Mailing Systems Technology Sep/Oct 2015

INSIDE: 4 PAGES OF “WHAT TO SEE AT GRAPH EXPO” SPOTLIGHTS! SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2015 www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

THE TRUE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF RETURN MAIL. PAGE 24

SELECTING THE RIGHT FOLDER INSERTER SYSTEM. PAGE 26

DEVELOPING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

IN A CONSTANTLY CHANGING MARKETPLACE. PAGE 28

OUR ANNUAL STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

SURVEY

RESULTS PAGE 20

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2015 | VOLUME 28 ISSUE 6

FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS/COLUMNS 05

Editor's Note

Opportunities Still Exist for the Mailing Industry.

By Amanda Armendariz

06

Real Life Management

Delegation: A Win-Win Management Tool!

By Wes Friesen

07

The Trenches

What to Do About Your Worthless Mail

By Mike Porter

20 08

The State of the Industry

Software Byte

Undocumented Pieces – Prepare to Deal with Them Now

By Lloyd Moss

Our annual look at the inner workings of the mailing industry, from wages to staff sizes to manager responsibilities.

By Amanda Armendariz

09

Intro to International Mail

Keep International Returns Simple and Customers Happy

By Vincent DeAngelis

10

24 The True Economic Impact of Return Mail

By Christine J. Erna

26 Mail Made Easy: How to Select the Right Folder Inserter System

12

14

28 Developing Competitive Advantages in a Constantly Changing Marketplace

15

By Jason Dies

4

Customer-Engaged Billing

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 | www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

Optimization Is Key to Improved Productivity & Profitability

NPI

Guest Column

Opportunities Exist for Traditional Print Service Providers

By Randy Beals & Gina Ferrara

APPLICATION ARTICLES

Pitney Bowes

Postal Affairs

Will “Real Mail” Bridge the Gap Between Mail and Digital?

By Kimberly Mauch

By Adam Lewenberg

13

Direct Marketing 101

6 Types of Communications for Your Self-Promotion Portfolio

By John Foley Jr.

16

Spotlights

What to See at Graph Expo

EDITOR'S NOTE

VOLUME 28, ISSUE 6 MAGAZINE STAFF Publisher Marll Thiede Editor Amanda Armendariz amanda.c@rbpub.com Contributing Writers Randy Beals, Vincent D’Angelis, Jason Dies, Christine J. Erna, Gina Ferrara, John Foley, Jr., Wes Friesen, Adam Lewenberg, Kim Mauch, Lloyd Moss, Mike Porter Audience Development Manager Rachel Chapman rachel@rbpub.com Advertising 608-442-5064 Ken Waddell ken.w@rbpub.com Design Kelli Cooke RB Publishing Inc. 2901 International Lane Madison WI 53704-3128 Tel: 608.241.8777 Fax: 608.241.8666 Email: rbpub@rbpub.com SUBSCIRBE Subscribe online at www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com.

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by RB Publishing Inc. All rights reserved. Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Any correspondence sent to Mailing Systems Technology, RB Publishing Inc. or its staff becomes property of RB Publishing Inc. The articles in this magazine represent the views of the authors and not those of RB Publishing Inc. or Mailing Systems Technology. RB Publishing Inc. and/or Mailing Systems Technology expressly disclaim any liability for the products or services sold or otherwise endorsed by advertisers or authors included in this magazine.

MAILING SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY (ISSN 1088-2677) [Volume 28, Issue 6] is published six times per year, (January/February, March Buyers’ Resource, March/April, May/June, September/October, November/December) by RB Publishing Inc., 2901 International Lane, Suite 100, Madison WI 53704-3128, 608-241-8777. Periodical postage paid at Madison WI and additional offices.

OPPORTUNITIES STILL EXIST IN (AND FOR) THE MAILING INDUSTRY WITH AMANDA ARMENDARIZ One of the things I love about attending shows like Graph Expo and the National Postal Forum is that the venues are so great at showcasing the opportunities that are out there for mailers, print service providers, and the like. If we just believed what was in the vast majority of news reports (with the exception of Mailing Systems Technology, of course!) we might as well just pack up our offices, close our doors and figure out what new profession to enter, since, after all, mail is dead, right? Hardly! Attending shows like Graph Expo or NPF leave me feeling excited and invigorated, curious to see what new solution industry professionals create, what newest opportunity they capitalize on.

Guest authors Randy Beals and Gina Ferrara touch on this in their guest column on page 14 (titled, appropriately enough, Opportunities Exist for Traditional Print Service Providers). In a conversation with Randy a few weeks ago, he noted that print service providers need to change their thinking to realize that they are no longer in the printing services business; they are in the customer communications business. A slight but important detail, one it’s important professionals take note of. Likewise, mailers need to stop thinking of themselves as being solely part of the mailing business, and instead expand their viewpoint to include the customer communication arena. With that changed mindset, mailers will be poised to thrive in this ever-changing, increasingly digital age, one in which they will see mail complementing digital avenues, not competing against.

I’d also like to encourage you to take a look at part one of our annual survey results, which start on page 20. This survey is a great way to see how the mailing industry is changing (or staying the same) year after year in crucial respects like mail volumes, staff sizes, wages, and the like. A sincere thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey for us; we couldn’t do it without your input! Be on the lookout for requests to fill out part two, in which we ask opinions on various issues affecting the mailing industry. That survey will be in your inbox sometime in September.

As always, thanks for reading Mailing Systems Technology.

POSTMASTER Send address changes to: Mailing Systems Technology PO Box 259098 Madison WI 53725-9098

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015

5

REAL LIFE MANAGEMENT

By Wes Friesen

DELEGATION: A WIN-WIN MANAGEMENT TOOL!

W

ant to maximize your personal productivity and develop your team members at the same time?

Delegation is a key management tool to use. Delegation doesn’t come naturally to many of us — we often think it’s safer and easier to do things ourselves. Eli Broad observes, “The inability to delegate is one of the biggest problems I see with managers at all levels.”

Trying to do too much and not delegating is not a recent problem — it dates back at least 4,000 years to the days of Moses.

In Exodus chapter 18 we read the story of Moses leading the nation of Israel and trying to do it all, to the detriment of the people. Moses’ father-in-law Jethro came to visit and saw the dysfunction. Jethro recommended that Moses delegate some of the responsibilities and authority to other capable men and reserve the really big issues for himself. Moses wisely listened to the advice of Jethro — and the Israelites were the benefactors.

Let’s explore the management tool of delegation by asking and answering some fundamental questions: Why delegate?

When to delegate? What to delegate?

Who to delegate? And how to delegate?

Why Delegate?

Delegation done well benefits you and the person you delegate to. A big benefit for leaders is it frees us up to do the value-added tasks we are paid to do. It helps us avoid being spread too thin and burning ourselves out. Anthea Turner was on the mark when she said “The first rule of management is delegation. Don’t try and do everything yourself because you can’t.”

We also gain the satisfaction of seeing team members grow and develop.

Perhaps the main benefit to the person we delegate is they get the opportunity to grow and develop as they learn and apply

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SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 | www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

“Delegation is the most powerful tool leaders have” —Dr. John Maxwell, top selling author and noted expert on leadership. new skills, gain additional experience, and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Successful completion of delegated tasks builds confidence and improves morale and motivation.

sonably challenging, and rewarding can provide a person an opportunity to feel trusted and to learn and grow.

Who to Delegate?

When to Delegate?

When should we look to delegate? Here are some questions to consider that may help you decide when to delegate: 1. Is someone else capable to do the job or is it a job that only I can do?

2. Is there someone else that can do the job better than me?

3. Is there someone else who can do the job at a lower cost than me?

4. Is there someone who could benefit from the opportunity to learn and grow by doing this job?

5. Do I have enough time to delegate the job effectively? This would include adequate time for training, questions and answers, and opportunities to check progress.

What to Delegate?

The reality is there are some tasks that we should NOT delegate even if we could.

Tasks that are very important to the success of your team should not be delegated (participation by others yes, delegation no). Tasks like strategic planning and selection of team members should be led by the team leader and not delegated.

We should avoid delegating menial or unpleasant work just because we would prefer not to do it. On the other hand, delegating work that is value added, rea-

Delegation to the “right” person can be inspiring and provide an opportunity to help their development and prove themselves worthy of greater future responsibilities — and a task gets completed competently. Delegation to the “wrong” person can result in poorly completed tasks and frustration by you and them.

To help find that “right” person consider some of these factors: • Does a person have the experience, knowledge and skills to competently perform the task?

• What are the person’s goals and aspirations? Would this delegation be helpful to them in meeting their goals and aspirations?

• What is the current work load of the person? Do they have time to meet the expectations of the task?

How to Delegate?

There are key components to delegation that will help ensure success. Following are some of the most important steps to successful delegation: • Understand the job to be delegated. We need to be clear in our mind what needs to be done, the process to follow and who we want to do the work.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

THE TRENCHES

By Mike Porter

WHAT TO DO ABOUT YOUR WORTHLESS MAIL

S

ome of the mail you send out is worthless. You probably know this already, but do you ever do anything about it? Over the years I can recall encountering worthless mail in nearly every shop I visited. Usually there was no plan, other than simply sending whatever mail came out of the job.

Perhaps worthless is too strong a term.

