By Allen Brown
Despite how central digital channels have become for modern business operations, physical mail still represents a considerable portion of communications in the corporate world. Between statements, contracts, invoices, bills, marketing materials, and much more, businesses still rely on paper-based documents to keep up-to-date with their suppliers, customers, or employees. As such, efficiency and organization are paramount for the success of your organization. So, whether you’re managing a start-up or a multinational company, this dedicated guide will provide some valuable tips to help you optimize and supercharge your business mailing workflow.
Sort Out Your Mail Immediately
It goes without saying that the first step in achieving better mailing efficiency is to sort out your mail as soon as it hits your business’s doorstep. Especially if you deal with a large volume on a daily basis, having mountains of letters and envelopes starting to pile up is the worst thing for your productivity. In that optic, make it a point to organize your mails in provisional batches to gain time and speed before you can distribute them and answer them. It may be useful to try and anticipate how much mail you’ll be receiving in any given week, particularly during busy seasons, and prepare yourself and brief your staff accordingly.
Have a Dedicated Filing System
Next, it always helps to have a unique and clear filing system in place to organize and file all your paper-based documents after receipt. Depending on the nature of your business and how large your headcount is, dedicate a filing category with a unique color code to each of your departments and operations. For instance, you could set up a special file for finances, one for invoices, one for contracts, one for customer requests, and so on. It will certainly take some trial-and-error to strike a sustainable balance, so be sure to keep your employees and collaborators informed of how the business’ mail system works for optimal convenience. Remember, simple is always best!
Invest in a Handy Franking Machine
Equipping your office or workspace with a franking machine is one of the surest ways to expedite your business mailing process. Basically, these practical devices serve to streamline your postage needs by weighing in your mail right from your place of business, thereby saving you multiple trips to the post office. Over time, the savings can be tremendous. You can always go now and start your search for a reputable and trusted franking machine provider, whether your company is based in the UK, New Zealand, or Canada. On average, a brand new franking machine costs anywhere from $1,000 for low-volume models to over $25,000 for high-volume mails; despite the initial price tag, it’s an investment that will pay for itself over time!
Migrate a Portion of Your Activities Online
Rather than rely solely on digital or physical mail, you should consider opting for a combination of the two. In fact, whatever can be digitized will help take the burden of sorting and organizing paper documents off your shoulders. For example, rather than have traditional receipts sent out to clients, businesses are now embracing digital receipts, especially retailers and brick-and-mortar locations. In a similar vein, a growing number of companies now opt to make their contract-signing process digital; since electronic signatures are now easier than ever, this can be a tremendous time gain. Of course, there’s always an opportunity to print things out whenever needed.
Not only does migrating some operations online help boost your business’ efficiency and streamline your document management process, but it’s also more eco-responsible. Evidently, nowadays, given the stakes of global warming and deforestation, it should fall upon every business venture to make a gesture towards the environment and save as many resources as possible. This includes paper, plastic, but also gas and transportation expenses that can take their toll. Don’t hesitate to conduct some specialized research on how you can fulfill your strategic goals while keeping your carbon footprint in check.
At the end of the day, efficiency in the mailing workflow is one of the business’ most crucial foundations. No matter your specialty or activity sector, communication via paper-based documents should be fast, effortless, and most of all, convenient. Needless to say, mismanagement can cost your venture valuable opportunities for conducting business. So, by sorting out your mail upon reception, having a clear filing system with a franking machine, and digitizing some operations, your business stands to gain immensely in productivity. To help implement these changes effectively, consider bringing in an expert or business consultant to help reacquaint your business with the success it deserves. Good luck!
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