Our print-2-mail hybrid mail solution services are providing much-needed support to businesses whose employees are working from home but still need to print and mail important customer letters and transactional documents.

Why now?

The coronavirus is forcing many to work from home.

The problem is how do businesses continue to maintain contact with their employees and customers?

Companies who choose our Print-2-Mail service do so because it significantly reduces their costs while optimising key staff who create critical business documents, uploading them on to the Print-2-Mail portal saving time and worry.

After the recession in 2008, companies were forced to look for cheaper mailing alternatives.

And although there was a big swing toward electronic communications, companies needed an alternative for mailing smaller volumes of letters.

Businesses continue to mail out letters.

The running costs of managing the process in-house makes it expensive. It is one of the first areas a company looks at when streamlining its printing requirements.

Automating the process of print and mailing offers companies the flexibility to send paper communications alongside digital.

Hybrid mail is ideal for emergency and ad hoc customer mailings including payslips, invoices, statements, remittances, newsletters and marketing.

Hybrid mail is the perfect back up solution for your everyday needs.

Businesses have greater flexibility to upload letters at any time of the day.

The current stay-at-home measures from the government afford access to our hybrid mail portal by key employees which mean businesses can continue to mail out important letters.

What are the 6 key benefits:-

1. No installation is required (you will need to download a print driver) A username, password and an internet connection are all that is required to upload documents directly from your desktop and you can be up and running in a matter of minutes.
2. With no setup charges or licensing fees, hybrid mail can save upwards of  30% on office print and mailing costs. Hybrid mail costs less than a 2nd class stamp and includes the paper, envelope, printing folding, inserting and posting
3. Ease of use – Hybrid mail is simple to use there are four easy steps create the documents in word and hybrid mail does the rest.
4. Hybrid mail is ideal for companies that have branches located across the country. Departments can access specific documents and templates which means there is complete control over what is sent out and by whom.
5. Documents that are uploaded by 4 pm on a working day are printed and mailed the same day this means you don’t have to panic about that forgotten mailing. Hybrid mail does the rest.
6. Hybrid mail allows you to store any number of document templates, you also benefit from postcode validation, user and department spending caps, custom signatures and document archiving for future reference.

The important thing to consider with hybrid mail is that no matter the size of the organisation or how many documents you send out a day you WILL benefit from our hybrid mail solution.

Hybrid mail is a 21st-century mailing solution designed to take care of those ad hoc letters – whether it is an accountancy business, a firm of solicitors, a dental practice, a fitness company or an organisation that sends most information electronically but still has residual letters and bills to send out, hybrid mail is a cost-effective alternative to printing in-house.

For more information click here

Contact us here

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I’ve always been an advocate of outsourcing no matter how small or large the project, some processes automatically lend themselves to outsourcing, and in my humble opinion debt collection and the ancillary processes fall right into the outsource category.

This will be dictated by the structure and size of your organisation and if it is viable to outsource.

Most businesses are familiar with the cliché cash is king and the only way to ensure that cash flow remains buoyant is to have an effective credit control strategy.

Ensuring that cash flow is high whilst keeping debtor days low is the unenviable task of many companies.

Whilst there is an argument to consider outsourcing the complete process aka department, I’m going to focus on one task that is generally performed daily or weekly and that is the generation and distribution of debt collection letters.

The increasing amounts of debt passed for collection mean debt collection teams and outsource recovery companies need to maximise efficacy when collecting and dealing with delinquent payments.

The case for a document management solution

Document management systems can improve the collection lifecycle from capturing incoming information to speeding up cash collection.

How does a document management system speed up debt recovery?

• Avoiding lost or missing documents by capturing, indexing, and filing electronically ensures they are held in a secure digital cabinet for access by the collection team. Retrieval is quick and documents can be viewed on-screen, which can then be faxed, printed, emailed, or printed and posted.
• Cheques and remittances can be processed quickly. Remittance advice notes received from customers paying by BACS can be scanned and entered into the business workflow. Capturing large volumes of cheques and remittance slips decrease the need to handle paper, speeds up processing, and cash collection.
• Prompt query handling – having a document management system that integrates with your CRM and accounting systems helps with query management. Viewing customer details, contracts, debt chasing letters, and statements in one-place speeds up the query management process.
• Centralisation of electronic documents in a digital file cabinet gives access to debtor case files, letters, legal notices, telephone conversation transcripts, and emails by the credit-control or debt management team.
• Reduce filing and improve compliance – many credit control teams still print two copies of client correspondence posting one and filing the other for record-keeping. Invoices, for example, need to be kept for seven years but an integrated document management system means that all documents can be retained in an electronic format whilst still complying and providing easy retrieval and following audit requirements.