The mail certainly has some worth to the print service provider who gets paid for every piece they print and mail. There is worth to the Postal Service that collects postage on the mail pieces. And even if some pieces never get opened, the mailer has still flashed their brand before potential customers until the envelope heads into the recycle bin. There is some worth in that, I suppose.

Mail recipients, though, might assign little or no value to certain mail pieces. To them, the mail is worthless. If it’s worthless to the addressee it doesn’t make much sense to keep sending it out.

Causes for Worthlessness Deliverability would be the first factor that comes to mind when identifying causes for worthless mail. Obviously, if the Postal Service can’t deliver a piece it is just pure expense to produce. There’s no worth in these items at all, only costs. Yes, I know some regulated mail must be sent to the recorded address, even if you know delivery will fail. For any other mail, keeping undeliverable pieces in the job after failing to assign a valid delivery address is a questionable practice.

Some organizations use post-mailing strategies such as address correction services (ACS) to provide addresses of individuals, families, or businesses that have moved from the address on file. This information is only useful if the mailer updates the databases containing the old addresses — preferably before mailing to the same bad addresses again. Unfortunately, lots of

organizations lack the resources to manage the updates. As a result, companies continue to DO YOU GENERATE WORTHLESS generate the same undeliverMAIL? CHECK THESE AREAS able mail over and over. That’s actually worse than worthless!

UNDELIVERABLE ADDRESSES – Mailers paying for address corMISSING HOUSE NUMBERS, rections but not using the data DIRECTIONALS, OR APARTMENT are spending extra money to NUMBERS generate worthless mail. That’s like paying someone to take MOVERS – FAILURE TO UPDATE money from your pocket and DELIVERY ADDRESSES PRE then burn it.

Sometimes pieces bearing OR POST MAILING valid addresses can’t be delivered to an individual for other reasons.

UNLIKELY TO RESPOND – Death, for instance. Or incarcerDECEASED, INCARCERATED, ation. Failing to filter out individPOORLY TARGETED uals in groups like these adds to project costs and lowers the MEANINGLESS – HABITUALLY return-on-investment calculation.

UNRESPONSIVE PROSPECTS, Relevancy is another factor NO ACTIVITY, ZERO BALANCE, that can turn a perfectly good CLOSED ACCOUNTS mail piece into near-worthless paper fibers. Mailers frequently neglect to filter out individuals DUPLICATES – MULTIPLE PIECES TO highly unlikely to respond. Mail THE SAME ADDRESS, FAILURE TO is still pumped out to consumers HOUSEHOLD WHEN ALLOWED simply because they live in a targeted geographic area. Sending mail promoting children’s proding to me with no notice and it wouldn’t ucts to households lacking youngsters or cause me any harm. If it wasn’t such a vacation home offers to people who don’t good example of waste that I can use in fit the minimum financial profile is wasteful. my articles, I wouldn’t even care.

That kind of mail gets ignored.

Another example of waste includes In some cases, the individual might be duplicate materials sent to family memaccurately targeted but the content of the bers in the same households. The financial document has little meaning to the recipmailers have actually gotten better about ient. I’ve written many times about my items such as proxy ballots or annual account with the two-cent balance. I am reports. We still get multiple copies of still getting statements on a regular schedcatalogs, offers, notices, and other mateule. I’ve not conducted a transaction with rials at my house though. Some of them the institution for over seven years. The are large full-color books which must be balance has always been two cents. By now it should be obvious to the mailer I’m not a hot prospect. They could stop mailCONTINUED ON PAGE 11

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015

7

SOFTWARE BYTE

By Lloyd Moss

UNDOCUMENTED PIECES — PREPARE TO DEAL WITH THEM NOW

A

s the USPS prepares to resume its roll out of Seamless Acceptance, mailers are starting to wonder what they are going to do about those undocumented pieces they see on their Mailer Scorecard. It’s no secret that in the future the USPS wishes to assess mailers for these pieces without being subject to any threshold. For many mailers the assessment for undocumented pieces could be the most expensive assessment they face. Unlike some of the other assessments that are passed onto the respective mail owners, this assessment will usually come right out the mailer’s pockets. Like it or not, Seamless Acceptance is in your future, but taking the time to address the challenge of dealing with undocumented pieces will make Seamless work best for you.

For Seamless mailers, an undocumented piece is one that has been mailed with a barcode that the USPS cannot find in the mailer’s eDoc. The USPS wants every single mailpiece to be uniquely barcoded and identified in the eDoc, even if the mail is not Full-Service. For a mailpiece barcode to end up in eDoc it usually has to be presorted with presort software or run through an MLOCR. Many mailers have small jobs, usually Single Piece rate First-Class mail that have IMb’s, but would normally be metered and not run through presort software or an MLOCR. By definition all these pieces will be undocumented since no eDoc was provided. And that’s just one of numerous causes for undocumented pieces. It would be a good idea to start identifying why you are seeing

undocumented pieces and plan to eliminate them or provide the USPS with the information required to successfully challenge an assessment.

Mailers can start by running these small jobs through presort software and start using eDoc even for their smallest jobs.

There was a change made in June 2014 that allows mailers who use eDoc to pay for postage to pay for as little as one mail

mailed these barcodes, and if so, when.

You would want to supply the USPS with the submission date, Job ID and either the file name or the “historical header sequence number” of the Mail.dat file that contained this barcode. You would also want to supply the USPS with the Postage Statement ID(s) generated by PostalOne! for that submission. If you think this kind of research is easier said than done, you are

Now is the time to develop an understanding of the issues you may be facing and work with your vendors to implement a cost-effective solution. piece with their permit. This would allow many mailers to stop metering these jobs thereby reducing production costs enough to offset adding the presort step to these jobs. There is only so much you can do to avoid undocumented pieces on your Scorecard because sometimes you have done everything right, but for some reason the USPS can’t locate the barcodes in your eDoc. When this happens the burden is on you to prove that these mail pieces have been paid for.

You should be able to download the barcodes of your undocumented pieces.

What you want to do is determine if you

right. The good news is that some vendors are working on or already have solutions to help you with this. With the anticipated undocumented piece assessment there may be a lot at stake, so hoping it will never happen is not a sound strategy. Now is the time to develop an understanding of the issues you may be facing and work with your vendors to implement a cost-effective solution. ¾

Lloyd Moss has worked for postal software vendors since 1991 and has assisted hundreds of mailers of all types. Lloyd helps clients with all avenues of process efficiency within the post-presort market including investigating their current systems and implementing recommended best practices mailing management solutions. He also served as a subject matter advisor on U.S. Postal Service eDoc and Intelligent Mail® Full-Service projects for 3 years while at Accenture.

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INTRO TO INTERNATIONAL MAIL

By Vincent DeAngelis

KEEP INTERNATIONAL RETURNS SIMPLE AND CUSTOMERS HAPPY

M

ore and more shoppers outside the US want to purchase from domestic businesses for all the reasons we know that make American retailers attractive to the rest of the world: the style and quality of goods they offer, competitive prices, vast selection options, frequent bargains and this country’s unerring devotion to excellent customer service.

That rising level of foreign consumer interest signals two courses of action, which US businesses who want to grow must follow: 1) establish and adhere to an international mailing and shipping strategy and 2) spend the same amount of time building an equitable and easy returns policy. A positive customer experience — in this case, providing a simple and painless delivery and return event — builds customer loyalty, satisfaction and company revenues.

Buyers’ Expectations and Demands New markets are opening to US retailers all over the world. As those international opportunities increase, so do foreign buyers’ expectations. Online shoppers — the recipients of international parcels and packages — are shifting their buying habits.

In fact, they are trending toward smaller, more frequent, lighter-weight shipments delivered directly to their homes or other convenient pick-up locations and demanding flexible shipping options.

That last point is particularly significant because consumers outside the US are generally responsible for selecting a carrier for an international return and covering the associated cost. This predictable boom in cross-border eCommerce will fuel

the need for easy-to-use and inexpensive returns protocol. A full-circle retail strategy serves businesses well; exceptional customer service for returns can be equally, if not more, important than delivery.

The Size of the Market The Atlanta-based Colography Group, a research and consulting firm specializing in market intelligence for multinational shippers, discovered several fundamental facts that define international consumers and the size of the international market for mailed returns to the US, including:  Customers outside the US carefully consider a US merchant’s return policy prior to purchasing.  Nearly 8.5 million packages are returned each year to US air export shippers. That is almost five percent of US air export shipments in the less-than-70-poundscategory.  Among the different Colography-identified international mail returns segment — mail order/etail, retail, telecom, manufacturing, wholesale and other industries — returns were most common in the manufacturing and wholesale segments.

Canada Is a Good Example In a separate study, Colography explored how returns and return policies affect the purchasing behavior of Canadian consumers. Survey data of Canadians revealed that approximately one of every four active online consumers returned an item purchased in the last 12 months. Almost three of every four Canadian consumers stated that a retailer’s returns policy influenced their decision to purchase from a particular merchant.

The behavior of Canadians coincides with the global landscape of international returns.

Many buyers will drop an etailer in order to find one that offers the customer service they expect. Further, three out of four buyers make their purchase decision based on tracking services offered (email or text notifications, etc.)

— for both delivery and returns.

