Reduce Expenses With A Printing & Mailing Service

It is no modern revelation to know that companies are always on the lookout to reduce operating costs. In fact, it is quite the tactic to sustain a thriving and profitable business. One often overlooked area for expense reduction is that of outsourcing printing and mailing needs to a dedicated printing and mailing service. Outsourced printing and mailing can include mailings, promotional items, bills, statements, invoices, and other correspondence. What the right printing and mailing service can do is usually only bound by the budget and imagination of those that choose to employ their services. The reduction of printing and mailing expense holds great opportunity for cost reduction and enhanced purchasing efficiency for many reasons.

Companies in every industry strive to increase their profits. After all, it’s the name of the game for nearly every business. There are several ways for a company to accomplish this goal. The primary focus is often to simply increase revenue. The more sales you make, the more money you make. This is a valuable focus and should always be a part of any company’s strategy, but often overlooked are reducing costs, reducing risks, and increasing efficiency. When you reduce your costs, you find yourself with extra money that can be put in the company coffers or reinvested back in the business in the form of staff pay increases, equipment upgrades, or marketing efforts. The choice is yours. When you reduce risk, you find yourself saving money because you have less need to double efforts when correcting mistakes. Lastly, when you increase efficiency, you free up time and money across the board in the form of labor costs, equipment costs, consumable costs, and more.

One proven method for achieving all three is to outsource print and mail production. Think of document outsourcing as delegating these tasks to a third party who is better equipped to handle these costly and time-consuming expenditures. With print management outsourcing and full-service print and mail services, companies can enhance their business operations and focus on their core capabilities – which is doing what you do best.

Consider the following reasons to outsource your printing and mailing needs:

Reduce Equipment Costs

The main reason most companies choose to outsource their printing and mailing services is to reduce expenses. Choosing to perform these tasks in-house can be very costly in both equipment and personnel needs. A low-end commercial laser printer can cost upwards of $50,000 and a high-end continuous digital color press can run in the millions. And, before you start considering the option, a domestic office printer is just not up to the task. You will spend your time replacing printers more often than ink cartridges.

To achieve the lowest, per-page print cost, the production volume of a company’s print jobs must justify the price of the equipment. The same rationale holds true for mailing equipment. A new, non-intelligent mail inserter will also cost around $50,000, while a fully automated intelligent machine with tracking can run close to $1 million. This is a huge amount of capital to tie up in equipment that has only a five-year life expectancy. The expenses don’t stop with the initial investment – particularly if you are a small business hoping to save money through efficiency. Print and mail equipment must be regularly maintained, necessitates a dedicated space, and trained workers to run them. For many businesses, it makes more sense to let the outsource printing and mailing companies take the investment risk on equipment and staffing. It is what they do, and they are good at it, saving companies like yours tens of thousands of dollars annually.

In addition, the outsourcing of postal services will be able to save money on postal equipment. Things such as mailboxes, mail carts, postal scales, etc. will no longer be needed. This will free up valuable space and overhead such as labor expenses and more.

Save On Consumables

Since a quality printing and mailing service provides bulk buying capabilities, it will be far cheaper for a business to pay a fee to the service than to spend much more money purchasing consumables such as print cartridges, paper, stationery, envelopes, etc. Savings in consumables cost are passed back to the customer through the initially agreed upon price of the service.

Reduce Risk

Another concern when dealing with printing and mailing needs is dealing with sensitive customer data. Companies in many highly regulated industries – including finance, healthcare, and insurance – are, not only the industries most in need for printing and mailing services but those that carry the most sensitive information.

The proper printing and mailing vendor runs every day using trained employees, backup printers, mailing machines, servers, and alternative internet connections. Having a backup solution gives clients the assurance of knowing that their critical deadlines will always be met. Print management is an often-overlooked aspect of a business and companies should consider the advantages of outsourcing your document management to a reputable printing and mailing service.

Increase Efficiency

Practical and smart business leaders know what their core competencies are and what responsibilities are best handled by a third party. Using a print and mail service’s advanced technology, commercial equipment, trained staff, and expert knowledge of the industry offers businesses an important competitive and strategic advantage. Additionally, using an experienced print and mail outsource service will ensure consistency, accountability, and high-quality work each and every time.

A printing and mailing service, such as Towne Mailer, has a long working relationship with the USPS. This association and expert knowledge ensure that Towne Mailer will organize each mailing so that its clients receive the best postage rates possible. Towne Mailer also ensures address accuracy and address correction capabilities where incorrect addresses are replaced with the USPS version. This service gives Towne Mailer’s customers guaranteed delivery with 24-hour tracking and reporting that eliminates the guesswork out of their mailings.

Outsourcing your printing and mailing needs is a proven business strategy that results in across the board savings and increases efficiency by minimizing capital investments in equipment, avoiding long-term and complicated lease arrangements, saving production space, and reducing paper, postage, and production expenses. You will also experience improved cash flow by eliminating the need to contract to multiple outside parties, train and staff additional employees to meet these needs, and be able to upload your information in a variety of formats from anywhere in the  USA at any time of day or night. Additionally, working with a printing and mailing service offers you the ability to track results and generate reports necessary to satisfy compliance auditors and reduce the risk of a costly data breach. A printing and mailing service like Towne Mailer is your one-stop solution, resulting in the saving of time and money and offering assurances you cannot find in-house. You will enjoy the benefit of more money in your pocket and fewer errors on your data sheet.

Conclusion

Printing is not often shown as one consolidated P&L expense number. In its place, print materials and equipment needs are usually listed in multiple budget items, like letterheads, envelopes, business card costs, etc. are typically reflected in “Administrative Costs.” Flyers and promotional items often appear under “Sales Costs.” Brochures, annual reports, and direct mail show up as a “Marketing Costs.” Checks, forms, and window envelopes can usually be found under “Accounting Costs.”

Many business owners feel that if they get three quotes for every job, they will get the “best price,” but this is often not true. A printer with the proper equipment for the task in need is the most important influence in finding the best pricing.

Lower print costs, quality work, and excellent service should not be the only determinants of vendor selection. A reciprocal relationship built on understanding and respect is paramount. When companies find ways to reduce costs, reduce risk, and increase efficiency, everybody wins.

Towne Mailer

Towne Mailer looks forward to being the printing and mailing service you and your team need and deserve. With nearly two decades of experience in the printing and mailing industry, we understand the importance of clear communication with our clients and, in turn, your need to clearly communicate with your clients.

Communication is the bedrock of which we were founded, and it is our top priority in our everyday operations. Because of this, we strive to understand your exact needs and, not only meet your expectations of a printing and mailing service but exceed those expectations.

We look forward to providing the solutions you need and growing with you in our relationship.

Reach out today!