The case for a hybrid mail solution

Where the electronic delivery option of debtor letters is not convenient or suitable and debt collection specialists or in-house teams want to contact debtors via letter correspondence a hybrid mail solution is a very cost-effective alternative to standard print and mail.

For debt collection companies that manage various customer data files containing collection letters, hybrid mail is a low-cost print and mail solution for high and low volume generation.

Letters are uploaded to a secure portal printed and despatched, saving postage, processing, and mailing costs.

In-house credit control teams can upload customer data on a daily basis incorporating different letter templates, inserts, and any other customer letter requirement.

The benefits

• Upload letters from your computer, laptop, smartphone, choose print options, inserts, and backgrounds
• Secure Https portal login easy to set up
• No restriction on the number of users
• No minimum letter upload
• Templates digitally archived for future use
• Cost-effective for short runs or where letters are needed to be posted out
• Send statements with your dispute procedure
• Send copy invoices

If you would like more information or you need a call then click here

The post How to automate your credit control with hybrid mail appeared first on Digital Print Management.

Any employee communication letter can be mailed using print-2-mail

Payroll departments are often besieged with paperwork managing and processing a variety of different employee document streams.

Auto-enrolment forms continue to be a headache for companies along with absence reporting documentation all of which can be manual intensive tasks. But there is a way of mailing out these documents at the fraction of the cost of a 2nd class postage stamp.

How do payroll departments manage to communicate the various bits of information that need to be sent to the employee?

Payslips are a great way of communicating important information to your employees but there are often limitations on space and the amount of detail that can be printed on your payslips.

Emailing information can be time consuming but what if employees don’t read it or the email is misplaced?

Then there is the need to update your employee database with new starters and leavers?

Having a cost effective hybrid mail solution that enables your payroll department to mail out employee communication letters at the touch of a button, without moving from your desk and cheaper than a 2nd class stamp including stationery, envelope, printing and mailing will save the department’s resources in time and money.

How does a hybrid mail solution work?

We are often asked ‘can we just mail out 25 pension statements, a few hundred employee communication letters and what about absence reporting documentation?’ 

The answer is very definitely YES, you can!

Using a hybrid mail solution an organisation is guaranteed to save money on postage, printing and processing.

Hybrid mail is a combination of printing and posting as a bundled service and by combining small mailings for many customers and by optimising DSA (Downstream Access ) pricing is guaranteed to save payroll departments time and money by cutting down on the mundane administrative tasks.

What can I use hybrid mail for?

Any payroll related employee interfacing document as mentioned above.

Variable pages and variable numbers of pages, single sided and double-sided pages, colour documents, any document you need to print and mail out.

There’s no limit to the number of pages so any communication letter that needs to go to employees can be done so with print-2-mail

How secure is it?

The process is very secure and documents are uploaded using an encrypted HTTPS connection (the same standard used for online banking). All your documents are printed in an APACS approved, ISO27001 security production facility.

How can hybrid mail work for your payroll department?

Aside of the obvious cost savings on processing, printing, fulfilment and postage there are the invisible cost savings of energy, equipment, stationery and consumables.

You can send out from 1 to 1,000’s of letters daily, monthly or when you need to. There are no minimum volumes or minimum usage if you choose to use it for a month and then decide not to continue with the service there is no penalty for doing so!

By using your web browser you can access the print-2-mail web portal by clicking here  fill in your name and email address,  go to ‘branch’ and select “demo” and you will be emailed with your login details.

There’s no software to install and you can use it on a PC or Mac.

By downloading the print driver you don’t even need to create PDF’s. Selecting the print driver launches the application, uploads your documents and converts them to PDF’s.

That’s it, couldn’t be simpler or easier to use.

To read more about how print-2-mail can help your payroll department click here

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The post How to optimise a hybrid mail solution to mail out information to your employees? appeared first on Digital Print Management.

