Automating the incoming correspondence
In this article, we explain how the document automation system assists companies in handling the incoming correspondence.
Businesses and public institutions face the challenge of efficiently managing correspondence and administrative matters. The steadily increasing volume of documents, combined with growing process complexity, can quickly lead to bottlenecks, errors from manual processing, and avoidable costs.
Automated handling of correspondence and cases helps streamline these processes, enhancing organizational efficiency and minimizing the risk of errors.
Correspondence and case management explained
Let’s start with the theory.
Correspondence management involves processing various types of documents that circulate both within and outside the company. In practice, it covers the entire flow of documents arriving at the front office from multiple sources.
Among the tasks handled by correspondence staff are registering documents, assigning them to the appropriate cases, and forwarding them to the relevant department.
Often, staff receiving correspondence work with systems where they input basic data such as document numbers, case numbers, personal details, address information, and other relevant data.
When the volume of incoming documents is high, this creates a significant challenge and increases the risk of errors—some of which can be critical. For example, incorrectly assigning documents to a case can lead to data leaks, delays in handling requests, or incomplete responses.
Many of these issues can be addressed through document processing automation.
What is automated correspondence management?
It is based on the use of IDP (Intelligent Document Processing) software, which takes over repetitive tasks related to receiving, processing, and archiving correspondence. One such platform is SensID, developed to support companies in document automation. It leverages not only OCR and NLP technologies but also artificial intelligence models.
A document automation platform can handle a variety of tasks, focusing on supporting employees rather than replacing their roles.
Steps in the process
1. Receiving and classifying correspondence
- The system automatically captures correspondence from multiple channels (email, scanned documents, ePUAP, traditional mail).
- The platform uses OCR (optical character recognition) and NLP (natural language processing) to identify the sender, subject, and key information, defined according to industry-specific requirements.
- It classifies documents and assigns them to the appropriate categories or processes based on predefined rules.
- Incoming attachments can be checked for quality control using validation methods.
2. Automatically initiating a new case
- If the documents provided by a client are not part of an existing case file, the platform can automatically trigger the process of opening a new case.
3. Assessing the completeness of submitted documents
- Using advanced automation rules, the platform can assess whether all necessary documents have been provided and identify any missing materials required to process the case
4. Forwarding the case
- In the final stage of automating incoming and outgoing correspondence handling, the case is forwarded to the appropriate person or department responsible for its resolution.
Examples of correspondence automation
Correspondence automation is a way of thinking about processes in which an IDP (Intelligent Document Processing) platform becomes an integral part. Let’s look at how such a process can work in practice, solving real-world business cases.
Claims Processing in the Insurance Sector
Filing a claim with an insurance company is one of the most common processes in the industry and is, to some extent, repetitive. This is due to the need to submit a specific set of documents which, although they may vary depending on the type of claim, often share many common data points.
A correspondence automation platform can assist in collecting documentation from the client, assigning it to the appropriate case, and identifying new claims. As a result, an insurance company can process requests faster and benefit from a more structured service process.
Complaint Handling
Complaints also rely on collecting specific documents from the client. Depending on the industry and the type of products or services sold, the complaint process can be complex. The required documentation must confirm the purchase of the product or service and outline the reason for the complaint along with a possible resolution.
Automating the complaint process can include steps such as extracting data, validating the completeness of submitted documents, and automatically creating or assigning cases
Benefits of this type of automation
Implementing automated correspondence and case management offers numerous benefits, including:
Key considerations when implementing correspondence automation
When deciding to implement a correspondence and case automation system, it is important to focus on several critical factors:
Summary
Automated correspondence and case management is a key step toward digitalization and effective document handling. Organizations that choose to implement such a solution gain not only cost savings but also greater control over processes and improved stakeholder service.
The SensID platform is an excellent choice for companies seeking to optimize workflows that involve handling new types of documents on a daily basis. Learn more about this service.
If you are looking for such a solution, get in touch.