Technology and the Use of AI in the Mailing Industry

By: Nick Staffieri, Director of Operations, TMG

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality (AR) applications continue to progress, the mail and distribution logistics industry continues to evolve with the utilization of these new technologies.  The Millennium Group is an industry leader in mail and distribution systems services and technology.  With the utilization of our industry expertise, vendor partners, and internal resources dedicated to the advancement of mail systems technology, TMG continuously researches and analyzes operations efficiencies through the use of emerging AI and AR innovations.

There are many applications within the mail services industry that TMG is exploring for the use of these innovations.  Some of these innovations are being implemented while a few are still in the development stage.  Either way, it is our goal to remain at the forefront of providing such innovation in the services that we provide.

Digital Mail – The evolution of digital mail is perhaps the fastest-growing focus within a mail delivery operation.  When digital mail came into existence many years ago, it was a simple static scan of a document and routing it to an individual or network folder.  Today, with the use of AI-induced recognition software, documents can be produced with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to create searchable documents, route documents automatically by reading delivery data, recognize specific documents such as contracts or statements of work to auto-direct to their respective departments, or route based on set parameters.  The power of AI can also begin to understand delivery preferences and build intelligence to know how to route documents based on historical data and user habits.

Digital mail intelligence is also being used to integrate document data into organizations’ accounting systems.  By recognizing invoice documents, AI can easily extract information such as invoice numbers, purchase order numbers, vendor information, and invoice amounts and import them directly into Oracle, SAP, or Elite software to name a few.  This creates a more efficient and speedy workflow and eliminates the potential for human error, which is the main purpose of such technology.

Mailing and Shipping – What would the mailing industry be without outbound mail and packages?  Outbound mail technology continues to evolve with USPS innovation and machine manufacturers.  Rate shopping software for outbound shipping gives users the ability to see options that compare different shipping methods and carriers for delivery times and costs.  AI can now highlight shipper preferences based on historical data and even suggest address corrections when searching through the USPS address database to ensure delivery without costly delays.  On the horizon is AI generated Chatbots built into the rate shopping software to answer questions or provide additional information regarding the shipping options.

Intelligent inserting equipment for fulfillment can easily determine how many pages to insert, whether there is a cost savings based on weight and size, and route to the proper station to insert into an envelope.  Augmented Reality on mail pieces can link recipients to further electronic information, and with the use of the USPS informed delivery option, recipients can even access this prior to the mail piece even getting to their mailbox.

Inbound Mail Services – Receiving and sorting mail is still the backbone of the mailing industry and the start of any workflow for an organization.  Aside from digital mail operations, sorting physical mail is, and will continue to be, an important task.  Technology continues to advance the speed and accuracy of mail sorting, from robotics that can read a delivery address and sort it properly into its designated bin, or voice recognition software that can understand the sorter’s commands to help find its delivery location.  Voice recognition software integrated with AI technology can also help reduce the volume and time spent on unidentified mail by learning specific sender and delivery tendencies to automatically suggest the best destination.

Package Receiving – For the past decade, the fastest growing segment of the mail services industry is package receiving.  With e-commerce growing at exponential speeds, the use of innovative technology is increasingly necessary to keep up with demand and delivery expectations.  AI is beginning to play a large role in package receiving and delivery.  Barcodes are now loaded with information to help speed the package on its way.  This information, simply obtained from a scan, can determine recipient information such as drop-off location or nearest package locker location.  AI integrated software with the package tracking systems can also determine recipient preferences, eliminating the guess work as to where and how the recipient wants to receive the package.  With today’s mobile, hybrid workforce, this is becoming a necessity to continuously keep track of locating the best delivery point for any individual.  Package locker technology is also being enhanced with notifications, QR codes to access lockers, AI driven directional information for the recipient to easily route them to the locker location, and other useful information that can be instantly given to the recipient.

Delivery bots, which are miniature mobile robots, have begun to make their way into package delivery logistics.  While many thought that this technology would have evolved further by this time, it is still widely being used in hospitals and university campuses.  Delivery bots and autonomous vehicles are still in a development stage, but continue to gain press whenever use is implemented into new organizations or systems.  Delivery bots can gain valuable use from AI, developing the most efficient delivery routes based on the recipients downloaded to their intelligence.  Barcodes from each package that contain the delivery point can be downloaded to a delivery bot and processed to give the delivery bot enough information to speed it on its way, eliminating the need to manually program these devices.

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence is beginning to touch every industry.  The mailing and shipping industry is certainly a prime example of how AI is reshaping work efficiencies and process driven tasks.  As this technology continues to advance, it is a reminder that history has shown the embracement of progress leads to a better world for all of us.