How quickly we seem to slip from one year to the next.

A time to be melancholic or a time to be reflective?

Looking back on this time last year and my final blog for 2012, I can recall putting it together and what I was thinking at the time.

Shame that the short-term memory isn’t quite as good as the long term one!

Philosophical yes.

The economy is shifting marginally and there is some optimism but we still have some way to go.

Irrespective of how good or bad the year has been it’s always a good thing to look forward with optimism.

It’s a time to plan. I don’t do new year’s resolutions I think they are waste of time I prefer setting some goals broken down into personal – family and health goals, business and company goals, family and friends and finally house goals – what I want to get sorted in the house for 2013.

That way I can attribute dates with a realistic time line and do my best to achieve them.

For my final blog, the best of 2013 I wanted to continue the theme I started at the end of 2012 with a summary of the various articles written throughout 2013.

This year’s articles have been focussed on helping companies get the best from outsourcing whether it is print and mailing services , hybrid mail solutions, cheque printing and payroll processing and printing.

In May, I introduced you to 3D printing, used extensively in motor manufacturing and F1 Motor Racing R & D, it has some way to go before it becomes mainstream.

It will become increasingly useful to organisations over the next 3-5 years. The difficulty for organisations will be understanding how and what applications 3D printing can be used for.

The benefits will be unprecedented. Being able to print 1 of anything or a prototype of a new product, think direct mail applications, mailings to your customers demonstrating a new product.

Remember when digital print first hit the mainstream? Then apply the same thought process to 3D printing!

Cross media marketing what is it and where does it fit in with social media and print?

The growing phenomenon of cross media marketing personalisation is having a positive impact on print. It has been mainstream for some 2-3 years but companies are uncertain how to implement it alongside a marketing plan.

Paper is becoming the first touch point of engagement with the customer before taking them on to a digital or social platform.

Marketing personalisation and social media will become increasingly important to a companies’ marketing and strategic planning process when it comes to personalised engagement with it’s targeted audience.

If you click on the link you can read why it will be important to you:

What is marketing personalisation & what does it have to do with social media?

Mailing out a direct mail piece to your customers with no thought or personalisation will be ineffective in seeking customer engagement.

The cross media marketing mix has to be strategic, personalised on a level the audience can relate to and be part of your social media activity. If you hit the button below I discuss it in more detail:

Please click here to read more

I’ve extolled the virtues of multi-channel distribution – using both paper and electronic means of delivering an item to your customer.

The paperless office?

I think we still have some way to go to get there and I cannot be an advocate of a paperless office, paper has an intrinsic value in our everyday lives and you can read my opinion here:

Why print has longevity

It is foolhardy to perpetuate the myth that electronic delivery methods save organisations time and money – it does not.

The important thing is to develop and understand the reasons for moving to electronic means of delivering messages to your customers.

A well thought out plan and strategy will see that paper and electronic are essential to maintaining good relations with your customers.

You can read why here:

Print, digital and the cross media marketing mix

If there is one thing I try to convey to customers and readers alike is to make sure you research and evaluate suppliers.

Your relationship should be a marriage and not a relationship based on convenience.

Adopting a “get the cheapest supplier” attitude is doomed to failure so why bother with the headache.

This article sums it up:

Top tips for choosing the right print supplier

So that’s it. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the best of the rest.

Thank you for visiting Digital Print Management’s blog and for reading and sharing the content through Linkedin, twitter, facebook and Google+, for taking the time to add your comments.

I hope that 2014 will be a successful year and may you continue to prosper financially and spiritually.

My final note for the year:

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” Winston Churchill

A good mantra to adopt for 2014, don’t you think?

Happy New Year.

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The post The best of 2013. How to outsource all in one place appeared first on Digital Print Management.

Managing and understanding your document flow will imrpove business processes

Every organisation public or private, education or charity faces the ever growing challenges of how to manage the printing and document processes in their work place.

Documents inflow or outflow, hard copy or electronic are the life blood of many organisations.

You only have to walk through office buildings to see the extent of document use its related workflow and how they are the embodiment of our everyday lives.

A document that’s been printed, a glossy brochure presented to a customer, even a business card, the document remains the formal method of business communication between employees, teams and customers.

Without any of this information the continuity of your business would cease to function.

Therefore the value of adding control to the print flow is paramount in ensuring continuity of your business.

