Taming Your Print-to-Mail Workflow

Segment 1: Preparing Now for the Intelligent Mail® Barcode

By Ken Renko, Product Marketing Manager, Pitney Bowes Emtex Software

Today's print-to-mail operations are more complex and more essential to effective customer communications than ever before. Certainly, innovative hardware and software technologies offer exciting opportunities for accelerating productivity, increasing mail effectiveness and reducing costs. However, many operations still have a ways to go in order to tame the mailstream and achieve print-to-mail nirvana.

While many operations have implemented some level of process improvement and/or new technology, opportunities for further improving productivity and reducing costs abound. This is the first in a series of articles that will examine the challenges mailers face in integrating print and mail, along with suggested roadmaps, strategies and solutions.

Among the topics we will discuss are issues like migrating to the Intelligent Mail^® barcode, capitalizing on opportunities like TransPromo and digital color and identifying the right solutions and best practices for print control and management, to name a few.

Given the recent postal rate changes and the impending move to the Intelligent Mail® barcode, we'll start out by exploring the opportunities, challenges and solutions available to ease the transition to the Intelligent Mail® barcode, coming soon to a postal facility near you.

Intelligent Mail Barcode 101

Formerly known as the “4-state customer” barcode, the Intelligent Mail barcode is an information-rich 65-bar Postal Service barcode that combines the POSTNET™, PLANET Code^®, and special services codes into one barcode.  In May 2009, the Postal Service will require mailers to use the Intelligent Mail® barcode to obtain the best automation discounts, although they can still use POSTNET™. However, starting in May 2010, when POSTNET™ is completely phased out, the Intelligent Mail® barcode will be required to obtain automation discounts.

The Intelligent Mail® barcode is expected to deliver significant efficiency and cost-reduction benefits. Chief among them are enhanced tracking of individual mailpieces and visibility into the mailstream; a cleaner, more visually compelling address block; improved mailpiece quality and integrity; and access to a broader choice of postal automation discounts.

The challenge—integrating the Intelligent Mail® barcode into your mailstream

As with any process improvement, the Intelligent Mail® barcode opportunity also introduces challenges. For many print-to-mail operations, the transition means migrating automated mailstreams, modifying document composition applications, converting print streams, and re-engineering mail preparation processes. Compounding the issue, how well mailers manage the near-term implementation of this mandate can have long-term implications.

Begin by asking the right questions

Before moving forward with an Intelligent Mail® barcode implementation, it's important to do your homework. Begin by asking some questions about your print-to-mail operation. For starters:

·    Are you ready to migrate to the Intelligent Mail® barcode?

·   How can you most effectively integrate the Intelligent Mail® barcode into your mailstream?

·    How do you create existing POSTNET codes in your applications?

·    How many applications will you migrate?

·    Do you own these applications or are print-ready files provided?

·    What types of Intelligent Mail® barcode implementations are available?

·    Which is best for you?

The solution … an intelligent approach to integrating change

Simply asking these questions gets an important conversation started. It's also the first step toward preparing for 2009. You may be able to answer these questions on your own by doing some internal investigative work. Alternately, you may want to engage professional experts to assess your operation to determine your requirements—or alternatives that might work better for your organization.

Some mailers may opt to implement the bare minimum to comply with the mandated migration. Others may choose to max out their Intelligent Mail® barcode implementations to gain a competitive edge through cross-channel messaging, multi-channel account management, cost reduction, enterprise address management, and proof of mailing Confirm^® applications.  

Every company is unique, as is every mailstream. So, what essentials should you look for in an Intelligent Mail® barcode solution? Key capabilities include dynamic POSTNET to Intelligent Mail® barcode generation of print-ready files and generation and management of critical mailer ID and sequence numbers.

In addition, most operations can benefit from a professional Intelligent Mail® barcode assessment that helps you determine where you are today and where you need to be in 2009. Finally, as you research providers and solutions, choose a solution set and provider that offers flexible, integrated solutions as opposed to point product alternatives. Whatever you do, it's important to begin planning for the Intelligent Mail® barcode now, to conduct an analysis and work with every stakeholder to develop a plan and secure budgets to ensure success.

To learn more…

To learn more about Pitney Bowes Emtex Software solutions for implementing the Intelligent Mail® barcode and how an Intelligent Mail® barcode assessment can help your organization, read this brochure, the Pitney Bowes Emtex Software Intelligent Mail® Barcode Readiness Assessment. To arrange an assessment, or to learn how to leverage Production Intelligence™ to ease the transition, visit our website at www.emtex.com

Stay tuned for next month's column on TransPromo and color enablement

In my next Output Links column, I'll explore another issue high on print-to-mail agendas: adding value to traditional documents with TransPromo and color. Until then, feel free to contact me with your thoughts and ideas at krenko@us.emtex.com.

Ken Renko has been involved with printing systems and output management technology companies for more than 30 years. He joined Pitney Bowes Emtex Software in 2006 as a Product Marketing Manager in Boca Raton, Florida and is responsible for product management and marketing support for industry-leading enterprise output management solutions including: VIP™ Virtual Intelligent Presentation, VDE™, Virtual Document Enhance,  and FlexServer®. Prior to joining Pitney Bowes Emtex Software, Ken held various technical and marketing support positions with Océ Digital Document Systems and the Xerox Printing Systems Group. The combined years of experience in the electronic document industry have provided him with an objective understanding of the requirements and challenges that impact transactional printing, document output management, multi-vendor workflows and variable data applications. He has developed a number of white papers, authored several industry articles and has been a regular presenter at Xplor and On Demand.

Production Intelligence, VDE and VIP are trademarks or registered trademarks owned or controlled by Pitney Bowes Inc.  Confirm, IM, Intelligent Mail, POSTNET, and PLANET Code are trademarks owned by the United States Postal Service.