Business in the cloud
Last June UK Mail won the Growth Award at the World Mail Awards 2013 recognising its imail solution. Having launched imail just three years prior this award it was a big achievement for the company. Post & Parcel spoke to Andy Barber, General Manager of UK Mail’s imail solution, to find out more. Can you describe the ‘imail solution’?
Our imail solution provides business of all sizes with a cloud-based Hybrid Mail service which effectively outsources the printing and mailing of mail items to UK Mail. As we print and fulfill the mail items within our postal network we can provide the quickest, fastest and most secure mail solution of its type.
What did winning the award mean to UK Mail?
Direct Mail is often seen as “traditional” or “old-hat” and winning a world award for the growth of our Print & Mail product was proof that we are bucking the perceived trend. Everyone involved was extremely proud when we returned home with the trophy from Madrid.
How did you feel when you found out the company had won?
Naturally it was an amazing feeling to learn that the past four years efforts in growing our flagship print and mail solution had been recognised and rewarded at such a prestigious event.
After winning the award how has the imail service developed?
We recently launched our Postcards from Pete consumer mobile app (iOS/ Android) which turns photos taken on smart phones into real postcards that are delivered between two to five days later depending on where in the world they are going.
We are convinced that the future of mail printed communications (including Direct Mail) is dependent on the tight integration of technology and print capabilities. Postcards from Pete is just one of many innovations we have developed (and are developing) to build profitable revenue streams from mailing and printing activities.
Why do you think it is important for Triangle to run these awards?
The independent nature of Triangle is essential to ensure that the awards are fair and impartial. Also, the global reach of Triangle ensures that the best-of-the-best from across the global are pitched against each other for the top prize. Being a UK based organisation, there are very few other opportunities to benchmark our performance and growth against other leading overseas organisations within our industry.
Did the award lead to any new business opportunities?
Too many to mention… and I won’t name any as they are quite lucrative!
Why would you recommend companies to apply for the World Mail Awards 2014?
In 2012 we felt incredibly proud to be have been shortlisted in the innovation category and even though we didn’t win that year, it gave us a real sense of how we were performing against our industry peers. The event is a great networking tool (and good fun too!) so if you think your business has something worth shouting about, then there is likely a World Mail Award category you should enter. Best of luck to those that do!
Nominations for the awards will be open until the 28th February, with the exception of the Industry Leadership Award which will be open for nominations until the 15th January. To enter the awards visit the World Mail Awards website – www.mailawards.com