Any business document outsourcing strategy needs to be well thought out.

Some questions to consider:-

1. How are your business processes affected by information and document management?

A document process forms a business process. By understanding the life cycle of a document for example, how does it enter the building via fax, email or mail then moves into the workflow of the business, is then processed and finally archived or sent back to suppliers or customers.

2. Where do you want your company or organisation to be in the next 3-5 years?

Do you want to improve core business processes?

Streamline and improve supplier payments (AP and AR) have a specific targeted marketing campaign, improve customer services?

If the answer is yes then you will need to prioritise your business documents.

Outsourcing business documents – improve business efficiency

Invoice processing and billing is a key fundamental business process, without your invoices going out on time money wont be collected, suppliers will chase payment before the company has been paid, your business starts to falter.

Does marketing have the relevant collateral – corporate print, brochures, letter headings does it tell the same story or are there too many different documents with incorrect colours all relating a different story.

Are the corporate colours reflected across the company website?

These are primary examples of the importance of managing your business documents but you will need to engage on a deeper level to understand your document processes and how they move through the business process.

Print outsourcing business documents whether its customer sales letters, invoices, statements, remittances or marketing collateral can transform a paper laden business.

How?

Outsourcing business documents provides continuity and consistency of quality across the departments within your company because it increases customer retention, improves productivity and reduces operating costs by allowing your people to focus on your core business.

Outsourcing adds a greater range of services that you wouldn’t have had previously because the supplier providing the printing and mailing service can offer advice on how best to deliver content and maximise the use of white space.

Making the case for outsourcing some or all of these documents couldn’t be easier here’s why?

1. Improved cash flow – seasonal fluctuations, staff absences,  I.T. failures can all impact your invoice printing which impacts your cash flow
2. Improved customer service – communicating with your customers regularly with content that is correct has never been more important. Making sure the documents they receive are accurate relevant and on time increases the longevity of retaining your customer
3. Reducing paper wastage a contentious issue for many businesses but by outsourcing critical business documents and using mail merge facilities and document verification on all mailings ensures that documents are consolidated into one envelope
4. Reduce cost by improving competitiveness of the organisation through more efficient I.T and business systems, specialist knowledge, streamlining business processes resulting in your staff  engaged in core business activities rather than mundane document generation which is easy to outsource.

Outsourcing printed business documents can incorporate multi-channel distribution of all your documents some of which can be printed and mailed, the rest electronically sent to the recipient. To learn more about how this could work for you click here.

If you print personalised transactional business documents – invoices, statements, reminders, appointment letters then talk to us about print outsourcing. You can print all of the above and more using our print-2-mail service click here for more details without leaving your desk, its easy.

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The post Print outsourcing business documents appeared first on Digital Print Management.

How British Companies survive and make it to the holy land metaphorically speaking remains to be determined but there are still a number of cost saving initiatives companies should consider as a means of saving money and reducing debtor days.

Outsourcing your cash collection process can add a vital component to a company’s armoury particularly where the SME is concerned.

How can this work for an organisation struggling to manage and chase their debtors?

Case Study

DCA provide credit management and debt recovery services for many companies that outsource their debt collection requirements.

The service includes outward bound and inward bound calls from a call centre acting on behalf of its clients supported by the printing, mailing and electronic delivery of personalised collection letters to debtors.

The DCA’s growth has resulted in a rapid expansion of their operations to provide services to Companies across the UK, ROI and Europe. The task of producing personalised letters for the companies they represent became too time consuming, cost prohibitive and less efficient in-house.

Efficiency was critical to the speed at which they collect outstanding debt and to maintain the printing of letters in-house would have involved capital purchases of larger printers, employee time and additional I.T resources.

The service the DCA required was a daily production, personalisation, fulfilment and mailing of anywhere between 500 to 12,000 letters.

Working closely with the DCA, Digital Print Management provided three solutions that embraced both printed and electronic letters to be personalised and mailed.

The Print and Mail Solution

Data is sent daily and contains identifiers to determine which files are required to be printed and mailed out and those that are to be electronically emailed. Flags within their data identifies the letter templates to be used, stationery types, envelopes and inserts that are required.

The DCA’s requirements include the use of five different base stock types – letterheads, bank giro credits and envelopes, BRE’s (Business Reply Envelopes) and up to 100 different letter content templates.

