If ever there was a firm with a history of success in the
print/mail finishing business, it is a company called American
Direct Mail.
A.D.M.,
now a part of Global Document Solutions, one of the premier
customer messaging service bureaus in the world, was founded
nearly 100 years ago and is believed to be the oldest continuously-operating
'mail shop' in New York City and perhaps the entire U.S.
When
A.D.M. was founded in 1906 -- and received USPS Permit #416
-- Teddy Roosevelt was President. There were also only 45
states in the Union, fewer than 80,000 cars registered across
the nation, and no personal income tax.
As
everyone knows, the world of business has changed immeasurably
over the past century. But A.D.M. has kept pace by focusing
on and continuously enhancing its core competencies, which
currently consist of data handling, software development,
document creation, print/mail finishing and fulfillment
processing.
Personalized
Customer Messaging
As a result, the firm is now an acknowledged leader
in processing highly personalized customer messages in both
paper and digital form for an array of transactional and
direct marketing applications. Indeed, more than 300 employees
produce nearly one billion print images and 85 million mail
pieces a year on behalf of financial services and other
firms. The privately held firm doesn't disclose sales or
profit figures, but industry observers estimate the firm
achieved about $55 million in revenue last year.
Plus, A.D.M. is now poised to grow even more; thanks to
an investment in new processing technology that is ideally
suited both to its location in lower Manhattan and its evolving
workload.
"Our
challenge centered on a need for better efficiency in our
mail finishing operation so we could stay ahead of our growing
volumes as well as the shifting demands of our customers,"
explains John Slaney, who serves as president of A.D.M.
A nine-year veteran with the company, Slaney also heads
American Direct Laser, which is the company's digital printing
unit, and serves as C.O.O. of Global Document Solution.
"Previously,
we used separate technology platforms for mail finishing,"
he continues. "One processed our transaction-based
mail, which consists of monthly bills, statements and related
customer correspondence. And the other handled our direct
mail applications, which were larger and more complex and
often included over-sized materials as a way to generate
interest via the creative use of paper, printing and inserts."
A
Lower Cost of Ownership
Both platforms were well suited to their respective
jobs. But they also came with a high cost of ownership,
especially when factors such as floor space, maintenance
and employee training and staffing were considered.
"With
110,000 sq. ft. of floor space, we're not cramped for room,"
says Slaney. But A.D.M., like any business, needs to use
every inch of it wisely. "Since our processing work
load varies according to the needs of our customers, there
were just too many instances when one platform was overtaxed
while the other was underutilized," he says.
Additionally,
the distinction between direct mail and transactional-based
mail is rapidly blurring. At one time they were entirely
different processes serving entirely different needs. But
no more.
"Direct
mail applications today are increasingly custom-tailored
to individual preferences," says Slaney. "They
are often based on and even make direct reference to previous
transactions.
"Transactional-based
mailings are evolving as well," he continues. "They
must still record past business dealings. But now they are
just as likely to incorporate 1:1 marketing and messaging
techniques to cross-sell, up-sell and otherwise create a
tighter relationship or connection with individual customers.
"So
we really needed a hybrid platform where we could easily
process either transactional-based mail, or direct mail,
or a combination of the two, all on a single inserting system.
"And of course, A.D.M. also wanted the important and
related features of assured mail piece integrity, faster
processing, a high level of equipment reliability or dependability,
and easy set-ups and change-overs -- all the things that
yield prompt turnarounds, and high throughput and contribute
to high levels of customer satisfaction.
The
solution for A.D.M. came in the form of six of the innovative
FlowMaster FX12 intelligent inserting systems from Pitney
Bowes Document Messaging Technologies. Each is equipped
with a high capacity sheet feeder and is capable of operating
at more than 10,000 cycles per hour.
Productive and Cost-Efficient
Not only are the new inserting systems faster and
more flexible – they operate roughly 50 percent faster
than the previous equipment and can accommodate virtually
any application now processed by A.D.M., making the entire
shop more productive and cost-efficient -- but they were
also instrumental in securing a substantial piece of new
business.
"The
real impetus for acquiring the FlowMasters came from a new
financial services customer, who offered us the chance to
process a mega-mailing consisting of several million pieces,
each containing an average of three sheets of 8.5 x 11 inch
paper in a half-fold (or broker's fold) landscape fashion,
with two inserts and 3 of 9 barcode scanning to assure integrity."
To
make the assignment even more challenging, A.D.M. was given
just 30 days to prove it had the necessary capacity in-house
to handle the application, and just 5 days to actually process
and complete it.
Despite the extremely tight time frame, the equipment was
shipped, installed, set-up, tested and ready with time to
spare. The mailing was processed smoothly. And A.D.M. now
has yet another very satisfied customer.
The
faster speeds and the flexibility to accommodate both new
and existing work are certainly key benefits. But the new
inserting systems also feature a lower cost of ownership.
"We no longer have to maintain separate processing
platforms and incur the added expenses for equipment maintenance,
training and staffing, and downtime," says Slaney.
The
investment has also brought new career opportunities for
employees. "We were a little concerned at first about
cross-training our staff on the new systems," says
Slaney. "Many of our people are more accustomed to
a mechanical environment and we didn't know how well their
would respond to the computer-driven technology of our new
systems."
But
the shift wasn't a problem, principally because the systems
are easy to operate, and the employees enjoy the faster
work pace as well as the opportunity to try new tasks and
advance into more challenging jobs," he continues.
"Our
best FlowMaster operator today is an employee who just six
months ago was a folding machine operator with no experience
on inserting equipment," says Slaney. "He has
absolutely flourished in the new assignment and we might
not have uncovered his true potential if we had not cross-trained
everyone on the new equipment."
Now,
A.D.M. is using the FlowMaster virtually around the clock,
and can easily switch back and forth to process either direct
mail or transaction-based applications as the need arises.
That makes the firm more responsive and valuable to its
customers. And helps assure that the next hundred years
will be just as successful as the first.
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