Trends in Print and Mail

When I started working in the mailing industry over 30 years ago, postage amounts were set by turning small dials on a meter. The latest model copiers included two paper trays, instead of the standard single tray. Word processors produced output using a daisy-wheel printer. Fax machines, cell phones and personal computers were unknown to the general public.

Back then, it was easy to make technology purchasing decisions. There were few choices, and many of the products were so expensive, few companies could afford to make the change. It was difficult to make a business case for changing. Why would an attorney ever want to edit something with a keyboard and a screen, when they could mark up paper copies with a pen, and then have their secretary retype the document?

It may feel good to have a laugh at our attitudes in the early1980’s, but none of us know what awaits us in 2046. In fact, few of us know what new technologies will hit the market in 2017. With so many unknowns, it’s important to build a sound technology investment strategy. That strategy should consider:

Recently, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) filed a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to establish the 2017 Promotional Program. The first of the 2017 promotions will begin Jan. 1, 2017. There are six (6) proposed promotions:

I was talking with the president of a company that provides statement processing for the healthcare industry. He’s put production controls in place, including barcodes, scanners and internal audits, to ensure the integrity of every mailpiece. Taking it a step further, he’s hired external consultants to review his entire process.

The process he’s established means a higher cost-per-piece than some of his competitors. The external review will be expensive. But, in his words, “very necessary to ensure patient confidentiality.”

Substitute the word “patient” with “customer”, and his words can be applied to everyone who processes mail. It doesn’t matter if you work for an insurance company, bank, school, the government, or any type of firm; you should be installing controls to make sure your system provides the highest level of integrity. The correct piece, with the correct address, goes into the correct envelope, with the correct postage, at the correct time.

The products to improve the integrity of the mailing process have been available for several years. Used with barcodes, scanners can track every piece as they move through the process. Cameras can be added to equipment to check for print quality, logos and keylines. Software products allow you to monitor what is happening on the shop floor in real time.

Audit controls add expenses to your bottom line. Scanners, cameras and software mean spending more money to run your operation. In an industry where people focus on “cost-per-piece”, is it worth it?

I toured a laboratory that produces eyeglasses. The senior vice president of manufacturing walked me through the entire process – from receiving the order through the shipping department. The process included:

“Perfection is in the details” – Leonardo daVinci

Perfection may be unattainable, yet perfection must be the goal we all strive for in our operations. Not 99% accuracy, or even 99.99966% accuracy (Six Sigma’s goal), but 100% accuracy.

Setting unreachable goals isn’t an exercise in futility. It’s a proven method for raising performance to a new level of excellence. Becoming a fanatic about details will help you achieve more.

To effectively use a detail-oriented approach in management, a manager must take on the role of a leader who:

“We’re not selling a product, but a process.” These words say a lot about the changes impacting the print/mail industry.

I first heard this comment in 2001 – 15 years ago – at an Xplor Northeast Region meeting in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The speaker was Roger Gimbel. At the time, Roger was the president of Xerographic Reproduction Center Inc. (XRC), one of six divisions that comprise the 500-employee parent company, Global Document Solutions. XRC was the largest on-demand printer in Manhattan. But as Roger explained, output isn’t the most important part of his business; process is. His company’s expertise extended beyond print to systems integration.

After hearing Roger’s talk I published this paragraph in a newsletter the following month:

In the mid-1990s, I was working at a financial services company. One of my internal customers was a department responsible for producing fund pricing reports. The company’s system would receive information from the stock exchange mainframe computer at the end of the trading day. Using the stock prices, the company could calculate the values of all the managed funds.

During most of our customer engagements, we usually hear variants of the same question:

“What's measured improves” - Peter F. Drucker

Well documented policies. Quality control procedures based on lean manufacturing and Six Sigma. Job information files that track piece-level information throughout the print and finishing processes. Full-service intelligent mail to trace pieces as they move through the US Postal Service.

All attributes of a high-performing operation.

All useless without a high-performing staff to execute.

Following best practices for maintaining and updating mailing addresses seems to be a logical aspect of good business management. However, when we recommend process improvements to clients that will improve their address databases, we’re often faced with pushback. The most common reasons:

A new Postmaster General. The long-awaited Appeals Court ruling on the Exigent Rate Case. Another rate increase. And more inaction by Congress on President Obama’s nominees to the US Postal Service’s (“USPS”) Board of Governors.

These are just a few of the subjects that dominated the mailing industry in 2015, and were covered by our blog – Trends in Print and Mail. Articles about the US Postal Service and rate changes generated the most interest. The readers’ comments on our website and in the LinkedIn groups helped add to the conversation.

2016 looks to be another interesting year. It’s likely that First Class Mail rates will actually decrease this spring. A comprehensive postal reform bill has started to gain interest – in Congress and the national media. With presidential elections taking place, and absentee voting by mail increasing, the USPS will be under close scrutiny. We’ll be sharing our insights and opinions as these events unfold.

In case you missed them, here are the 10 most read posts from 2015:

Senate Causes Crisis for US Postal Service: A Call to Action
The citizens of this country deserve to have a full Board of Governors for the USPS. (Note: This blog generated almost 10 times the number of views as an average post.)

Preparing for the First USPS Rate Change of 2015
Here are 5 steps every mail operations manager can take now to prepare for the first USPS rate change (Competitive Products) of 2015.

Court Ruling Impacts Future Postage Rates
The United States Court of Appeals’ decision supports the Postal Regulatory Commission’s approval of a temporary exigent rate case, while dismissing calculations of the financial losses of the USPS.

2015 Postage Rate Case Update
There have been several events that will impact mailers as the US Postal Service implements the first postage rate case of 2015.

Impact of the US Postal Service New Standards
Mailers need to prepare for the new, slower USPS delivery standards.

Effective Address Management Part 7: Processing Return Mail
Mailpieces that are returned to your company add no value to the relationship with your customers.

Postal Regulatory Commission Ruling on the Exigent Rate Case In English
The PRC orders that the exigent postage rate increase will remain in effect until the USPS recovers an additional $1.91 billion.

Twenty Questions To Ask When Purchasing Equipment
In addition to legal questions and pricing information, here are 20 questions you should ask when purchasing equipment.

The Mismeasure of Mail
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." - attributed to Benjamin Disraeli. Focusing on Single Piece First Class Mail is a distraction from the real issues facing the USPS.

It’s Process, Not Product
Leverage the new tools available to you, and take your first steps to achieve Total Process Management.