Printing is undertaken using high speed laser printers and identification of multiple page documents is done via the use of OMR marks that are printed enabling inserting machines to ensure the correct documents are presented in the right order within the envelopes.

The Electronic Solution

Electronic credit and collections provides an efficient and cost effective alternative to the more traditional collection processes involved in collecting delinquent payments.

Collections are challenging for AR departments and when debts move into the collection process incur additional expenses such as print, postage, payment negotiation and higher interest fees due to days sales outstanding. (DSO)

Electronic notices emailed into customer inboxes reach customers quickly enabling them to pay by clicking on a link that takes them to a payment page without the need to visit a web site.

The benefits of electronic delivery include:-

• Costs are reduced because it is an efficient way of reaching delinquent customers
• Shortens the payment cycle by reducing the number of customers falling into the credit and collection cycle by sending automatic reminders
• Improved cash flow

Using Digital Print Management’s Print-2-Mail desktop service fulfils this need as data files containing collection letters for the various companies they manage are uploaded daily, printed and despatched, saving postage, processing and mailing costs. In turn they are then able to pass on these savings to their clients. 

The unique business relationship that exists between the DCA and Digital Print Management means that the only in-house requirement is to ensure that data is generated daily and in a timely manner to ensure there are no delays.

There has been significant savings on postage, stationery, staff resources and no further capital investment on additional equipment.

Staff who were previously involved in the debt collection process have now been re-deployed into the business to focus on core competencies allowing Digital Print Management to handle the task of distribution of their debt collection letters.

 If you want to find out how you can transform your debt collection mailings but not sure where to start then leave your details here and one of advisors will call you back.

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The post How to save time and money outsourcing your debt collection letters appeared first on Digital Print Management.

We are often asked can we just mail out 300 invoices or 300 of anything come to thing of it?

The answer is very definitely YES, you can!

Sometimes the volume might be more or less but by using a hybrid mail solution an SME is guaranteed to save money on postage, printing and processing.

Hybrid mail is a combination of printing and posting as a bundled service and we can combine small mailings for many customers and use DSA (Downstream Access ) pricing which saves you time and money on postage.

How?

Easy.

Using your web browser you can access our print-2-mail web portal and we provide you with a user name and password. There’s no software to install and you can use a PC or Mac.

If you have a document you want to print and send out, print-2-mail does the rest. The document needs to be converted to a PDF first.

By downloading the print driver you don’t even need to create PDF’s. Selecting the print driver launches the application, uploads your documents and converts them to PDF’s.

The print driver is easy to download as the interface provides a “print driver download”

What can I use hybrid mail for?

Pretty much any document you need to print and mail out.

You can print virtually any type of A4 document, single or double-sided, colour or black on white only. There’s no limit to the number of pages so reports, dissertations even and customer letters are fine.

You can load variable length documents so invoices and statements are no problem. You simply create the document before you load them to the system.

 What do I need?

An internet connection and the most up to date web browser – Internet Explorer 8 for Windows XP or 9 for Windows Vista or Windows 7, Mozilla Firefox 12 or Google Chrome.

When the application opens you have the option to print single and multiple page letters, in black or colour with the option of uploading your company logos.

Simply add your logo to the document as an image and we can print it along with the letter.

The wizard (there are seven steps) has been set up so you can walk through it and process your document quickly and efficiently.

The mailing wizard takes care of incomplete addresses by providing suggestions and it tidies your addresses as well. This is done using the Royal Mail’s PAF database (Postcode Authentication Finder) On completion of the address validation the wizard can create an accurate address file that can be downloaded as a PDF so you can make sure your customer addresses are accurate and complete.

How quickly will my mailing be posted out?

You have two options ‘Same Day” and “Next Day”. For same day all orders placed by 4PM are printed and mailed the same day. For next day, any orders placed up to midnight day 1 are printed and mailed out the next day. 

How secure is it?

The system is very secure and documents are uploaded using an encrypted HTTPS connection (the same standard used for on line banking). All your documents are printed in an APACS approved, ISO27001 security print factory.

How much does it cost?

Until you’ve completed the wizard and finalised your print options, the summary page will summarise the total cost of your mailing at the end of the process so before you print you will know exactly what you will pay. Suffice to say it will be less than the cost of a 2nd class stamp and it includes, the paper, printing, folding, inserting and mailing out!

