Outsourcing expert explains the benefits of onsite and offsite mailroom outsourcing.

1. Outsourcing Institute: What is mailroom outsourcing and why is it so important in today's
market?
Barb Pellow: Your mail room is the entry point of important business documents, and outsourcing
the mailroom function centralizes the collection and distribution of incoming mail. An outsourced
mailroom acts as a hub, collecting information from documents, emails or faxes and distributing it to
concerned departments.
There are two basic approaches in today's market. One is to redirect the mail to a centralized
location where the business partner has expertise in processing your mail. This has the advantages of
a scale and improved cost savings for the user—it even has the option of directing mail processing to
a site where the weather can be better.
The second option is to do on-site facilities management and actually take over the on-site mail
operation. In these instances, it is like all other facilities-managed operations. Most outsourcing firms
will rebadge employees and streamline work processes based on their skills and expertise.
What we see across the board with the majority of mailroom outsourcing initiatives are improved
productivity, increases in quality and reduced operating costs, which vary based on the approach.
InfoTrends tracks this market through its annual market sizing and forecast, U.S. Document
Outsourcing Market Forecast 2010-2015. We size the on-site and off-site scanning and input services
market at $953 million, growing to $1.2 billion by 2015—a 4.5% compound annual growth rate. Legal
and healthcare markets are particularly attractive for digitizing legacy documents, while all enterprise
markets are good candidates for mailroom outsourcing.
OI: What are the critical trends driving that growth?
BP: A primary factor driving growth in mailroom outsourcing is cost reduction, especially in this
current economic climate. Having specialists take over mailroom operations results in more efficient
workflows, access to new technology with no capital investment, and a lower cost per document.
Ultimately, mailroom outsourcing enables organizations to free up resources (and floor space) to
concentrate on primary business competencies and objectives.
OI: What kind of business results should companies expect?
BP: Most mailroom outsourcing providers expect to show clients a return on investment within 12
months, although sometimes that return can be recognized much sooner. Savings through
centralized services have been as much as 50%, while on-site services are in the range of 15-20%. Our
advice to businesses considering mailroom outsourcing is to review providers' services portfolios to
better understand other outsourcing opportunities they can provide. Often, businesses are able to
negotiate reduced rates for bundling services under a single contract. Depending on the extent of the
engagement a business is seeking, consider outsourcing with a provider with a proven track record in
your market.
—©2012 Outsourcing Institute
Mailroom Outsourcing Services
Outsourcing Institute 3x1 > 3 questions, 1 expert
Courtesy of the Outsourcing Institute, the following is an interview with Barb
Pellow, Group Director of InfoTrends.
A digital printing and publishing pioneer and marketing expert, Pellow helps
companies develop multi-media strategies that ride the information wave. She
has assisted companies with product launches, strategic marketing plans, and
educated sales teams on delivering effective value propositions.
If you have more mailroom outsourcing questions, you can reach Pellow at barb@infotrends.com. For
information about DATAMARK's business solutions, including on-site and off-site mailroom management, visit
www.datamark.net. For information about the Outsourcing Institute, visit www.outsourcing.com.