The ‘Digital Mailroom’ is the term given to the automation of incoming mail processes using document scanning and capture technologies.

Organisations are able to digitise incoming mail and automate the classification and distribution of mail, with the net effect of saving time and improving efficiency. Both paper and electronic mail can be managed through the same process, creating a central platform for an organisations information, which can lead to gains in productivity and more efficient responses to volume customer service enquiries.

Utilisation of a system like this allows companies to standardise their internal mail distribution procedures, whilst adhering to company compliance policies.

Many companies still believe that they are legally bound to archive some documents as paper for a certain time, such as accounting information or contracts. According to The Association for Information and Image Management (www.aiim.org), the legal admissibility of scanned documents is still seen as an issue in many businesses.

Due to a culture of ‘avoiding risk at all cost’, many organisations find themselves compelled to print and archive thousands of documents a day.

However, the reality is that these rules only apply to a small minority of documents. Most digitised documents are now legally admissible in a court of law. The British Standard, BS 10008 “Evidential Weight and Legal Admissibility of Electronic Information” covers this in detail and more information can be found on the British Standards Institution website at www.bsigroup.com

By digitising the incoming mail process and indexing the documents, organisations can not only gain control of their mail processes internally (no more efficiency losses, gaps in document control and loss of valuable mail),
but will have the opportunity to combine electronic mail formats in the same document processing flow.

A digital mailroom designed as a central platform for information allows an organisation to bring rationality to mail processing, reducing costs and giving significant gains in productivity and customer service.

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Article by: Zoe Willis & Nick Clement