Parcel - April 2008 - (Page 13)

safety programs and the distribution of educational materials. They sell old license plates through their website at amchildsafety.org to raise money to purchase bicycle helmets, knee pads and child carriers. These free safety items are then distributed through “Community Safety” events throughout the country. “Trying to compete against larger charities like the Red Cross and the Elks for donations isn’t easy,” Jones says. “We all offer good services to people in need, but in donations, name recognition is everything.” It sounded like a great idea, raising money by recycling old license plates, but ACSN needed a solution on how to collect the old plates from the license offices and to ship out their helmets and car seats to police and fire departments across the country. Jones turned to the Postal Service for help. “When we heard about ACSN and their work to keep kids safe, we wanted to help out,” explains Gary Reblin, Vice President of the Postal Service’s Expedited Mail group. “The Postal Service is dedicated to being the leader in eco-friendly shipping. So what better company to create customized packaging for than one involved in recycling and protecting kids?” Jones knew a good deal when he saw one. He uses Priority Mail for everything. The new customized Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes are the perfect size to hold around 20 pounds of license plates. ACSN only needs to place their pre-printed boxes at the county license offices with a Merchandise Return Service label attached, and the licensing offices mail them to him when they’re full. “The process is much easier now,” says Jones. “We use Priority Mail for fulfillment, too. The Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelopes work perfectly for sending out license plates sold on our website, and now that we can use the same packaging for international orders, the whole process is even easier. I save approximately $130 to $150 per piece since I began shipping my international orders through the Postal Service.” “It means a lot that the Postal Service’s free packaging received the cradle-to-cradle certification,” Jones shares. “Our business is all about recycling, and knowing the Postal Service cared enough about the environment to create eco-friendly packaging really sealed the deal. “We love all the Postal Service’s flat-rate products. We use the Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelopes to send out the license plates to those who purchase them on our website and the Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes to receive the license plates from the licensing offices and to send out the bicycle helmets. Now, with the new Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box, we’ve been able to increase our savings while sending out even more safety products in just one box, and we’ve opened up a new market shipping to APO/FPO destinations and save on the postage even more.” www.PARCELindustry.com Priority Mail gets the orders to customers quickly, and using Merchandise Return Service enables ACSN to pay for postage through a corporate account. The ﬂat-rate products let them know up front how much each shipment will cost. “Getting the boxes for free was also a large beneﬁt,” comments Jones. “The ﬂat-rate boxes really save us money and make our accounting easier, giving us more time and money for our projects.” Jones says the packaging co-branding was a big help in increasing the group’s visibility. Having Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes co-branded with the group’s logo allowed them to get their name in front of the authorities in charge of the license plates. The more their logo was noticed, the more other ofﬁces wanted to be a part of the program. That co-branding effort delivered results: American Family Children’s Network is now the authorized collection point for expired license plates for 13 states, and it receives monetary donations from around the country. “The boxes really helped us get noticed,” Jones says. “Our program depends on both business and individual donors. We were able to receive additional donations and funding because people noticed our professional packaging. We received numerous comments about the Postal Service packaging, and other businesses wanted to know how to do it.” Recently, ACSN teamed up with police and ﬁre departments to host bicycle safety events across the country. They are always looking for helmets to give the children. To date, more than 500,000 bicycle helmets have been distributed, and the program continues to grow. The shipping options chosen by a business can make or break its reputation. Choosing a leader in the industry with the safety and security offered only by the U.S. Postal Service lets customers know that their business is important. Priority Mail has quick, reliable service while offering many cost-saving opportunities by having some of the most competitive prices in the industry. Priority Mail’s ﬂat-rate options are another money-saver, for both domestic and international shipments. And when Priority Mail postage is paid through online channels, customers get free delivery conﬁrmation and a ﬁve percent discount for Priority Mail International shipments. With the new Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box, customers and businesses also get two dollars off when shipping to APO/FPO destinations. Those price incentives have the potential to open up new markets. These days, businesses that show they’re taking environmental concerns into account will also impress customers — showing that they care not only about the bottom line, but about their customers’ futures, too. With so many people thinking “green” these days, can a business afford not to use an ecofriendly shipping solution? ■ Spring 2008 13 http://amchildsafety.org http://www.PARCELindustry.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Parcel - April 2008

PARCEL - April 2008 Contents Editor's Note Moving Forward Recycling for Safety’s Sake Want Some Good News? Negotiations Have No Finish Line... Lowering your Parcel Shipping Costs Meeting Industry Challenges New Pricing, New Opportunities Time to Track It’s Scan-tastic! 10 Recycling Facts The New USPS Law Changes New Law, New Opportunities for Package Shippers A Diamond in the Rough Seven Shipping Trends for 2010 ...and Beyond The Move Update Changes A Simple Shipping Solution A Case Study in Efficiency New Products and Services Industry News Advertiser Index

Parcel - April 2008

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