Shipping costs on returns is a noted point of contention for customers. In fact, the most common complaints from customers is paying for return shipments. Companies that seek carrier agreements that include return options differentiate themselves and create a competitive advantage, resulting in increased favor among customers who appreciate the flexibility.

The Lesson for US Mailers and Shippers Shoppers in the ever-expanding global eCommerce world have made four unambiguous and universal points that affect international mail return behavior:  International consumers are increasingly savvy buyers.  They review international merchandise return policies carefully.  Convenient and simple return options influence their purchasing decisions.  Affordable returns options will contribute to repeat customers.

US-based international mailers must consider and respect these consumer behaviors when selling in the global marketplace. Customers expect an easy experience from the etailers they choose to do business with. Providing a simple return procedure pleases customers, expands the frequency of transactions and, ultimately, raises the per-event purchase amount customers elect to spend. ¾

Vincent DeAngelis is Vice President, Postal Relations for Neopost USA. Neopost USA, headquartered in Milford, CT, provides mailing, business communications management and shipping hardware and software solutions. For generations, we have worked with our customers to send, receive and connect their customer communications in the most secure, efficient and professional manner possible.For more information on Neopost USA, visit www.neopostusa.com.

*Source: The Colography Group

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015

9

DIRECT MARKETING 101

By John Foley, Jr.

6 TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONS FOR YOUR SELF-PROMOTION PORTFOLIO

I

f you’re in the print, mailing, or fulfillment industry, you should know by now how important it is to provide a full range of services for your customers. In order to show your customers and prospects that you have the ability to provide these dynamic services for them, you need to use your own business as a model. The types of communications you should be considering for the promotion of your own business mirror those you will sell to clients. They include:

First-hand experience is the best way for you to learn how to sell what can appear to be a very complex service. It is complex — no question, but often painted to be more complex than it needs to be. With the right resources in place, it will add extreme value to the services you can offer.

3. A digital asset management system must be in place to house all of the digital assets you and your clients will use in marketing efforts. This includes graphics, logos, templates, audio, video, and more. A good digital asset management system ensures access to the most current version and includes security controls to prevent access by unauthorized users. Your digital asset management system should be able to handle digital assets, of course, but can also be used to track physical assets.

1. One-to-one ROI-driven, multi-channel relationship marketing solutions that are designed to deliver individual communications to the best and most profitable customers, create unique and customized messages across multiple channels, manage campaigns, track expenses, and calculate ROI in real time. To do this, you must have the right infrastructure in place.

2. Data modeling and data mining to determine the “sweet spot” based on specific criteria established by data experts. This is a service you can always outsource. Profiling factors such as demographics, product affinity, lifestyle, and cluster analysis enable the modeling of existing customer data against scrubbed national consumer files, extracting important and relevant demographics as well as lifestyle data. This means that you can model the trends and traits of your best customers and then use that “model” to find thousands more just like them. Hire a data expert or find a solid partner and try it first in your own self-promotional efforts.

4. Comprehensive and marketing program measurement metrics and analytics are available through market-

• • • • •

ing dashboards. With a dashboard, you and/or your customers can: See who is responding within seconds of the visit Use up-to-date collected results for ROI calculations Create graphical representations of results that update automatically Improve sales lead effectiveness via automatically delivered lead email messages Gain immediate access to raw data for other corporate systems or processes

5. Printing services includes more than just putting ink and toner on paper and

shipping it out the door. As a mailing/ fulfillment service provider, you already have many of the pieces in place to add value to printing services. And printing presses are easier to use than ever before — digital, DI and even offset. You are already working with clients to minimize the impact of postage increases (or should be!) while maintaining response rates. Marketing services providers consult with clients to discuss options such as modified packaging, address quality, bar-coding, delivery point verification, volume discounts, and other money-saving ideas. With printing services under your roof, it is one more arrow in your value-added quiver that will attract and keep loyal customers.

6. Best-in-class mailing and fulfillment services using the latest technology are table stakes in today’s market — that goes without saying. But by expanding your scope beyond mailing by equipping yourself to provide integrated marketing services to clients, you can solidify and increase their presence with existing customers and help them bring in new customers to grow their businesses.

Obviously, the same applies to your self-promotional efforts.

If you want to transform your business and diversify your services to expand your customer base, you need to create an effective promotion plan. Get started growing your business by using these seven communications to build your self-promotion portfolio and show clients all that you can do for them. ¾

John Foley, Jr. is the CEO of interlinkONE and Grow Socially. John and his team consult with print, mailing, and fulfillment companies on transforming and thriving by maximizing the success of their services through new technology and strategies, write strategic marketing plans to get them on a path to multi-channel success. Learn more about John at www.JohnFoleyJr.com, and his companies at www.interlinkONE.com and www.GrowSocially.com.

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REAL LIFE MANAGEMENT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 • Clearly explain the assignment and explain the “why.” We should meet with the employee and explain why this is an important assignment, then talk through expectations on the desired end result.

Don’t forget to review the process — this includes levels of delegated authority (e.g. what decisions can be made by the employee versus decisions requiring manager approval), progress updates, your availability for support, etc.

• Confirm understanding and commitment.

We should make sure the assignment and all expectations are understood — and the employee is committed to see the assignment through to successful completion.

• Monitor progress and provide on-going feedback. We want to ensure that

the assignment gets completed in accordance with expectations. We also want the employee to learn and have a positive and confidence building experience. Providing on-going coaching will help this be the “win-win” we are looking for. We also want to avoid what I call “dirty delegation” — which is micro-management and not letting go enough of the task. The other extreme to avoid is “reverse delegation” which occurs when the employee entices the manager to do the task that was intended to be delegated.

• Evaluate performance and identify lessons learned. Once the assignment is completed it is valuable to collaboratively discuss performance of the

employee and discuss lessons learned.

The time to reflect, evaluate and discuss outcomes and lessons learned is where much of the value of delegation derives from.

• Don’t forget to say “thanks!” Last but not least — don’t forget to say “thank you” to the employee! People crave appreciation and recognition, and providing that will be motivating and inspiring to the recipient.

Here is a final inspiring quote from John Maxwell “If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.” I wish you the best for you and your team as you delegate well! ¾

Wes Friesen, MBA, CMDSM, MDC, EMCM, MCOM, CCE, CBA, CBF, ICP, CCM, CMA, CM, CFM, APP, PHR manages multiple departments for a utility based in the Northwest. Wes also teaches university classes and is a featured speaker at national Conferences like MAILCOM, National Postal Forum, NACUMS, and other regional and local events. Check out his personal website for free information (www.wesfriesen.com). He can be contacted at pchefdebi@comcast.net.

THE TRENCHES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 expensive to produce and mail. We could easily do with just one of each when they come out. The extras are worthless.

Problematic Business Model Print and mail service providers don’t really want to eliminate mail pieces from jobs they run. I get it. I worked in that business for over 20 years. We got paid for creating the documents and mailing them. Any adjustments lowering the piece count would have had an immediate negative effect on revenue. We were not encouraged to suggest mail-reduction tactics to customers.

Propping up volume by including worthless mail, though, is short-sighted. Today customers compare the expense of every prospective mailing campaign to lower-cost digital communication alternatives. Mail has to be worth the investment or projects won’t

be approved. Worthless mail pieces nibble away at response rates and conversion statistics. With companies cutting back on the size of their mailing lists already, the impact of non-performing mail pieces is proportionally greater than in the past. The ROI erodes and future print campaigns are jeopardized.

If the response ratio for a print campaign is too low, organizations may decide not to do the next one at all. Ultimately, a strategy to improve the effectiveness of mail is a smarter way to protect volume and retain customers.

A Longer Term Approach A print and mail service provider, be they in-house or outsourced, can score points with customers by developing strategies for reducing worthless mail. They will gain respect by finding ways to reduce mailing expenses. As a bonus, development

and implementation of such strategies will often require engagement with previously unreachable customer departments. Working directly with Marketing, Data Analytics, Legal and Regulatory, or Information Technology deepens the customer relationship and may uncover new business opportunities.

Customers view service providers blindly processing data as vendors. At the end of every contract period vendors become vulnerable to competitors that can do the same work at lower cost. Working closely with customers where the objective is helping them reach their goals, rather than mailing the maximum number of pieces, is what partners do. Their worth is greater and their tenure is always more secure. When reducing worthless mail is considered as a longterm business strategy, a small decrease in mailing fees may be worth it. ¾

Mike Porter is President of Print/Mail Consultants, a firm that helps companies lower costs, develop future strategies, and improve quality in their document operations. You can read more at Mike’s blog. Or visit www.printmailconsultants.com and sign up for Practical Stuff, a free newsletter for document print and mail professionals.

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015

11

POSTAL AFFAIRS

By Kim Mauch

WILL “REAL MAIL” BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN MAIL AND DIGITAL?

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t’s no secret that USPS is struggling to stay relevant in a digital society.

The use of email, social media and mobile devices have driven mail volume away from the mailbox and into the hands of Google, Facebook, Instagram and others. The Postal Service has had limited success with its attempts at going digital. While its website and mobile app are fairly modern, neither have had a significant impact on mail volume. Even with postage incentives, many mailers haven’t adopted QR codes or augmented reality.

QR codes feel outdated, and augmented reality is expensive to implement.

USPS expects that a digital connection to physical mail will unlock its sustainability. A new attempt to bridge the gap was shown again at the National Postal Forum (NPF), where USPS introduced another digital product: Real Mail Notifications.

