Workflow Automation Starts With Mailroom Scanning

by Mitch Taube | 4/19/16

Workflow automation can revolutionize your business. You’ll find that the manual mistakes, logistical errors, lack of transparency into your processes, inability to easily handle spikes in volume and slow turnaround times in document processing can all be things of the past. And though it is a multi-faceted process, workflow automation starts in the mailroom.

Efficiency in particular can be affected by how you receive your mail and process documents. Think about it: the mail carrier brings your mail every day and drops it off to a group of people who sort it and route it; each package or piece of mail is opened and read by its recipient; and only then can employees begin processing the documents through their proper channels. In addition to the process of receiving, distributing, opening and responding to mail, there also must be considerations made for where your mailroom will be located, who will work there, where old mail will be stored once read, how you’ll archive invoices and receipts and what will be done with all the resulting paper. The process is drawn out and inefficient.

Mailroom Scanning Brings Efficiency to Your Office

On the other hand, in an automated office with an outsourced mailroom kicking off workflow automation, everything is handled in one place, off-site and sent electronically to the proper recipients at your company for expedited processing. Before the documents land in your system, they’ve already been opened, digitally scanned, indexed and identified for processing. From there, certain documents may be able to be processed automatically based on your business rules, while others may require staff intervention for approval and processing.

Workflow automation also allows you to respond to document requests much more quickly, while mailroom scanning helps do away with issues that can arise from lost or misdirected mail. Expedite workflow automation with mailroom scanning and you’ll enjoy further benefits like electronic proof of receipt, more productive employees and a much cleaner and more organized office, and each of these without giving up anything other than the aggravation and frustration caused by your slow, outdated, inefficient method.

You’ll be more prepared for audits, too, and have more information more easily accessible than ever before. Simply put, with workflow automation fed by mailroom scanning, you make your company more agile, allowing you to better position it in the modern marketplace and keep up with the pace of business.

Mitch Taube is the principal founder of Digiscribe, formed in 2001 to provide companies of all sizes with cost-effective document scanning, document management software and workflow automation services. In 2010, he co-founded Digiscribe New England, an affiliated company serving the document management and business process automation needs of companies and organizations in New England. You can contact him at mtaube@digiscribe.info or connect with him on LinkedIn.