Business Optimization Analysis

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Organization

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1. What is your organization's approach to postage cost reduction?

Third party provides pre-sort services or mail is not pre-sorted.

All mail is pre-sorted by the operation and submitted as 5-digit pieces to the post office. A pre-sort vendor handles smaller jobs and non-qualified pieces.

All mail is pre-sorted by the operation before submitting to the post office. IMb barcodes are used to expedite and track mail, and receive postal discounts. Partnering with a pre-sort mail house for co-mingling.

All mail is pre-sorted by the operation before submitting to the post office. Mailings are co-palletized. IMb barcodes are applied to expedite and track mail, and receive postal discounts. Multiple mail pieces are consolidated into one envelope and sent to the same household.

All mail is pre-sorted and post pre-sorted using leading industry software before submitting to the post office. Mailings are co-mingled or co-palletized. IMb barcodes are applied to expedite and track mail, and receive postal discounts. Multiple mail pieces are consolidated into one envelope and sent to the same household.

Pre-sorting has no benefits and is not required.

2. What level of address hygiene and data quality processing does your operation apply to mailing lists?

No address hygiene is performed.

Third party provides address correction and DPV services.

Operation uses software for data hygiene (CASS, NCOA, PCOA). The operation processes mailing lists and performs comprehensive address management including correcting bad addresses, and removing duplicate addresses.

Operation uses software for data hygiene (CASS, NCOA, PCOA, DPV). The system is integrated with the operation's current systems. The operation processes mailing lists and performs comprehensive address management including correcting bad addresses, and removing duplicate addresses. Data is provided back to the mailing list owner for correcting/updating their mailing lists.

Operation uses software for data hygiene (CASS, NCOA, PCOA, DPV, Death). The system is integrated with the operation's current systems. The operation processes mailing lists and performs comprehensive address management including correcting bad addresses, and removing duplicate addresses. Data is provided back to the mailing list owner for correcting/updating their mailing lists.

It is not necessary to provide address hygiene services.

3. How are addresses applied to mailpieces, and what types of envelopes or addressing equipment are used?

Some mailings are processed with mailing addresses printed on adhesive labels and applied to envelopes.

Addresses are applied post printing of materials with inkjet addressing equipment.

There is no addressing post printing. For letters, #10 window envelopes are used where both the return address and recipient's address are in the window. There are more than 10 custom printed envelopes used that are imprinted with a return address.

There is no addressing post printing. For letters, #10 window envelopes are used where both the return address and recipient's address are in the window. There are more than 5 custom printed envelopes used that are imprinted with a return address.

There is no addressing post printing. For letters, #10 window envelopes are used where both the return address and recipient's address are in the window. There are no custom printed envelopes used that are imprinted with a return address.

There is no addressing for mail pieces.

4. What processes and systems are in place to ensure secure, compliant, and trackable mail piece assembly and delivery?

Electronic verification of mail insertion pieces. Bar codes are printed on each mail piece and scanned during the insertion process to ensure the correct inserts are in a recipient's envelope. There have been data breaches due to not maintaining security of customer's data.

Electronic verification of mail insertion pieces. Bar codes are printed on each mail piece and scanned during the insertion process to ensure the correct inserts are in a recipient's envelope. There is no way to ensure that a customer's data is safe and secure.

Electronic verification of mail insertion pieces. Bar codes are printed on each mail piece and scanned during the insertion process to ensure the correct inserts are in a recipient's envelope. There are procedures in place to ensure secure processing of customer's data.

Electronic verification of mail insertion pieces. Bar codes are printed on each mail piece and scanned during the insertion process to ensure the correct inserts are in a recipient's envelope. Systems and procedures are in place to guarantee customer information is safe and compliant during the mail preparation process. Mail delivery is tracked.

Electronic verification and file based insertion of mail insertion pieces. Bar codes are printed on each mail piece and scanned during the insertion process to ensure the correct inserts are in a recipient's envelope. Systems and procedures are in place to guarantee customer information is safe and compliant during the mail preparation process. Mail delivery is tracked and the customer is informed of recipient receipt data. The tracking data is exported to a mail management system. Data is secure, correct, current and compliant to specific industry rules and USPS Standards. If the operations mailing consistently contain PI, HIPAA and CCPA, they are operating in compliance with SOC 2 Type 2 and HITRUST controls.

No audit or tracking is necessary

5. How does your operation handle return mail, and what improvement goals are in place?

Return mail is analyzed and data returned to customer in an effort to reduce returned mail. There are no improvement plans in place to reduce the amount of returned mail.

Return mail is analyzed and data returned to customer in an effort to reduce returned mail. There are improvement plans in place with the goal of reducing returned mail by more than 25%. Returned mail is reprocessed with corrections in order to reach the recipients. Returned mail is more than 5% of total mailings processed.

Return mail is analyzed and data returned to customer in an effort to reduce returned mail. There are improvement plans in place with the goal of reducing returned mail by more than 35%. Returned mail is reprocessed with corrections in order to reach the recipients. Returned mail is 3 to 4% of total mailings processed.