The Concept By pairing mailer and recipient needs in a digital platform, USPS is hoping that Real Mail Notifications will increase interest in the mail, making it more profitable for mailers, driving more mail volume. Using the mail scanning equipment already on USPS sorting equipment, the postal service will collect pictures of each mail piece heading out for delivery that day, and send it electronically to the recipient.

The benefit for the recipient are early notification of some of what will be in their mailbox, access to what’s in their mailbox while they travel, and information distributed to everyone at the household. At a recent Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) meeting, VP of New Products

and Innovation Gary Reblin joked that he wasn’t aware of how many golfing catalogs he received until he started using

and several hundred thousand participants are expected. Early results of this test may be available as soon as the 2016 NPF.

Real Mail.

Obstacles

For mailers, there will be more “impressions” of the mail piece — a marketing term for the number of times someone is shown a message. Mailers who provide additional information will be able to make the image in Real Mail interactive, and will be able to interact with their recipients both at home and while they are traveling.

USPS authenticates each recipient to ensure that the correct mail images are sent to the correct email address. Mailers who provide a link to an image will soon be able to replace the black and white scan of the mail piece with their own image, and provide a link that could be used to direct the user from within the Real Mail notification. In the future, USPS may make “Real Mail” into a mobile app.

Real Mail is still very much in a proof of concept phase. The entire process is still manual, and only facilities with equipment upgrades will be able to generate the pictures. Rolling this out nationwide to all mail recipients seems a far off goal. Even at the correct facilities, not every mail piece is placed on automation equipment.

This is especially troubling for flats and Every Door Direct Mail, which are much less likely to be processed on equipment.

And the flats sorters currently do not have the equipment to provide an image of the mail piece. It’s unclear at this point how users will react when not all of their mail is included in the daily alert. There are issues when a user moves out of the Real Mail service area, and there isn’t any data yet on whether Real Mail incents users with cluster boxes to delay picking up their mail until an important item arrives. It’s also unclear whether this platform will make the physical mail piece less interesting or attractive to the user. USPS has a vision of every mobile user accessing their mail this way, but after the shine of the pilot wears off, it will be interesting to see how sticky this new platform really is. ¾

The Pilot This spring, USPS ran a “proof of concept” pilot in northern Virginia with around 4,000 participants. Using its own mail pieces, USPS measured the engagement of the test users, and the likelihood that they would respond to mail messages. Initial findings showed that over 90% checked their notifications daily, and those who did were at least two times more likely to act on the mail piece.

The pilot will be expanded to several 3-digit ZIP Codes in New York between October and March. Mailers who participate will be able to provide USPS with links and images to use in the program,

Kim Mauch is a subject matter expert in mailing preparation and submission at Satori Software. Contact her at kmauch@satorisoftware.com.

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SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 | www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

APPLICATION ARTICLE

Customer-Engaged Billing Produce Bills That Cut Costs and Drive Profits Eighty percent of consumers have opted out of traditional marketing, but they still pay close attention to their monthly bills and statements. So, smart companies are seeking ways to increase the value of these customer interactions.

Customers want convenience, personal service and clear bills.

Companies want to maximize value and minimize costs by providing more compelling offers and fielding fewer inbound service calls. This all becomes possible with the Customer-Engaged Billing solution from Pitney Bowes.

This intelligent, automated solution makes it easy for companies to provide clear, easy-to-understand bills that increase the lifetime value of every customer.

Precise, High-Impact Capabilities We help companies deliver a convenient, consistent, personalized experience at every touchpoint. Our end-to-end solution offers: • Predictive analytics for greater relevance • High-speed document creation and personalization • Omnichannel delivery for synchronized experiences • Personalized interactive video • Convenient, accurate self-service

Create Relevant, Engaging Statements and Invoices Reduces Call Volumes Customers don’t call or complain when bills are clear and easy to understand. Generating eye-catching statements that are well designed and highly personalized provides them with what they need. Interactive videos show customers how to find information fast. The result is a more helpful, individualized experience that increases reliance on self service.

Adapts to Individual Needs The flexible, high-speed output engages customers based on their unique preferences by: • Adding tables, color and graphics • Customizing the experiences (large-print, multilingual, or braille format) • Delivering content in the customer’s preferred channel (print, web, mobile, email, and SMS text) Maximizes Customer Value Enhance marketing results with highly targeted offers. You can analyze profiles, transaction histories and behaviors to identify the best-next-action for each customer. By updating content and offers instantly based on the most recent interactions, we ensure that every message is timely and relevant.

Customer-Engaged Billing Advantages End-to-End Marketing Automation • Delivers relevant content, consistent with each customer’s preference, automatically formatted for any device

• Synchronizes multichannel interactions, instantly adjusting offers and messages based on the customer’s response to earlier engagements • Automatically reaches customers through their preferred channels More Actionable Customer Insight • Identifies best-next-actions consistent with customer needs and business objectives using built-in analytics that assess customer profiles and prior interactions • Combines real-time decisioning with high-speed, high volume production runs to customize content, format and delivery channel for each customer on the fly • Simplifies and enhances multiproduct relationships (such as “right planning” on telco bundles) by handling complex calculations such as prior billing and transaction history Personalized Interactive Video • Creates engagements that address customers by name with content based on unique profiles • Ensures customers can get and download information without ever having to call • Explains bills, highlights changes and promotes plans and service Lower Operational Expense • Combines regulatory, terms and compliance notifications with existing communications, minimizing the need for multiple contacts • Encourages reliance on self-service by creating a more userfriendly, personalized mobile, video and online experience • Facilitates more productive and satisfying customer calls by allowing call center staff and IVR systems to access the same documents, analytics and recommendations pbsoftware.sales@pb.com, 800.327.8627, pitneybowes.com, Graph Expo booth #1239

GUEST COLUMN

By Randy Beals & Gina Ferrara

OPPORTUNITIES EXIST FOR TRADITIONAL PRINT SERVICE PROVIDERS

M

adison Advisors has recently completed a comprehensive examination of the important trends in the Customer Communications Management (CCM) marketplace. While conducting this research, we have found that organizations continue to struggle with the requirement for communications to be compliant, as well as more personalized and relevant, while striving to support complex products with clarity and appropriate calls to action. Combined with growing delivery expectations in the digital world, this requirement has caused many companies to fall behind as they attempt to achieve their strategic communication goals.

Traditionally, companies have turned to software manufacturers in an attempt to enhance customer communications. While this approach may have been somewhat successful in the past, as communication requirements have become more complex, off-the-shelf composition software is failing to deliver the desired results. A new service delivery model is required in order to overcome the complexity inherent in the software and corresponding integration tasks; a model that can guarantee results and leads to the ROI organizations desire. Madison Advisors refers to this client engagement and technology delivery model as CCM Hosted Managed Services.

In Madison Advisors’ opinion, print service providers may have the best opportunity to get into the hosted managed services space and affect this market.

Having been trusted partners of enterprise clients for years, in some cases providing composition, archival, and elec-

tronic delivery services, they are uniquely positioned to leverage and expand existing relationships. In addition, as market factors place additional pressures on many in-plants to consider outsourcing print and mail, opportunities for print service providers will continue to expand.

As physical print has become more of a commodity, recent best practice has been for companies to take a printer agnostic approach to outsourcing. As contracts expire, companies want to be free to take advantage of more competitive pricing through movement to another service provider. If the print service provider also does the composition work, the transition process becomes more complicated; and timetables are extended as these services are unraveled and ported to a new provider. In some cases, the complexity of the move causes companies to forgo the savings and remain with the current vendor. For this reason, many companies have elected to keep composition and other upstream tasks in house.

This is also fraught with challenges; and, increasingly, companies have turned to CCM Hosted Managed Services providers to achieve the desired outcomes.

Madison Advisors has recently assisted a large client with the selection of a CCM Hosted Managed Services provider, and subsequently ran the RFP to move from one large print service provider to another to take advantage of downward movement in price. We believe this will be the trend going forward. Print service providers may continue to fight this trend but would be better served to execute a stra-

tegic pivot and reposition themselves in the market. Rather than being providers of traditional print services, they should establish themselves as CCM technology service providers with print being a separate and distinct offering. To a degree, this is already true as many print service providers offer additional services including electronic delivery, archival, and, to a limited extent, business user control of messaging and variable content. However, these offerings have been viewed as bolted-on services, inextricably linked to traditional print and mail services.

Some forward thinking companies are beginning to take the plunge. One very large traditional print service provider is in the early stages of rolling out its CCM Hosted Managed Services offering. Several others are exploring ways to partner with existing providers.

Madison Advisors believes that print service providers should further embrace this market shift to create a new model of printer agnosticism by separating upstream and digital services from physical print offerings. For some companies, this may be a difficult transformation as it may be seen as taking their eye off the ball or cannibalizing existing print-based revenue streams. However, until they are willing to let go of print as the primary business, these service providers will be watching this market continue to evolve and expand from the sidelines. ¾

Randy Beals, COO of Madison Advisors, is a leading voice in the area of strategic customer communications management.

With over 30 years of experience in the banking, insurance, and financial services industries, he has advised some of the nations’ top companies regarding customer communications management strategies, including print and multi-channel delivery. Gina Ferrara, Principal Analyst, joined Madison Advisors in January 2014 after spending more than 19 years in the banking and financial services industry, where she served in a variety of capacities.

