Recent advances in scanning/opening technology and software with the intelligence to identify recipients and automatically route mail images to the appropriate party make digital mail a cost-effective option for most organizations. If you are considering implementing a digital mail system, however, an understanding of the issues involved is essential for success. What are these issues, and how should they be handled?

• What locations, departments or functions cannot or should not have their mail scanned? Some organizations may want to exclude certain sensitive areas such as human resources.
• Who should do the scanning? Existing mail center personnel can do the scanning. It can also be cost-effective to have it done by a scanning service bureau that already has the equipment, personnel and procedures in place.
• Where should mail be scanned and by whom? Many organizations elect to have their mail scanned off premises to reduce the threat of biohazards.
• Should third-class mail be scanned? Most organizations that implement digital mail do not scan or deliver third-class mail.
• How is personal mail to be handled? Mail address to an organization is legally considered to be company mail, just as email is considered company mail. Individuals who do not want their truly personal mail scanned should not have it sent to their place of business.
• Should accountable mail be scanned? Accountable mail is usually delivered unopened since it often contains sensitive information.
• By what time of day must all mail be scanned and the images delivered? In the digital world, mail is "delivered" as soon as it is scanned, as it is immediately accessible electronically. If scanning capacity is matched to inbound mail volume, people can have their mail shortly after it arrives in the mail center.
• Should mail be scanned in color and at what resolution? Unless there is a compelling business reason to scan in color, gray scale should be used because color images create extremely large files. Mail should be scanned at 300 dpi in order for the OCR engine to convert images to text.
• How long should physical mail be retained? As a general rule, it is advisable to keep physical mail at the scanning center for a week in case a letter has to be re-scanned or the original document is requested. After that, mail should be handled in accordance with your organization's document retention policies.
• How long should mail images be kept on the server? Most organizations do not keep mail images for more than six months. After that, they should be archived and handled in accordance with your organizations document retention policies. If document images are required after they have been archived, they can always be restored to the server.
• How should mail images be routed? Mail images must obviously be sent to the addressee. However, in some cases, copies must also be sent to other people or departments such as compliance.
• Do documents within letters have to be classified? If you intend to forward mail to other applications or workflow systems, classification is essential. For example, if a letter comes in from a customer containing a copy of an invoice, a check and a letter, the following routing rules may apply:

Ø     Images of the invoice and check are routed to accounts receivable.

Ø     Image of check is also routed to Check 21 or ACH for processing.

Ø     Images of the letter are routed to the sales rep handling the account and to a customer relationship management (CRM) system.

In addition, if the letter complains about product performance, copies may also be routed to the product and service managers. On the other hand, if the letter threatens legal action, a copy should go to the legal department.

• Does the content have to be analyzed for specified issues or activities of interest to the organization? As the previous example illustrates, it is often necessary to analyze the content for meaning before the images can be classified and routed to where they are needed.

Once decisions have been made on the issues above, the next step in implementing a digital mail solution may be conducting a pilot test. A pilot may be useful to make sure that the issues have been properly addressed and that the procedures are operating correctly.

Candidates for a pilot test are small locations or departments that can be easily managed and where the benefits and cost savings are most readily measured. The sales department is usually a good choice. Sales reps often work from home or are on the road for long periods and may not get their mail for days. In addition, it's often necessary to aggregate their mail and send it by courier, a significant additional expense.

How long the pilot test runs depends on what adjustments have to be made in the procedures before everything is operating properly. If there are few or no changes, a month or two may be sufficient. If there are substantial changes, it may have to run a several months. In either case, you should be comfortable that things will run smoothly when the pilot test is expanded to a broader universe.

After you're satisfied with the results of the pilot test, you should plan a phased implementation to other locations or departments. You should not try to implement it throughout your organization at one time. Even though the procedures and policies are correct, you still have to leave time for groups of users to adjust to the new paradigm.

Edmond Francis is VP Product Development at MailSurity. He is responsible for setting the company's overall technical strategy, product direction and designed and developed the core product, which includes the patent pending intellectual property. Email efrancis@mailsurity.com or call 212-877-3888.