The humble envelope and stamp have not changed much since their introduction several centuries ago and using the postal system is still one of the principal ways in which companies communicate with their customers, creditors, shareholders and other stakeholders. Statistics published by the Australian Payments Clearing Association indicated that there were more than 50.6million cheque payments made by post in 2003. That’s more than two cheques per month for every person in Australia - a lot of mail! ERA assists companies to review their postage and mail management and to get more mail out of their existing postage budgets.
Recent research has shown that mail outs are a cost effective and efficient way for companies to reach a target segment. Email campaigns are too easily deleted at the destination in contrast to a targeted mailing letter, which is often more appealing to the prospective customer.
Independent consultant, Julian Yule of Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA) advises: “A number of factors need to be taken into consideration before committing to a large mail out as the costs can greatly impact an organisation. Postage expense has become a significant overhead for certain SME’s whose business model dictates that it must rely on physical mail. Consider for a moment the cost of sending monthly statements to 10,000 clients
-a significant cost and process!"
Julian cites the recent case of a well known sporting organization that relies on physical mail to remain in touch with its affiliated clubs and members whose postage and mail management cost was reduced by approximately 29% as a result of a review by ERA. “Our in depth review of this overhead will provide a company with a detailed understanding of how mail is generated in the organization and how costs are
incurred," he said.
“In addition to providing a better understanding of these costs we very importantly provide our clients with options that consider the various products and services offered by Australia Post, mailing houses and database management
companies." Australia Post, whilst still a monopoly, has introduced a number of new and innovative products in an effort to respond to competitive pressures.
“These include the continual introduction of new mailing technology which has automated many of the activities of the mail room, improvements in database applications, making them more user-friendly, and the use of electronic media to disseminate
information," said Julian.
ERA’s in depth review typically follows a 3-step process, namely Analysis, Solution Building and Implementation.
Julian explains: “During the Analysis phase we obtain financial data to understand
the profile of the spend and who the incumbent suppliers are. Very
importantly we discuss with the various stakeholders the reason
for the consumption of psostage and mail management services - ie
what it is that requires them to spend this money on this particular
overhead.
“The objective of the Solution Building phase is to develop solutions that take into account the business requirements, costs and ease of implementation. During this phase we generally take our clients requirements to market via a tender process that is pretty robust yet fair on all respondents.
“Once an appropriate and cost effective solution has been selected by the client we then assist with the implementation of the chosen solution. A distinguishing feature of the ERA service model is that we are strong on implementation and monitor the realisation of savings over an extended period
post-implementation.
Expense Reduction Analysts - Working in partnership with our clients to maximise profits