14

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 | www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

APPLICATION ARTICLE

Optimization Is Key to Improved Productivity & Profitability NPI Sorting systems are designed to optimize your sorting operations with advanced design and intelligent software. Built around patented anti-jam technology, the sorters run more economically as time-wasting jams are virtually eliminated. Multiple motors precisely located throughout the sorter, instead of a single motor power transmission system, drastically reduce maintenance costs and power consumption. Modular ergonomic design promotes seamless upgrades and modifications to support your expanding operations and improve production efficiency. NPI Sorting Systems provide solutions for products ranging from postcards, letters, flats, and even small to large parcels. The NPI Catalog of Sorting Systems represents some of the most innovative, advanced and fastest Sorting Systems on the market, but Sorting Systems are only half of the equation.

NPI Software Suites are as versatile and innovative as sorters.

Through the advent of Intelligent Mail and the universal Mail.dat format, efficient data management is now the key to sort optimization, enhanced qualification and postage savings. NPI’s OptESuite of software products allow our customers to predetermine sort

plans, identify what levels of qualification is best for their operation and understand what it takes to maximize postage savings before a mail piece even hits the sorter. This allows customers in the Printing Industry and Large Standard mailers to realize real savings through commingling and co-palletization. The same technology also allows Service Bureaus to analyze different mail streams to determine the most profitable mail streams to commingle.

In today’s mailing world, you can’t afford to be second. If you want your operation to be as efficient, profitable and successful as it can be, you need to contact NPI. We will analyze your operation and offer real solutions to help you be first.

www.npisorters.com michelle@nationalpresort.com 888.821.7678

More Than A Software Provider

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHTS

WHAT TO SEE AT

Your postal software provider should do more than deliver basic software and abandon you until renewal time. Like BCC Software, they should deliver comprehensive software, include unlimited access to a USPS certified support team that is ready to answer any product or regulation question, know your business, and advocate on your behalf.

GRAPH

EXPO!

The inserter you help build.

BCC Software 800.453.3130 www.bccsoftware.com

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12 OOT 39 H

The Epic™ Inserting System is the latest multi format inserter on the market built with the feedback of hundreds of mailing professionals like you. Get greater operational yield and workcell efficiency, all while lowering total cost of ownership. Handles complex jobs with easy automated changeover.

Pitney Bowes 877.406.7704 www.pitneybowes.com

Accelerate your Inkjet ROI

FIRSTLOGIC® DATA QUALITY 9.1

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20 OOT 72 H

FIRSTLOGIC DQ 9.1 is built on 30-years of proven address and data quality technology including: ACE® – CASS™, NCOALink® & DSF2® ready address cleansing & geocoding, DATARIGHT IQ® – data cleansing, MATCH/CONSOLIDATE® – deduplication & householding and PRESORT IQ™ – USPS® presorting. Available “On-Premise” on Windows, Linux, Solaris & AIX platforms and “In-Cloud” on a secured hosted platform.

Firstlogic Solutions, LLC 888.725.7800 sales@firstlogicsolutions.com www.firstlogicsolutions.com

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34 OOTH 4

With PRO Inkjet Express, you can easily migrate or implement automated workflows for your inkjet presses.

Learn how you can be productive and profitable quickly without re-engineering existing print streams or processes. Leverage the power of your press and streamline your workflow!

Crawford Technologies sales@crawfordtech.com www.crawfordtech.com

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18 OOT 49 H

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Introducing the Relay™ multi-channel communications suite from Pitney Bowes.

A complete hardware and software solution consisting of the Relay™ inserter series and the Relay™ communications hub.

This adaptable end-to-end solution frees you from your legacy platform limitations, gives you content, channel and document production flexibility that works in your existing technology environment and can even enhance document design to add impact without reprogramming your existing system.

Pitney Bowes 877.406.7704 www.pitneybowes.com

The Giant Digital Leap Ahead

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12 OOT 02 H

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1 OO Save more on every package 23 TH 9

you send.

Name your speed, name your quality, name your capacity and HP has a solution set to meet your needs. Our most popular presses are upgradable! Come see what 20”, 30”, 42” and 110” printing looks like! See and feel the print quality from our new High Definition Nozzle Architecture print heads!

With the Ship a Package app on the Connect+® mailing system, you can save up to 55% using discounted rates from the USPS®. It’s the only mailing system with an integrated shipping and mailing solution that can weigh, rate and ship your packages at significant savings.

HP 800.289.5986 hp.com/go/pagewidewebpress

Pitney Bowes 877.406.7704 www.pitneybowes.com

Your Toolkit for Mailing Accuracy

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Confidently mail to international markets with address verification tools that correct and verify data for 240 countries; process mailings for maximum discounts with our MAILERS+4® bulk mailing software; and use our Cloud API, LeadGen, to get Consumer, Business, Occupant, and Property Owner mailing lists and develop your own private label.

B

18 OOT ROI Is Hiding In Your Data 49 H Feeling like you are being squeezed between the cost and effort of postal compliance and the need to show incremental value to your customers? The contact data your customers provide you to prepare their mailing contains five hidden gems you can use to demonstrate your value by maximizing their ROI on your services.

BCC Software 800.453.3130 www.bccsoftware.com

Melissa Data 800.635.4772 sales@melissadata.com www.melissadata.com

B

Print & Stamp in One Pass!

18 OOT 52 H

Postmatic Inc. provides the ultimate solution for inline stamping and fixed image printing with our Inline Stamping Base – Print One. Now you have the ability to affix stamps and print “Mailer’s Precancelled Permits”, text, indicia, bulk-rate permits, logos, barcodes, dates, and more in a single pass.

Postmatic 888.784.6046 info@postmatic.net www.Postmatic.com

turn the page

for more

GRAPH EXPO SPOTLIGHTS

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Personalized Interactive Video: Compelling Conversations That Scale

12 OOT 39 H

Personalized Interactive Video can improve customer understanding of a product or service by as much as 74%. This highly relevant, customer-defined journey can boost sales, customer satisfaction and improve operational efficiency. Visit mypbvideo.com/GRAPHEXPO15 and booth #1239.

Just Add Data

Buskro’s Atom is a low cost, self-standing printhead.

The Atom’s “Just Add Data” approach accepts standard communication protocols allowing integration with most third party controllers or with Buskro’s Compose IQ software. This portable print system offers significant operational savings over TIJ printers and is well suited to replace aging and obsolete CIJ technologies.

Buskro Ltd. 905.839.6018 sales@buskro.com www.buskro.com

Pitney Bowes 800.327.8627 pitneybowes.com

B

Don’t Waste Money on UAA Mail

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18 OOT 49 H

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Verification, Read & Print…

4% of addresses aren’t completely confirmed by USPS CASS processing. 17% of Americans move each year, but only 40% notify the USPS. The result: four billion mail pieces are treated as waste by the USPS annually. Avoid contributing to these stats and monitor which pieces sneak through and wind up wasted anyway.

From the lowest price visual match system to the automated OCR/Barcode match system, to our latest Read & Print system, we have a solution for you. All of our Picture Perfect Match System products are modular, so you only buy what you need today but have the flexibility to upgrade tomorrow.

BCC Software 800.453.3130 www.bccsoftware.com

Clear Image Technologies larry@clearimagetechnologies.com 314.853.5867 www.clearimagetechnologies.com

1 Million envelopes and counting!

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19 OOT 52 H

Purchase the iJetColor Press and become one of business owners that have printed more than 1,000,0000 envelopes at rates even lower than originally expected. Today, iJetColor Press users are experiencing long-term profitability and short-term ROI. Powered by Memjet technology, let the iJetColor Press revolutionize your print and mailing operations.

Printware 800.456.1400 sales@printwarellc.com www.ijetcolor.com

Digital presses that let you do more

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Digital is driving the future direction of print. Where will it take your business? Enhance your offerings and raise the value of print with a wide array of substrates and the largest color gamut; HP Indigo has a solution that helps you take advantage or your best opportunities and control your trajectory.

HP 800.289.5986 www..hp.com/go/indigo

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1 OO Accelerate your path to color. 23 TH 9 The Pitney Bowes AcceleJet™ Printing and Finishing System provides a simple, cost-effective path to highquality color inkjet that is perfectly sized for mid-volume transactional print and mail operations. The system offers a smart combination one-up roll-fed, high quality duplex color inkjet print engine with integrated finishing.

Pitney Bowes 877.406.7704 www.pitneybowes.com

Want Flexibility and Short-Term ROI?

SAP® DATA SERVICES 4.2

SAP DATA SERVICES 4.2 is SAP’s premier global data quality platform built on 30-years of proven data quality technology including: DATA PROFILING – data analysis, ADDRESS CLEANSE – CASS™, NCOALink® & DSF2® ready global address cleansing & geocoding, DATA CLEANSE – data standardization, MATCH – deduplication & householding. ETL for structured & unstructured data. Available “On-Premise” on Windows, Linux, Solaris & AIX platforms.

Firstlogic Solutions, LLC 888.725.7800 sales@firstlogicsolutions.com www.firstlogicsolutions.com

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An alternative to larger, higher priced systems, Sensible Technologies’ high performance feeder/folder and intelligent inserter solutions deliver industry-leading uptime to help you increase productivity and capacity. Our simple, durable designs make our equipment easier to operate with less manpower for a lower-cost ROI. Visit Booth # 1662 for a demonstration.