Return mail is analyzed and data returned to customer in an effort to reduce returned mail. There are improvement plans in place with the goal of reducing returned mail by more than 50%. Returned mail is reprocessed with corrections in order to reach the recipients. Returned mail is 1 to 2% of total mailings processed.

Return mail is analyzed and data returned to customer in an effort to reduce returned mail. There are improvement plans in place with the goal of reducing returned mail by more than 75%. Returned mail is reprocessed with corrections in order to reach the recipients. Returned mail is less than 1% of total mailings processed.

Return mail processing is not required or processed at this operation.

6. How is productivity measured and optimized within your mail production operation?

Employee productivity, billable hours and equipment utilization are not reviewed.

Billable hours are more than 75% of mail production employee's time. Jobs are scheduled so that there is no employee wait time for projects.

Billable hours are 85% of mail production employee's time. Jobs are scheduled so that there is no employee wait time for projects. Employee productivity is reviewed and improvement plans are in place to increase employee productivity.

Billable hours are 90% of mail production employee's time. Jobs are scheduled so that there is no employee wait time for projects. Employee productivity is reviewed and improvement plans are in place to increase employee productivity.

Billable hours are 95% of mail production employee's time. Jobs are scheduled so that there is no employee wait time for projects. Employee productivity is reviewed and improvement plans are in place to increase employee productivity. There is visibility of mail piece and its status from creation to delivery.

7. What level of automation and intelligent equipment is used in your mail preparation and production process?

Employees are manually inserting or sorting more than 50% of projects.

Employees are manually inserting or sorting more than 25% of projects. Inserting equipment is aged or cannot handle the types of work processed.

Dedicated mail room staff is located in a centralized location, using outdated mailing system hardware (folder/inserter not capable of insert verification) and document management software (i.e. Planet Press, Ricoh Process Director) to automate the processing of files. Some equipment needs to be upgraded to handle the mailing/envelope types processed.

Dedicated mail room staff is located in a centralized location, using mailing system hardware (folder/inserter) with intelligence capabilities and document management software (i.e. Planet Press, Ricoh Process Director) to automate mail preparation from job intake through completion. Some equipment needs to be upgraded to handle the mailing/envelope types processed.

Dedicated mail room staff is located in a centralized location, using mailing system hardware (folder/inserter) with intelligence capabilities and document management software (i.e. Planet Press, Ricoh Process Director) to automate mail preparation and monitor production integrity from job intake through completion utilizing bar codes to monitor processing. Cameras are used to validate and verify mail pieces. The equipment has the features needed to process all of the mailing/envelope types processed.

8. How integrated and automated are your mail production workflows and systems from job intake to output?

No system connectivity or workflow integration.

There are 5-6 systems disconnected that require manual intervention for processing.

There are 3-4 systems disconnected that require manual intervention for processing.

There are 1-2 systems disconnected that require manual intervention for processing.

All workflow is processed through a fully automated solution for the receipt of mail to the production operations and routing to specific printers based on job specifications. Jobs are batched based on similarities of production specs.

There are not systems to integrate.

9. To what extent does your operation utilize USPS promotions, personalization, and mail consolidation strategies for innovation and savings?

No USPS promotions are utilized and no personalization is offered.

The operation is processing mailings and taking advantage of a few USPS promotions to leverage current programs and maximize postal savings. A few projects per year incorporate customization/ personalization of mailing is offered.

The operation is processing mailings and taking advantage of a few USPS promotions to leverage current programs and maximize postal savings. A few projects per month incorporate customization/ personalization of mailing is offered.

The operation is processing mailings and taking advantage of a few USPS promotions to leverage current programs and maximize postal savings. Over 10% of projects incorporate customization/ personalization based on customer profile. The operation utilizes a software solution to consolidate/batch/merge mailings to increase postal density.

The operation is processing mailings and taking advantage of several USPS promotions to leverage current programs and maximize postal savings. Over 25% of projects incorporate customization/ personalization based on customer profile or buying habits. The operation utilizes a software solution to consolidate/batch/merge mailings to increase postal density.

USPS promotions or personalization does not apply to this operations type of work.

10. How does your operation communicate job status and updates to customers, and how customizable are communication preferences?

Communications are late and or returned due to poor address quality. SLAs are frequently missed .

Customers are informed of job status through the production process (order received).

Customers are informed of job status through the production process (order received) in an automated solution. Customers can choose how to receive communications (Email, text, fax or print) and indicate their preference through a software interface.

Customers are informed of job status through the production process (order received and estimated shipping/mailing date) in an automated solution. Customers can choose how to receive communications (Email, text, fax or print) and indicate their preference through a software interface.

Customers are informed of job status through the production process (order received, in process, and estimated shipping/mailing date) in an automated solution. Customers can choose how to receive communications (Email, text, fax or print) and indicate their preference through a software interface.

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MAIL OPERATIONS SELF-ASSESSMENT