Trends in transactional communications reveal that more companies are choosing to contract with providers for print and mail. Document outsourcing companies have the expertise, technology, and efficiency required to excel at this, but they aren’t all the same.
Before you sign a contract, review these tips and insights.
What Are Document Outsourcing Companies?
Document outsourcing companies describe businesses that work in commercial printing and mailing. In this instance, the documents are transactional, which means they contain sensitive or protected information.
Those organizations that focus on these services deliver quality, accuracy, security, and compliance to ensure streamlined production.
X Things to Know Before You Say Yes
Evaluating the options available for outsourcing requires a detailed look at what they provide and how they deliver it. These are the key considerations to consider before you make a choice.
1. Saving Money Arises from Economies of Scale
You can reduce costs associated with print and mail. You’ll eliminate any internal technology, equipment, space, and labor when you outsource. Those are considerable savings, but you’ll see better rates for manufacturing and postage.
The per-piece pricing from vendors reflects economies of scale related to materials. They can lock in rates for these things because of the volume they use.
Postage rates also decrease with outsourcing. At the volume providers manufacture, they can secure the lowest price because they use presorting and commingling strategies.
Additionally, many transactional print and mail companies also leverage address hygiene tools to validate addresses. As a result, you’ll have a much lower cost for undeliverable mail.
2. Enhancing Data Security Must Be a Priority
Every company that handles customer data must have data security protocols. Some are more layered than others. You should make assessments based on how robust it is. Ask a lot of questions around this topic, including:
- How do they secure perimeters?
- What type of encryption do they use?
- How do they handle secure uploads of files?
- What proactive cybersecurity tactics do they use?
- How often do they audit their data security strategy?
3. Ensuring Compliance Should Be Part of Everything
Compliance is non-negotiable in transactional communications. One or more regulations dictate how companies should protect the data. Having compliance certifications is a good baseline, but your provider should go beyond this.
Those companies that emphasize compliance make it part of every workflow and audit processes regularly. They identify and address any errors promptly.
You’ll also have a record of every job should a regulatory body require this. This documentation proves you and your provider have followed all applicable regulations.
Another pro to look for is whether the vendor has dedicated compliance resources like a compliance officer. If they do, this should offer you further peace of mind.
4. Dynamic Printing Allows for Customization
Dynamic printing enables customized printing on every page. It’s not just billing or personal information that can be unique. You can also personalize messaging on each document that cross-sells, upsells, or informs.
Not all print and mail companies can do this at scale. Some may require pre-printing or inserts, which increase costs.
Seek out a provider that can deliver this capability, so you can increase customer engagement.
5. Accuracy Depends on Technology and Processes
Another component of document outsourcing companies is how accurate they are in delivering the right information to the correct addressee. Mis-mailings are common and could impact customer trust and be cited as non-compliance.
The best ways to strengthen accuracy involve technology and processes. For technology, the approach of intelligent insertion boosts accuracy. Each piece of paper contains a printed 2D barcode. A camera scans that and then informs the inserter of which pages to fold into each envelope. Another camera captures this for verification.
The process also matters. Insertion is usually automated because of the volume, but the entire workflow that starts with data delivery must be optimized for accuracy. Many providers apply standard works to these processes. These document all the steps for each part of the process so that everything is consistent and repeatable.
Document Outsourcing Services from PCI Group
We’re the leader in transactional communications. It’s our sole purpose, and we continue to improve every part of production. We prioritize security, compliance, and accuracy. Let’s talk about how we can help you reduce costs and improve processes.
FAQs
What are document outsourcing companies?
Document outsourcing companies are businesses that provide print and mail services to organizations. They manage the entire workflow, ensuring data is secure and compliance mandates are followed.
What are address hygiene tools?
Address hygiene tools validate addresses using the USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb). They identify incomplete, duplicative, or incorrect addresses. If new information is available, the tools update it.
What’s a good accuracy rating for transactional print and mail?
A good accuracy rating for transactional print and mail is 99.9999%. This number represents the industry’s leading accuracy rating, and PCI Group is the organization that has earned this.
What is dynamic printing?
Dynamic printing allows for each document in the job to be custom. It’s not just the billing or personal information that is unique. Messaging, graphics, callouts, and more can vary depending on the addressee. With dynamic printing, you can eliminate the need for inserts.