Opte-mizing Mailing Analytics

Optesort is a suite of software products by NPI designed to efficiently analyze and minimize mailers finalized cost for First Class and Standard mailings. The Suite offers the ability to quickly perform what-if analysis of various mail streams in order to increase Presort Discounts as well as optimize Drop ship discounts.

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How much more? More corrected addresses. More updated addresses with two-and-a-half more years of moves. More access to the latest postal data and rates.

Your result: more mail delivered! See for yourself. Take the real apples-to-apples comparison. To get started, visit www.satorisoftware.com/apples or call 800-553-6477.

Satori Software 800.553.6477 sales@satorisoftware.com www.satorisoftware.com

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NPI 888.821.SORT (7678) www.npisorters.com

Sensible Technologies 734.421.1727 info@sensibletech.com www.sensibletech.com

We Deliver More So You Deliver More

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B

The latest in parcel and package sortation.

The OneSort™ Workstation is a robust and feature-rich parcels, package and flats processing solution. Ideal as either a first step to automation and data capture or as a complementary system for exception processing, the OneSort Workstation delivers all the accuracy and precision expected of a fully integrated Pitney Bowes solution.

Pitney Bowes 877.406.7704 www.pitneybowes.com

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THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY Our annual look at the inner workings of the mailing industry, from wages to staff sizes to manager respaonsibilities.

By Amanda Armendariz I’m heartened by the results of this year’s survey. The numbers in many crucial categories are up significantly compared to last year. Take certification, for instance. Last year was an absolutely abysmal year for certification of mail center managers (at least in the mailing operations we surveyed). It didn’t matter whether it was EMCMP, CMDSM, or CMM — all of these categories’ percentages were in the single digits. Now, the numbers are much healthier (almost 20% of mail center managers are EMCMPcertified). Hopefully this is a sign that organizations realize that while mail is changing, it is still an incredibly relevant piece of the customer communications mix, and they are investing in their managers’ educations accordingly.

Likewise, the average salary of mail center managers increased about 4%. While not a huge jump, it is slightly more than the average cost of living increase of 3% that is usually given, which is a plus. Additionally, the average number of years a mail center manager has been in the business has increased as well — always a good sign when organizations can keep good talent around!

Of course it goes without saying that the future of mail isn’t all roses. First-Class Mail volumes continue to decline, and mailers are stuck grappling with an almost unprecedented change in the perception of customer communications. Prior to the Internet, everyone liked mail, everyone trusted mail, and everyone got mail. Now there is this perception that mail is dying, that it’s gone the way of the Pony Express, and this makes some mailers uneasy. We of course know that mail is not dying; it’s still a trusted communication vehicle for one’s customers. But mailers will need to better learn to use it in conjunction with digital communications, not in competition with. Luckily, it seems like most mailers have at least started on the right path.

Overall though I am pleased with the results of this year’s survey, and I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to respond. Your input truly goes a long way in helping us provide a comprehensive look at the state of the mailing industry, year after year.

Mail Center Managers Male vs. Female

47%

How Many Full-Time Employees Do Mail Center Managers Supervise?

53%

What a change from last year, when only 32% of mail center managers were female. Now, granted, as always, it could be that we have different respondents answering the survey (since after all, people leave the industry year after year while new people and companies come in, so it’s impossible to have the same respondents every year) but this is still an interesting statistic to note. In all my years doing the survey, I think this is the closest to an egalitarian gender split that I’ve ever seen.

20

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 | www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

Only 17% of respondents reported that their mail center managers manage more than 5 people; the vast majority of managers are only responsible for 0-5 subordinates. For those who do manage more than 5, all reported managing an average of 16-20 employees. This is much different than last year, where almost a full quarter of managers were responsible for 6-10 subordinates. Additionally, 44% of managers are not required to manage other departments/functions.

Show Me the Money

$58,203

The average mail center manager’s salary, according to our respondents.

Up a few grand from last year, which is always nice!

Certifications

Economic Impact on Mail Center Managers

Almost a fifth (19.4%) of mail center managers are EMCMP-certified, which is a huge jump from last year, when only 5% held that certification. This is a good sign, and shows that mailers are investing more and more in their continuing education, and bringing certification levels up closer to the levels seen five or so years ago.

Meanwhile, 14% of mail center managers hold the CMDSM certification (more than double last year’s number), and 10% were CMM-certified. Much better than last year, where CMDSM was the “winner” (I use that term loosely) with only 6% of managers holding that certification.

40 37% 30

20

22%

13.5%

10 8%

6%

Stickin’ Around The average time in the mailing industry is an impressive 18.5 years!

18.5

13.5%

Has had no effect

Salary freeze

Number of mail center managers decreased

Took on additional responsibilities

Salary concession

Working additional hours

YEARS

Continuing Education

Unfortunately, a staggering 72% say managers will likely attend no training in the next 12 months, the primary reason for an overwhelming majority of respondents being either no time, or no funds.

How are mail center managers staying up to date in their field?

30% 27% 20%

10%

14%

19%

12%

12%

9%

8% 6% 4%

4%

4%

Local PCC Conferences

National industry or association-specific mailing conference (MSFA, NACUMS, Non-profit, DMA)

MAILCOM

National mailing “schools” (Mailing Training Institute, PB Production Print and Mail Management, etc.)

National Postal Forum

Other Online continuing education classes On-site continuing education classes

Other non-mailing local conferences Vendor’s user conference

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015

21

Supervisors 45% of mail centers responding had supervisors, while 55% did not. Of these supervisors, 35% were female, while 65% were male. 84% of supervisors are responsible for 10 or fewer employees, but it is interesting to note that there were quite a few respondents who reported being responsible for upwards of 15 subordinates.

In terms of certifications, supervisors in our respondents’ mail centers fell into the following percentages:

5%

CMDSM

7%

5%

EMCMP

Some Key Points } The average salary of a mail center supervisor is $48,402, a respectable increase from last year’s $43,143. } Supervisors in our respondent group have been in the mailing industry, on average, for 13 years. } An overwhelming 78% of supervisors are not responsible for other departments or functions. } The top three educational opportunities for supervisors are (in order): National Postal Forum, MAILCOM, and national mailing “schools” (Mailing Training Institute, PB Production Print and Mail Management, etc.). Sixty-five percent of respondents do not anticipate supervisors attending any training in the next 12 months.

CMM

Staff Economic Impacts 60

50

57%

43%

53.85%

On average, they have been in the mailing industry for 10 years. A whopping 91% of them are not represented by unions. Sixty-three percent have employee incentive programs.

40

Average Wages of Mail Center Staff 30

30.77%

20

20

11.54% 11.54%

Salary concession

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SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 | www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

2013 - $12.57

2014 - $12.26

2015 - $15.38

2013 - $13.83

2014 - $12.48

2015 - $15.62

2013 - $13.74

2014 - $12.43

2015 - $15.34

Working additional hours

2013 - $16.70

Took on additional responsibilities

2014 - $15.97

Salary freeze

2015 - $18.33

Has had no effect

2015 - $12.60

3.85%

2013 - $11.74

10

2014 - $11.20

10

0 Entry Level

Addressing machine operators

Highest Hourly Wage

Inserter operators

Mail handlers

Economic Influences on Mail Center Staff

What is the average INCOMING mail volume?

Has had no effect

16.07% 3.57 10.71%

Salary concessions Salary freezes Layoffs

53.57% 23.21% 7.14%

16.07% 5.36% 39.29% 17.86%

Existing staff work additional hours

5,000 - 19,999 20,000 - 49,999 50,000 - 74,999 75,000+

21.43%

Existing staff do additional tasks

A Look at the Numbers

< 5,000

Number of Employees in the Company

What is the average OUTGOING monthly mail for our respondents?

14.29% 5.36% 37.50%

8.93%

Less than 50,000

14.29%

50,000-299,999 300,000-499,999

10-99 17.86%

500,000-999,999 33.93%

Fewer than 10

1 million or more

46.43%

100-500 500+

23.43%

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015

23

By Christine J. Erna

THE TRUE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF RETURN MAIL

M

aintaining effective communication with customers is crucial for any organization’s success.

Return mail can inhibit this process and be a significant and costly challenge. Though the issue appears in all industries, it is particularly concentrated among high-volume First-Class mailers in five business sectors: Finance, Insurance, Healthcare, Utilities (Energy, Telco and wireless providers) and Government.

These companies use the United States Postal Services (USPS) First-Class Mail to send business-critical communications — billing and other transactional statements, explanation of benefits (EOBs) and legal and regulatory notifications — to intended recipients. While return mail is an increasing problem (see the chart to the right), each organization has its own unique issues that contribute to this waste of resources and lost business opportunities.