There is no contractual obligation so if you choose to use it only once then that’s up to you. But we are so confident that you’ll love it that you will wonder why how you managed before.

Now for the really good news…

Apart from calling us initially for a demo that’ll be the last time you’ll need to talk to us so that really is good news!

Which means that you can just get on and print and mail whenever you need to you’ll have control over what you print, when and where you post out.

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The post How to mail out your letters on a budget using a hybrid mail solution? appeared first on Digital Print Management.

With the privatisation of the Royal Mail in October and the volume of letters delivered over the past five years in decline by 25% and expected to keep going down between 7-8% year on year postal services are on the decline.

The use of electronic methods of communication are on the increase and letter volumes are spiralling downward.

By 2015 it is estimated that the Royal Mail will have lost 40% of its business. (Hooper Report)

Postal trays are empty and the bulk of mail is carried by email servers.

What does the future hold for companies that still have a need to post out obligatory letters and forms or a few letters they might want to send out each week or month?

Although paper usage is declining paper isn’t going anywhere.

Whilst I have one foot firmly in the paper and the other in the paperless/electronic camp the fact is paper remains a recyclable, renewable and reusable substrate.

Recognised as the 7th largest industry in the UK, print provides a positive and meaningful purpose and retains a notable place in our business and domestic lives.

If you want to be able to continue to mail out customer letters there has to be a more cost effective viable mailing alternative!

Hybrid mail solutions

Are a unique online mail management solution for all your letter printing and mailing requirements.

How does it work?

When you generate a letter in-house you need five things, a PC, a printer, an envelope, paper and a way of posting out your letters i.e. a stamp or by franking the envelope.

Hybrid mail takes away the hassle of the above as the only two elements needed are a PC and internet access.

The envelope, paper, printing equipment and the distribution are managed at a secure remote location and the process is completed for less than the cost of a second class stamp depending on whether you are printing in colour or single/double sided print.

It’s like having your own print and mailing services company a click away and it can manage any letter an organisation sends out from an insurance renewal policy, customer marketing letters, post cards in fact any customer interfacing document you regularly send out to your customers.

Hybrid mail will save time, reduce postal costs and minimise your carbon footprint.

How does the mailing solution work?

Hybrid mail services allows you to enter your mailing requirements via a website.

It is an online interface enabling you to upload letter files using pre-determined templates. You can upload your document in word format (.doc, .pdf, .rtf) personalise it by adding logos and key marketing messages, change the layout, proof each step of the way and then the rest is done by the hybrid mail provider.

By taking word documents or PDF’s a mail merge is performed using your uploaded data and letter they are then printed and posted for less than the cost of a stamp.

With no contract or minimum order restrictions this makes the perfect mailing solution for small to large companies.

Hybrid mail offers a great way to reduce your in-house print and mailing costs because right from the press of a button you will know exactly what the mailing will cost. There are no extra costs and no hidden extras.

Is it eco-friendly?

Yes. Using large volume printers which are more efficient and using paper bought from sustainable sources means save money because it reduces paper, printer and toner cartridge usage.

Businesses can expect to make impressive savings with no upfront costs required.

A PC or laptop, a file of names and addresses and the letter or letters you wish to send are all that is required to be up and running!

It couldn’t be simpler!

Our print-2-mail service is easy to use and free to set up. Call us for a demonstration

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The post Hybrid mail solutions. How to mail out your letters on a budget! appeared first on Digital Print Management.

Print-2-Mail solution straight from your desktop to doormat.

Even if you’re sending electronic PDFs via push or pull I guarantee you still have customers that either prefers a paper document or you send out statements?

Either way, it takes time to process, print and those few documents.

Do you have a multi-channel mechanism for example you post and email documents?

Do you have staff using their valuable time checking and reconciling matching documents and then manually inserting them into envelopes?

Do you have too few days at the end of your month?

If the answer is yes to some or all of the above then opting for a print mail service will help streamline some if not all of the above processes.

Optimising a managed print mail service will save staff time and yield big cost savings through automation.

Organisations that use multi-channel distribution which is a combination of mailing letters and emailing for will save money by outsourcing the mailing element.

