Accelerating the Data Entry Process for Returned Mail with a Solution from OPEX® and CPT
The Imagine Group achieves a 67% reduction in cycle time processing USPS return mail with the OPEX Falcon+® RED™
The Background
The Imagine Group, an advertising and visual communications company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, designs and creates personalized print collateral for brands in a wide variety of industries across the globe – including retail, grocery, foodservice, entertainment, packaged goods, health, and financial services. Imagine uses new approaches to offer brand personalized campaigns, in-store marketing, direct mail, and packaging services with in-house fulfillment, requiring them to efficiently handle client data to deliver high-quality customer service.
The Challenge
When working with a large bank on an outbound printing project, Imagine had to use specific protocols when handling their client’s data, which was timeconsuming and labor-intensive, requiring 26 temporary employees during peak seasons. The manual data entry process to create an electronic record for a return mail piece took Imagine between three to five business days to complete, slowing down their outbound printing and return mail handling process. To deliver excellent service to their client, Imagine needed to find a better way to enter data into their system more effectively.
Key Challenges
Creating electronic records for returned mail is labor-intensive
Data entry is time-consuming and slow process
Thousands of documents needed to be processed in a short timeframe
The Solution
In order to process thousands of return mail documents in only a few days, Imagine turned to OPEX® and CPT Intelligent Technologies to automate their time-consuming and manual data entry process, implementing an OPEX Falcon+® RED™ document scanner with integrated mail opening and scanning, and CPT’s Return Mail Processing Software. Using the solution from OPEX and CPT, Imagine created a 360-degree approach to data hygiene using their patent-pending backend processing engine. With the speed of the Falcon+ RED and accuracy of OCR, Imagine could capture the recipient’s name and address, NIXIE sticker reason, and forwarding address. In addition, Imagine needed to know the type of document in each envelope, so CPT implemented document classification as part of the process, allowing Imagine to handle each document type with the necessary business rules.
Over time, Imagine learned that there were three main areas of focus within their client’s data: Pre-mailing to solve for a third of the updates; handling physical return mail pieces; and the USPS Electronic ACS data feed. The new workflow from OPEX and CPT allowed Imagine to focus on these key areas while simultaneously reducing the need for temporary staffing during peak seasons. Staff count was lowered from the 26 original temps to only the two people who now handle data entry with the Falcon+ RED system.
Key Results
93%
Labor savings during peak seasons
67%
Reduction in cycle times
$127K
Cost savings in the first year
“Accuracy has been excellent; having a solution that focuses on the fields in question rather than reviewing every data element has been a game-changer.”
Laurel Gunzenhauser
Account Manager, The Imagine Group
The Future
Now that The Imagine Group has a better solution for data entry in place, they will continue to see shorter cycle times and tighter integration between data sources. Imagine’s approach to data hygiene paired with the solution from OPEX and CPT will continue to benefit their clients and allow them to deliver excellent service.
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