The challenge for the mailing industry is that approximately 3.69% of all FirstClass Mail does not get delivered. While that number doesn’t seem significant, it actually amounts to approximately 1.45 billion pieces of mail. According to Novitex

24

Source: USPS

Volume in Millions

2004

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

First Class (FC) Mail Volume

97,926

78,203

73,520

68,696

65,800

64,452

FC UAA Mail Total

3,331

2,687

2,510

2,537

2,444

2,378

FC Forwarded

1,819

1,134

1,025

1,027

965

928

FC Return to Sender and Waste

1,512

1,553

1,485

1,510

1,480

1,450

% of First Class Volume

3.40%

3.44%

3.40%

3.64%

3.67%

3.69%

(Return to Sender and Waste)

data, return mail costs an average of $3 per piece in operational costs alone, including postage and printing, handling, research, re-mailing and related processes. That equates to $4.3 billion in operational costs that the mailing industry absorbs each year for First-Class mail alone.

However, the true total cost of all return mail is staggering. Below the surface, the total financial impact can exceed $50 per mail piece, which means an estimated $72 billion is absorbed or unrealized by businesses each year. Included in this stat is the lost value of returned communications: delayed and missed payments, excess call center activity and overall customer service costs. Excessive undelivered mail can have a disastrous impact on cash flow, labor expenses and customer retention.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 | www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

A Centralized Solution Mail is not the true issue; it is rectifying end-users’ incorrect addresses and accounts.

To efficiently and effectively do this while reducing operating costs and fines associated with First-Class return mail, organizations must implement a centralized, automated managed service. This approach integrates multiple technologies to convert physical mail into usable data and performs a variety of preand post-processing functions to ultimately update addresses and accounts. The ideal approach goes beyond products and analyzes the root causes of the return mail problem and works to eliminate it.

The goal is to establish a timely, efficient and consistent set of procedures that can be managed with the centralized reporting that is necessary for a USPS compliance au-

dit. A managed return mail service should: automate integrated technologies, incorporate postal hygiene addressing tools and third-party data, provide real-time reporting and auditing and significantly reduce the volume and cost of undelivered mail.

Below are four key steps businesses should keep in mind when creating and operating a centralized, automated return mail service:

1. Document capture and conversion. Most companies lack the security, procedures and workflow required to efficiently handle and track physical mail internally. The first step in the return mail process is to capture physical documents and convert them to an electronic format. This can be done through scanning or bar code capturing either onsite or offsite using internal company personnel or an outside service. Once completed, the original hard-copy pieces can be securely destroyed or staged for repurposing which includes re-mail, reprocessing and address validation with customer follow-up if required. The captured data should be promptly uploaded to a host platform for updating and storing.

2. Address management, standardization, and search. After an organization has converted physical return mail to digital files, the company’s address database must be updated and validated using the above-mentioned resources (USPS-certified and third-party). A best practice

is to accompany these tools with an integrated data platform to combine intelligent program logic with multiple data compilers and thousands of active postal-certified and third-party databases. Coupled with mail and undeliverable mail data, secondary repurposing of customer communications can provide valuable output data and solutions. The goal is to provide companies with the ability to conduct a truly comprehensive search of consumer and business records, including landline and cell phone data, voter registrations and magazine and newspaper subscriptions. These advanced search activities can significantly improve the likelihood of finding the lastknown or updated address, which is far beyond using commodity solutions.

3. Secondary processing and document repurposing. Implementing back-end business processes and data-driven events ease the process of resending mail to updated addresses and allows the subsequent automated reprocessing of any addresses with ongoing issues. It is critical for organizations to keep a historical record of the exact number of pieces of undeliverable mail that originated from a single record, as it will help to identify potential problems before they arise.

Companies often suppress bad addresses, but many find that this process was established based upon old logic that was not initiated by a postal expert. As

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a result, organizations suppress customers who have updated addresses.

Additionally, rebound processing can be used to immediately access any document that has been mailed and returned again as undeliverable. This method can be used to feed call centers or trigger alternative methods of communication.

4. Reporting, auditing, and metrics. An effective return mail management service must include core reporting, metrics and audit processes that produces usable and reliable key data to update the host platform and provide management statistics. Tracking, analysis and documentation should also be established to validate the quality and metrics of the process. All images should be indexed and archived, and electronic files should be stored to meet user requirements.

Return mail will continue causing workflow conflicts unless organizations proactively address it by using a centralized, automated return mail service. By implementing this type of solution, businesses can significantly reduce their operational costs, collect outstanding monies owed and recuperate undelivered communications’ lost value, positively impacting the bottom line. ¾ CHRISTINE J. ERNA, Six Sigma Green Belt, AQS, MDP, is Senior Postal Solutions Architect, Novitex. Contact her at christine.erna@novitex.com.

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www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015

25

MAIL MADE EASY: HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT FOLDER INSERTER SYSTEM

T

he purpose of this article is to give you all of the information that you will need to select the right folder inserter for your organization. I originally wrote this article back in 2012, but since then, there have been many updates that will be highlighted to keep you up to date with this space.

The inserter market is broken out into three segments, primarily based on mail volumes, as you can see from the chart on the next page.

Here are the items you need to consider when selecting the right system: 1. Monthly Volume – All units have a specific maximum monthly volume they can 26

process. In my experience, most organizations do not come close to this number, but it needs to be looked at. Service contracts may become void if these volumes are exceeded and you could experience increased service calls and downtime.

2. Machine Speed – Many units are compared based on speeds that run from 900-33,000 pieces per hour. Keep in mind that this is the cycle speed and that actual outputs will depend on many factors, such as number of pieces being inserted, the complexity of your collations, as well as stalls and paper reloads.

As a rule of thumb, cut down these speeds by 30% to derive what you can expect in your environment.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 | www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

3. Mail Piece Requirements – This is the most important item in selecting a unit.

Make sure you know the following about your mailings: a. How many sheets? – Individual sheet feeders can typically pull multiple pieces, but often times this is not how the documents are prepared. Let’s say you have an invoice and a separate advertising piece. Typically these are not printed in the same run and would require a second sheet feeder to process into the envelope. b. How many inserts? – Inserts are items that do not require folding such as a return envelope or small advertising pieces. These typically need to be

By Adam Lewenberg loaded into separate designated feeders although some tabletop units are interchangeable. c. Do you need intelligence? – I know this sounds funny, but many units can be configured with a scanner that can read markings on the printed documents. These markings are either optical marks (OMR) or barcodes that tell the inserter how many pieces to collate together prior to folding and inserting.

This is very important for organizations sending out invoices and statements that could have varying page lengths. It also provides a higher level of security that the document is not getting into the wrong envelope. d. How does it collate? – If you have multiple pages being pulled from one feeder, you need to make sure that the unit will collate them prior to folding. Most units do this, but it is something you need to validate,

otherwise each page could fold individually, making it difficult for the customer to read. Also, if you are adding inserts, are they nested within the document or outside of the fold on its own? e. Where is the address? – If you are using window envelopes, you need to make sure your unit can do the right fold to be able to get the address into the right spot. Most of the time the address is at the top of the document and it is not an issue. The problem comes when the address is on the bottom panel as you will see at times with accounts payable and payroll checks. Higher end units will be able to accommodate these types of documents by turning them in the unit. For other models, you can order reverse flap envelopes (the opening is on the bottom vs. the top) but these can be more expensive.

Convenience

Tabletop

Production

Pitney Bowes, Neopost, Hasler, FP, Formax

Pitney Bowes, Neopost, Hasler, FP, Formax

Pitney Bowes, Neopost, Bell & Howell, Bowe Systec, Kern, and others

Typical Monthly Use (Finished Pieces)

<5,000

5-200,000

>200,000

Equipment Speed (Pieces per Minute)

900-1400/hr

2,000-5,500/hr

6,000-33,000/hr

Vendors

Number of Feeders (Sheet and Insert)

2-3

2-17

Customized for needs

Flats Inserting (9X12 or 10X13)

N/A

High end models

Optional

Meter Interface

N/A

Optional

Optional and inline

Catch Tray

Catch Tray or Conveyor

Conveyor

Exit Stacking Scanning Intelligence (OMR, Barcode)

N/A

Optional

Optional

Mail Run Data File Validation

N/A

Optional - High End

Optional

Print Envelope in line

N/A

N/A

Optional

2-3 FT of Counter

4-15FT (Vendor may provide tables)

12+ FT, typically in a L or U Configuration.

Casual user

Some training required.

Dedicated operator/s

Job Changes

Quick - Few buttons to press

Quick - Units have 10-20 preset jobs and can auto detect material.

Requires a dedicated operator and may take time to set up and test.

Price Range

$4-6,000

$10-100,000

>$150,000

Size Complexity

f. Do your material sizes meet the vendor requirements? – The majority of mail pieces run through these systems are standard size paper and envelopes, but they can work with different size materials. Have the vendor test your samples to make sure they run and are within the unit’s specifications.

This is imperative with the envelopes.

The flap, opening and design can have huge impact on how well the unit performs. Also, you typically need at least ½” of clearance (¼” on each side) between the document and the envelope, so when the machine opens the flap, the piece can slide in easily. The biggest offender of this is invitation style envelopes, which may be custom and do not typically meet standard specifications.

