Mailing Systems Technology - July/August 2008 - (Page 23)

 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 If document images are required after they have been archived, they can always be restored to the server.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: > Images of the invoice and check are routed to accounts receivable. > Image of check is also routed to Check 21 or ACH for processing. > 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. WWW.MAILINGSYSTEMSTECHNOLOGY.COM | JULY-AUGUST 2008 23 http://www.mailingsystemstechnology.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Mailing Systems Technology - July/August 2008

Mailing Systems Technology - July/August 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Peer to Peer The Economics of Inkjet Addressing Virtual Mailstream Management Guarding Your Internal Documents Top It Off With Training Implementing Digital Mail Saving You Money Kate’s Slate Products & Services Advertiser Index Sho Time Who’s Who Company Profiles BCC Software BÖWE BELL + HOWELL Collins Ink Corporation Datatech SmartSoft Endicia Hasler, Inc. Kern, Inc. Kirk-Rudy Mail Quip, Inc. MCS, Inc. Melissa Data MidSouth Technologies, a NPI Company Neopost NPI Parascript Pitney Bowes Inc. Rena Systems Satori Software, Inc.

Mailing Systems Technology - July/August 2008

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