Mailing Systems Technology - February 2008 - (Page 24)

Poorly Running Envelopes Have a Financial Impact In many companies, the purchasing department controls what envelopes get used in the inserting operation. It is the nature of the job of a purchasing agent to focus on the price paid. Envelopes are viewed as a commodity and are understood by the purchasing depart- ment from their perspective of regular ofﬁce use. Few purchasing agents will have insight into the important differences that exist in a high-volume mail shop without getting some guidance and input from operations. The purchasing departments are good at making sure they order envelopes that meet the speciﬁcations they have been given for size or window placement, but may not be so aware of the importance of quality criteria that will impact productivity. To make matters worse, they may be making replenishment purchase decisions based on the best available price each time, resulting in sourcing the envelopes from multiple vendors. Using envelopes that vary in design, materials, quality or packaging is even worse than dealing with one envelope that is consistently causing problems. In the high-speed inserting world, envelope problems that increase jams can quickly erase any savings realized by a slight reduction in the price of the material. Besides the productivity lost while the operator is clearing jams, there is also the very high cost of reprinting and manually mailing damaged pieces. In consumer billing applications, where the highest percentage of customers pay their bills the day they receive them, a day or two delay caused by lower productivity or manual reprints can have an effect on cash ﬂow as well. If an operator starts having repeated problems after loading envelopes from a newly opened case, they toss the whole carton into the trash. What happens to the purchasing savings then? I’ve been in lots of shops where, if an operator starts having repeated problems after loading envelopes from a newly opened case, they toss the whole carton into the trash. It’s just not worth it to keep ﬁghting what is perceived as a “bad box.” What happens to the purchasing savings then? There are also costs that lack objective measurements but deﬁnitely impact productivity, such as the damage done to morale and motivation of employees. Inserter operators generally are more satisﬁed and productive 24 FEBRUARY 2008 | WWW.MAILINGSYSTEMSTECHNOLOGY.COM http://www.MailingSystemsTechnology.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Mailing Systems Technology - February 2008

Mailing Systems Technology - February 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Peer to Peer How to Green Your Mail Center Adopting an Automated Document Factory Warning! Avoid Negative Financial Impact More Productivity, Less Expense BCC Software Formscan A Smooth Transition Kate’s Slate Products & Services Advertiser Index Sho Time

Mailing Systems Technology - February 2008

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