Outsourcing Digitization Services is a Win-Win for Postal Operators and Customers
The outsourcing of digitization services is beneficial when manual data capture is costly, time-critical, and labor-intensive. In most cases, the required time and workforce block valuable resources that would be urgently needed for other activities in day-to-day business. Outsourcing internal processes to external service providers promises greater efficiency, speed, quality, and even cost reduction. The effectiveness of data entry by third parties is evident in the process of video coding.
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Manual Data Collection is usually Inefficient and Causes a Delay in the Sorting and Delivery Processes
Before a letter or parcel can be delivered to its destination, it passes through a sorting system where it is assigned to the container with the correct sorting destination. Sometimes, a letter or parcel cannot be sorted automatically by the machine. Reasons for this are, for example, that the database does not know the address, the address is incomplete, or that it is not recognizable by the sorting machine at all. In such cases, the letter or parcel ends up in a container for non-assignable items. To ensure that the shipment can still be delivered, an employee must manually decode the item and compare it with the information in the address database. The manual determination of the correct sorting destination requires time and manpower to fulfill this task, and therefore often results in a delay in the delivery process.
The biggest challenge in the process is the incalculable demand for employees to fulfill the task of decoding non-machine readable items. Since most sorting centers are not in full-time operation, a certain number of shipments must be decoded within a certain time. The problem is that this number is not known beforehand and can be huge in volume during holidays, peak times, and even on ordinary days. At the same time, postal service providers must react flexibly to this volatility of volumes on a daily basis and temporarily assign their employees to fulfill this task. Moreover, the recruitment of suitable staff for the video coding process is also problematic. Working conditions, such as night shifts, might be perceived as rather unattractive. This makes it even more difficult for postal service providers to find the required workforce for this process.
Manpower during the sorting processes of parcels
Four Essential Benefits Gained Through Outsourcing the Digitization Service
The above-mentioned challenges show that “in-house” video coding is a very difficult and costly step processed at the sorting center. To overcome these challenges, postal service providers should cooperate with external providers who can take over this process. The most significant benefit of outsourcing the digitization service is that the external provider has a big team that is efficiently trained and can be called up flexibly at any time. The modified process is as simple as it is functional. If a shipment cannot be automatically assigned to its sorting destination, the external team connects to the postal service provider’s system, decodes it, and manually assigns the correct sorting destination. After successful decryption, the container with the corrected objects passes again through the sorting system and the items are distributed correctly. By outsourcing the video coding, postal companies not only meet their customers’ expectations, but also achieve the following key objectives:
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Success stories of outsourcing the video coding digitization service
External video coding at Bladkompagniet
Digitization services and video coding for MEDIA Logistik GmbH l PostModern
Further tips
Watch the webinar recording about Boosting Postal Sorting Efficiency by Outsourcing the Video Coding Process
Did you know? Spectos also offers a solution for the digitization of CN labels & customs data collection.