4. Location Requirements – Make sure that the physical requirements of the unit you select will work in your environment. Consider these items prior to ordering a unit: a. Will the unit fit in my space? – These systems can get large and you need to make sure your room can handle the unit. Add a few extra feet for space for loading and unloading paper and envelopes when operating. b. What will the unit sit on? – Smaller units are flexible, but medium and larger systems may require their own customized table. This is because they are heavy and need a good support system that will not sway when the unit is running. Also, these tables may be on casters so the unit can be wheeled back when serviced. Since these units are tall, make sure your table can be adjusted to the right height to making it workable for your staff. c. How much noise will it make? – These systems are running mail at thousands of pieces per hour and can get loud. I do not recommend putting them near a reception desk and you want to make sure that the location will not disturb nearby workers.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30 www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015

27

DEVELOPING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES IN A CONSTANTLY CHANGING MARKETPLACE

F

rom family-owned print and mail shops, to large service bureaus, to publicly traded companies with in-house mail operations — everyone in our industry is adapting to a changing environment. Increasing cost pressures, privacy issues, regulation, emerging technologies and evolving customer preferences create daily challenges for mail operations.

To succeed in today’s market, leading print and mail service providers are differentiating themselves by perfecting their strengths and adding new capabilities to diversify and grow revenue streams. They are harnessing technology and innovation and embracing the convergence of physical and digital communications to stay ahead of market changes, unlock new value for their customers, and develop new competitive advantages. They are becoming “world class.”

When we talk about what it takes to be a world-class mail operation, our conversations focus on execution and improving business strategies to deliver better services, with greater accuracy and precision, faster, and more efficiently. Subsequently, we have identified a number of industry best practices. I’ve organized some of these best practices into four capability

28

groupings that can provide the foundation for a world-class mail operation:  Operational Excellence;  Industry-Leading Compliance;  Higher-Value Communications; and  Omni-Channel Customer Engagement.

As you read on, please consider which groupings represent your “base capabilities,” or core competencies. Think about what you can do to strengthen your business in these areas and then consider which of the remaining groupings you may be able to develop into a new competitive advantage.

Let’s take them one at a time.

Operational Excellence Optimizing productivity and operational excellence To achieve operational excellence you must have an intense focus on productivity— speed, accuracy and precision; decreasing operational expenses while increasing quality and value for your customers. On top of that, you must meet or exceed your commitments to your customers every time.

Establishing an automated workflow and using real-time data to measure productivity are the first steps. Leveraging the insights from that data to reduce or eliminate non-pro-

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 | www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

By Jason Dies ductive downtime and deliver cost savings to your customers is where it pays off.

Postal optimization is also vital, as postage remains the single biggest cost associated with physical communications.

Streamline your print/insert/sort process to uncover postal savings.

To achieve Operational Excellence, consider these world-class best practices Aligned, end-to-end process that delivers customer value, empowers and engages your employees, eliminates waste, and manages postage to create a world-class cost structure  Seamless, efficient onboarding of customers and projects and a common workflow that optimizes job setup time  Variable data print, enabling the elimination of preprinted envelopes and forms and allowing for the consolidation of smaller jobs  Hardware, software and advanced presort services leveraged to reduce postal costs  Advanced factory management capabilities with multi-site operational transparency  Superior quote accuracy, enabling competitive bidding  Formalized business disaster and recovery planning

 Productivity improved with an assessment from an outside consultant Industry-Leading Compliance Appropriate risk management and industry-leading compliance Here is an area where the world has changed. Privacy and security issues paired with financial accounting reforms have led to increased regulations and compliance requirements. Mail operations that support regulated industries have an important role to play in helping clients stay compliant. In-house mail operations have no choice but to execute this function flawlessly. But while compliance is often viewed as a challenge to productivity and revenue, some mail service providers are beginning to see it as an opportunity.

By learning to manage this challenge accurately and efficiently, they can create a significant competitive advantage and new business opportunities.

Physical and digital technologies must be aligned to protect consumers and their personally identifiable information. Integrated solutions that streamline regulatory compliance can help. For example, clients benefit from the ability to track a mail piece from when the data record was created through printing, inserting and sorting and on into the postal system. This allows you to meet customer expectations and provides an audit trail.

To achieve Industry-leading Compliance, consider these world-class best practices Print stream and Mail Run Data File access protection; file-based processing Advanced output tracking and data integrity, including piece-level tracking, duplex integrity, and elimination of double-stuffs and errors Print verification ensuring barcode quality; final mail piece thickness verification Proper handling of outsorts, mutilations and rejects—automatic shred and reprint, “touch and toss” processing Mail piece chain of custody—traceability from creation through production and presort to postal service Data quality and enrichment, including address cleansing and matching to “do not send” databases Higher-Value Communications Expansion of offers and value propositions for higher-value communications

Making mail more personalized, colorful, interactive and engaging can drive higher response rates and deliver greater R.O.I. Colorful print mail can produce open rates that are significantly higher than email and new solutions are making the path to high-quality color printing more cost effective than ever before.

Monthly bills and statements can be a valuable marketing resource. Service providers and in-house shops that add relevant, revenue-generating cross-sell offers to statements often double response rates. And adding colorful, relevant information to the outside of the envelope can double open rates.

These innovations give transactional communications the potential to move from a cost-driver to a revenue-producer. By employing high-quality, dynamic color printing, you can add value to every mail piece that helps accelerate payments and improve cash flow. By working with your clients’ data centers, you can also add targeted cross-sell opportunities and messaging that increases customer engagement and helps reduce expensive call center volumes.

To deliver Higher-Value Communications, consider these world-class best practices Dynamic personalized messaging for email, video and standard mail communications Real-time document creation with input from multiple stakeholders Flexible production to assemble information personalized by recipient Advanced inkjet color with variable data printing for impactful communications that extend marketing reach Analytics to make communications more relevant Creative content and marketing capabilities Automated parcel sorting solutions, a logical extension of fulfillment capabilities Omni-Channel Thoughtful omni-channel customer engagement The pervasive use of mobile and social technology has created a new breed of extraordinarily empowered consumers.

With the explosion of channels and devices, consumer expectations for a seamless, engaging and relevant user experience across all channels has also grown.

Focusing on customers and how they are engaged throughout the customer journey is a strategic imperative. Customers today have more power to choose how

they interact with you. They may want their statements delivered through the mail, so they have a record of it. They may also want to pay bills via electronic funds transfer, to shop or search for information online, and to talk to a live customer service representative when they have a problem. And their preferences change on a regular basis.

To meet these expectations, successful enterprises are deploying integrated customer engagement, information management and location intelligence solutions that bridge the gap between digital and physical channels. Effective omni-channel interaction relies on the ability to create consistent customer engagement across all channels and at every touch point from the store front, to the mailbox, to the mobile phone.

This is where seamless physical and digital integration really matters. Anchoring mobile, web and video-based communications with an effective mail piece creates ever greater opportunities for customer engagement. Add a QR code that customers can swipe with a smartphone to download a coupon, for example. Or link to a personalized interactive video that uses real-time data to highlight an upsell opportunity.

To deliver Omni-channel Customer Engagement, consider these world-class best practices An incremental strategy that includes physical, digital, inbound and outbound Digital enrichment and engagement, including personal interactive video, e-presentment and payment Mobile integration, including QR codes and near field communications Advanced data services integrated into client systems: analytics, archive and retrieval These four capability groups and their associated best practices give you a sense of the tools and processes world-class mail operations are implementing to respond to changing consumer preferences and new market trends. The best of these companies are harnessing technology and innovation and embracing the convergence of physical and digital communications to create new competitive advantages for themselves and their customers. ¾ JASON DIES is president, Pitney Bowes Document Messaging Technologies. For more information visit www.pitneybowes.com

www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015

29

MAIL MADE EASY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27 5. System Complexity – Make sure the unit is simple for your staff to run or that the vendor provides detailed training with future resources made available as needed.

6. Vendor Support – Once these units are set up in your operation, they become depended on and disruptions in service can create huge internal bottlenecks.

I have a customer whose only job is 30,000 statements at the end of the month. If the machine goes down it can significantly impact their cash flow.

Make sure that you get references from other local customers from your supplier and inquire on the service response times and ongoing support history.

The newest trends with Folder Inserters: 1. Production features moving into the Tabletop space. Examples of this include barcode scanning, Mail Run Data File optimization, and exit scanning.

30

2. Touch screen user interfaces that are simpler for the operators and provide increased features.

3. Network connectivity to the inserter allowing diagnostics, software updates, and data exchanges to monitor activity remotely.

4. Web Services – The vendors are trying to increase the flexibility of their solutions and provide ways to do the following: a. Data Enhancement – This could be as simple as adding barcodes to your document to be to read on the inserter or redesigning the document to optimize print and postage. b. Routing Print – By manipulating the print file, software can send the documents to the inserter, to a different location closer to the final destination, to third party mail service providers or e-delivery. c. Data Storage – With the print file they can now store each final piece as a separate PDF that can be retrieved on premise or off. This could help reduce

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2015 | www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

items that need to be mailed or can work with your e-delivery objectives.

Hopefully this article was a helpful reference guide on what to look for with when selecting an inserting system. After working with thousands of customers, these are the main areas that made the difference and got them the system that was right for their needs. ¾

ADAM LEWENBERG, CMDSS, MDC, President of Postal Advocate Inc., runs the largest Mail Audit and Recovery firm in the United States and Canada. Their mission is to help organizations with large numbers of locations reduce mail related expenses, recover lost postage funds, and simplify visibility and oversight. Since 2013, they have helped their clients save an average of 52% and over $15 million on equipment, fees and lost postage. He can be reached at 617.372.6853 or adam.lewenberg@postaladvocate.com.

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