during peak periods or business growth (or consolidation). They also offer flexibility for remote work environments by digitising mail for anywhere, anytime access.

Risk management and security: Traditional paper-based mail systems pose risks of loss, damage, or data breaches. Outsourcing to an accredited provider with robust data security measures and clear audit trails helps mitigate these risks and ensures compliance with data protection regulations.

Sustainability: By digitising documents and reducing reliance on paper, ink, and physical transportation, outsourcing contributes to a company’s environmental sustainability goals and green credentials.

DIGITAL MAILROOM OPERATIONS

Our digital mailroom solution works by receiving physical mail and communications, digitising it through scanning and using automation to process and distribute the digital content to the intended recipients. The process starts with mail being sent to a central production location, which is then sorted, scanned, and processed using technologies like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract key data. Finally, the digital documents are routed to the appropriate people or systems, and physical originals are either securely stored, destroyed, or returned as needed.

Because the digital mailroom process transforms traditional, manual mail and communication handling into a streamlined, automated workflow, it offers some key advantages:

Receipt: All incoming physical mail is delivered to a centralised location (either in-house or an outsourced service provider’s facility).

Capture and digitisation: Mail is opened, prepped (staples removed, unfolded), and scanned using high-speed, high-resolution scanners to create digital images, often PDFs.

Data extraction: OCR and Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies “read” the documents and extract relevant data, such as sender details, document type, invoice amounts and key reference numbers.

Classification and Indexing: The extracted data is analysed to automatically categorise the document (e.g., invoice, contract, customer complaint, HR form) and index it with relevant metadata for easy searching and retrieval.

Smart routing and workflow automation: Based on predefined business rules and the document’s classification, the digital file is automatically and securely routed to the correct individual, department, or existing business system (like a CRM or ERP).

Access and collaboration: Authorised employees can access their mail from anywhere, at any time via a secure cloud-based portal or integrated system, facilitating remote work and seamless collaboration.

Storage and archiving: All digital documents are stored securely in a centralised document management system with encryption, access controls, and audit trails to ensure security and regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR).

HOW AI IS INCREASING ADOPTION

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are critical to the evolution and increasing adoption of digital mailrooms, by making the process smarter, faster, and more reliable. AI significantly minimises human error associated with manual sorting and data entry, while ML algorithms continuously improve their accuracy in classification and data extraction over time, handling large volumes of diverse documents with high precision.

AI moves beyond simple automation to intelligent automation as it can understand document context and layout, making complex decisions on how to process and route information without manual intervention. AI-powered systems can easily scale to handle increasing mail volumes as a company grows, without the need for additional physical space or a proportional increase in manual labour, making the solution more viable for a wider range of businesses.

With immediate digital access to mail from any location, AI-driven mailrooms directly address the needs of modern hybrid and remote work models. It also helps to monitor document access, apply appropriate security protocols (like encryption and access controls), and create detailed audit trails, crucial for organisations handling sensitive data and operating in regulated industries.

The future mailroom will be a leaner, technology-driven function, focused on processing all incoming correspondence (physical and digital) into a unified, secure, and instantly accessible digital stream that supports the modern workplace’s demands for speed, flexibility and compliance.