Bypassing undeliverable returned mail is quite common in mail centers across the country. but not taking action on undelivered mail can have far-reaching effects. businesses waste money by sending multiple mailings to undeliverable addresses, losing contact with customers, delaying incoming payments, and may even risk breaching privacy.
With all the impacts of returned mail, one would think that mail centers would focus on processing undeliverable envelopes, auto-ships, and blueprints that are returned to them, but that is often not the case. many mail operations view returned mail as a “when we have more time” task. on the priority list, it ranks far below tasks like processing the day’s outgoing mail, sorting and distributing the daily incoming mail, handling packages, periodically maintaining equipment, and just about everything else that comes up during an average day. realistically, that extra time never happens, and bounced mail just piles up in a forgotten corner of the mail center.
why mail centers procrastinate
mail centers avoid processing bounced mail because it requires a lot of time and resources that a typical mail processing facility simply doesn’t have. Returned mail is mostly unstructured, requiring detailed inspections and multiple decisions about how each piece of mail should be handled by the mail center. Here are some of the questions operations need to answer as they process returned mail:
- what did you return? Is it a bill, statement, important notice, contract, policy or correspondence, or does it appear to be marketing material?
- why was it returned? Was there an error in the address? Has the recipient moved? Was the address vacant? or did the usps make a mistake?
- can you find the correct address yourself? address errors or moving updates may be something mail center employees can help resolve. they can then notify the responsible department to update their information. in other cases, the company’s business units must handle the investigation, which may involve contacting them through some other communication channel before they can update the mailing address on file.
- ¿a Who should be notified? Deciding which departments or individuals should be contacted regarding returned mailings can be tricky. envelopes may need to be opened to determine the sender. Until the responsible departments correct the source data, future shipments will result in more bounced mail, so it’s important for senders to know which addresses are undeliverable.
- How many times has the mail been bounced? ? same addresses and return mail means the costs of that outgoing mail continue to rise. the impact of non-delivery is also increased.
- does mail need to be protected? returned checks or credit cards should not be in mailboxes on the production floor. Neither do documents that contain sensitive personal information, such as social security numbers, account numbers, or personal financial or health information.
Like so many problems facing businesses today, the solution to dealing with bounced mail is automation. Mail centers aren’t likely to increase staffing levels or rearrange their priorities, so the only answer is to make it easier to deal with that pile of bounced mail. An automated return mail processing solution requires two components; hardware and software.
mail processing hardware
The equipment companies use to process an eclectic mix of mail must be able to feed and transport material of various dimensions, orientations, weights and thicknesses without getting stuck. Machine-mounted cameras must capture all the data from anywhere in the mailpiece, from the address block to the yellow USPS stickers, return addresses and other locations. Once the parts have been identified, the machine must deposit them in the corresponding bins for delivery to the user departments, destruction or manual inspection.
Unlike outgoing mail, where machines process large batches of identically configured mailpieces, returned mail is a mix of items sent by the organization at different times. Returned mail collection may include business-size envelopes, large flats, self-mailers, postcards, or other document formats.
addresses can be printed at various locations on parts using a variety of fonts. the contrast between the printed information and the background will vary. postal addresses can be displayed through glass windows, on labels, or printed directly on envelopes.
critical information to identify the contents or the department responsible for mailings may be included in key lines, return address, permit number, or other text and graphics printed on the front or back of the envelope.
Cameras that scan mailpieces must accurately capture information under difficult conditions.
Smart software required
Because returned mail requirements differ for each organization, the software used to interpret the data captured by the camera must be flexible and easy for the mail operations team to configure. the variety of returned mail is constantly changing.
While some pieces of mail will still require manual inspection, the goal is to automate as much of the process as possible. rule-based software must be able to handle a wide variety of situations, using data captured from mailpieces to separate them according to many criteria. Some mail, returned due to an insufficient address, can be run through the cass software to determine exactly which elements of the address are deficient. other mailings may have to be opened to decide which department should correct the address.
The rules for determining the disposition of returned mail could be based on a combination of data acquired from the sender’s address, logos, slogans, address format, permit numbers, or a wide variety of other elements.
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software and processing speed must keep pace with the transport mechanism and determine output tray selection in fractions of a second.
finally check returned mail
Without automation, the bounce dilemma won’t get any better. the costs of ignoring the problem will continue to rise and the effort required to catch up will eventually be insurmountable. If your business hoards bounced mail, you can’t rule out the consequences of doing nothing. It’s time to consider the benefits of addressing the problem and shedding light on the pile of mail in that dark corner of the mail center.
tritek technologies is known for our superior mail processing equipment that handles returned mail variability with ease. the rules engine built into our software allows mail centers to identify and route returned mail to the appropriate departments, regardless of the criteria needed to make those decisions in real time. Contact us to find out how our solutions can help your organization deal with your bounced mail situation.