Here’s a list of 10 reasons why you should use a print and mailing service to mail out those customer letters, invoices and remittances. 

If you use multi-channel distribution for your documents then a print mail services company can reduce the cost of the documents you need to post out.

Why would I want to outsource my letters to an external supplier?

1/ Companies that regularly process documents ready for mailing will gain from outsourcing some if not all of the components that make up the process flow.

Working with a print mail services partner gives the company access to state of the art electronic design, printing, document management technologies and cloud-based computing. This means that you save money by not investing in the same technology. This saves an organisation time and money.

2/ Working with a reputable print and mailing company gives you access to their expertise. By maximising the advantages of document management, electronic despatch and print of transactional documents.

What are the advantages?

You get the flexibility to post out the letters you don’t want to process in-house.

3/  By accessing your paper trail you can evaluate what letters are being generated for who and why. This helps you rationalise what’s being printed. Are so many necessary? Do they convey the company branding effectively and do they communicate clearly and unambiguously?

It’s no good having a great-looking invoice if the customer can’t see what they owe and how to pay.

4/ Speed – one of the main factors affecting the mailing of your documents is speed. If you auto print overnight it saves time but what if it takes three days to collate the letters and mail them and another two days before they arrive on your customers’ doormat?

Mailing facilities by definition have faster production/automation, printing and despatch technology, the process is completely mechanised from receipt of the file to mailing out.

We never have problems printing in-house!

Great, but what happens when you’re ready to hit the print button and discover there’s a problem with the invoice file?

For a print and mailing company, it’s easy, you make the changes online and your documents will meet the mailing deadline.

5/ Sophisticated design technology means that documents can be variable and highly personalised.

Why would I want to personalise my invoice or statement?

Your documents usually have a name, address and department or destination for the intended document and so it is already personalised. A print and mailing company designs your documents with personalisation at the forefront.

You might give some of your customers’ specific discounts or you want to promote a new price on a product or range. Adding a marketing message to the invoice is a great way to promote more of what you do. 

If there’s white space use it and promote it.

The post Print and mailing services. 10 tips to speed up your paper flow. appeared first on Digital Print Management.

If you still mail out letters and bills there are some options that will save time and money

Businesses rely heavily on the Royal Mail in spite of the internet and the availability of sending documents electronically.

The UK Royal Mail increased their charges from April 2013 and businesses who use a multi-distribution method for delivery of their customer letters such as post and electronic delivery will no doubt have felt the impact of the postage costs on their bottom-line.

Despite the increase and depending on what volumes you mail out in a month there are 3 ways that can help you reduce the expenditure.

Using a print and mailing service provider offers a number of tangible benefits that will save you time and money. You can read more about how the service works here.

Use DSA (downstream access)

DSA is the term used to describe mail which has been collected and distributed by a competitor of the Royal Mail but is delivered into the Royal Mail centres for final processing in to local offices.

The cost savings per envelope depending on weight can be substantial and savings can be up to 13p per envelope using 2nd class mail. (Price will vary subject to weight)

Good Database Management

By ensuring that your data is current and reliable removes the issue of duplication.

Many companies over look the importance of recording their customers address and contact details and this results in duplicated addresses and most likely duplicated invoices arriving on the customers door step.

Maintaing your billing database (clicking on the link here will explain why data cleansing is important for your business) on a regular basis shows best practice and will save time and money and it doesn’t have to be a costly exercise.

A print and mailing service provider can check for errors and duplications using de-duping software.

Address Inaccuracies

Sending invoices or statements to an incorrect address or defunct address can be costly!

Not only does the invoice go unpaid but the invoice then has to be re-printed and mailed out again effectively doubling your postage charge and increasing the processing and print time.

Incomplete addresses result in items being undelivered unless there is a return address on the envelope which will ensure the item is forwarded to the originator of the envelope.

But incorrectly or incomplete addresses means that the invoices have to be painstakingly checked and re-issued correctly. This takes up valuable company resources and slows cash collection too.

If you are faced with the challenge of getting your documents out on time there is an alternative solution called hybrid mail. If you click here you can find out more about what the service can do to speed up the mailing out process.

If you call Digital Print Management on 01234-271156 and ask for Caroline or drop us your email address here one of expert advisors will talk it through with you. What best suits your needs when it comes to mailing out your documents.

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