Process Automation versus Process Outsourcing

mail-servicesFor most businesses, running large mailroom operations is anything but a core competency. Instead, it is a bottomless money pit of constantly rising costs and inefficient resource consumption. Anyone on the front lines of business processes who relies on postal mail knows this all too well.

Postal Pain

After all, expenses for equipment leasing and purchase, maintenance, supplies, and labor only increase year after year. And, many companies have no dedicated mailroom staff, pulling employees from their duties in other departments or hiring contract help to perform low-value tasks like printing, sorting and inserting documents for daily, weekly or monthly mail runs. Not to mention underutilized infrastructure resources dedicated to mailroom operations, which often sit idle until the end of the month when mail volume peaks.

Overall, the mailroom remains a fixed asset that burdens organizations with intensive manual processes while bringing no value to the business. In fact, manual processing of mail restricts the ability of a company to improve business processes and cut costs.

Effective Relief

For the foreseeable future, a certain percentage of a company’s customers will continue to want to receive their business documents by postal mail. So, what is the best alternative to the internal mailroom — using a mail service or an external mail house?

On the surface these options may seem virtually the same. But deeper examination reveals important differences between the two that businesses will want to consider in their efforts to address the cost and inefficiency of traditional mailing operations.

As a leader in document process automation and a pioneer in on-demand solutions for postal mailing, Esker offers this white paper as a resource to help business and IT professionals understand those differences and make an informed decision about the best way to relieve postal pain.

Process Automation Versus Process Outsourcing

When considering a solution to replace an internal mailroom, one of the biggest questions a business must answer is: Do you plan on actually automating the mailing process or simply outsourcing the problem? It’s a fundamental decision that can have heavy implications on an organization’s mailing operations moving forward.

Addressing the Core Issue

In working with a broad range of companies to automate postal mail processes, Esker has found that offloading to an external mail house does not necessarily address the underlying issues associated with delivery of business documents by postal mail. In fact, it can create new problems. For example, using an external mail house typically requires companies to produce large batches to be cost-effective. This can limit a company’s reactivity and visibility.

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Challenges
  • Labor-intensive mailing procedure
  • High dependence on production equipment
  • Printers
  • Folding machines
  • High production and delivery costs
Expenses
  • Paper and envelopes
  • Equipment purchase and maintenance
  • Printer supplies
  • Mail preparation time
  • Reprocessing time

Value of Automation

By automating the process rather than simply passing it off to someone else, companies benefit from increased speed and accuracy as a result of eliminating the inefficiencies of paper and bringing new levels of control to the process. An automated solution works together with a company’s business applications, providing visibility to see what is happening throughout the process and where it can be improved.

Comparing Mail Services with Mail Houses

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