Tag: USA

Bills, Statements and Payments – Paper and Electronic Delivery

Posted by | Aug 4, 2007 | |

The adoption of electronic bills, statements and payments has grown significantly in recent
years, as has the explosive growth in Internet penetration, the evolving consumer
preferences for new media, and a determined push by financial institutions to convert users
from paper to electronic. Most forecasters, observers, and the general press typically
characterize these electronic options as severely and negatively affecting the volume of
bills, statements and payments that are mailed. Is there reliable industry data that can be
used to check these assertions? Are the quantifiable trends universal or do they vary by
region? Exactly how have electronic alternatives impacted user preferences so far and how
will they continue to impact mail volumes in the foreseeable future?
Much has been written in recent years about the rapidly rising adoption of electronic bills,
statements and payments. However, few attempts have been made to systematically review all
available research and make sound predictions, especially pertaining to mail volumes and the
expected growth of electronic alternatives2. This paper first defines several terms and delineates
the scope of this study. Second, the paper analyzes the U.S. and European landscape vis-à-vis:
the adoption rates of electronic bills, statements and payments, and the evolution of the
corresponding mail volumes. Third, the paper examines how consumers prefer to receive and
pay bills so as to provide an outlook on the future of paper vs. electronic methods. Finally, the
paper looks at the progress billers have made to effectively institute and establish new bill,
statement and payment mechanisms.

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Turning 100, UPS eyes future growth

Posted by | Aug 3, 2007 | |

As UPS Inc. celebrates its 100-year anniversary later this month, it now is a USD 4 7 billion businesses with a fleet of trucks, an airline and operations in 200 countries.

Increasing competition for delivery of goods has meant the company has had to broaden its global reach and expand its business beyond small package delivery to shipping heavy freight and providing logistics services for companies.

But even as the Internet has made it easier to send, receive or download items electronically instead of paying a service to deliver them, the breaking down of trade barriers has given shippers like UPS overseas opportunities they haven’t had in the past.
These days, the U.S. small package delivery market has slowed along with the economy. As a result, UPS has been increasingly looking beyond U.S. borders for business, offering faster delivery to worldwide destinations. International growth has helped the company’s bottom line.

Last month, UPS reported a 4.1 percent rise in second-quarter earnings on a modest increase in sales. The company’s shares, on an adjusted basis, are up more than 14 percent over the last year.

A century from now, Chief Executive Mike Eskew expects that delivering small packages will still be an important part of the Atlanta-based company’s business, but he isn’t sure it will be the largest part. In 2001, the company expanded its services by acquiring the Mail Boxes Etc. chain. Most of the stores were later renamed The UPS Store.

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USPS’s workgroups to improve service

Posted by | Aug 3, 2007 | |

Three workgroups presented their plans at the Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee Meeting, each with its own purpose. All three shared a common goal: to improve service and measurement.

The first group’s task was to revise the strategic transformation plan. Linda Kingsley, USPS senior vice president of strategy and transition, said that the workgroup is in the midst of revision and that the actual document is not due for another year.

The USPS is supposed to put together five-year plans every three years. Now the group has a big challenge. It totally has to revise the plan give the new law, which went into effect in May.

The new law accelerates the need to measure service for all classes of mail using intelligent mail. In addition, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance is changing. Due to all of this the workgroup is resetting their priorities in the new plan.

The new plan is expected to be out in November of this year.

The next workgroup talked about how it is set to identify gaps and define solutions for adoption of PostalOne by lettershops and mail service providers. Mail preparers want to be able to track and trace their pallets having as little as 200 pieces or 50 lbs. of mail. He also mentioned that spoilage has to be accounted for. The group has made a software vendor capability matrix draft, and a final matrix is expected shortly.

The last group is responsible for advanced notification streamlined verification. Carla Siniscachi presented the group’s process. The workgroup’s aim is to define capabilities for streamlined notification and accessibility for First-Class Mail.

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Adobe to drop FedEx Kinko's link

Posted by | Aug 2, 2007 | |

After a wave of criticism from printing companies and others, Adobe Systems Inc. said Wednesday it will remove a link on new software to FedEx Kinko’s.

San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe said its Reader and Acrobat software scheduled to be released in October won’t have the link.

The prominent button was introduced in June, enabling electronic transfer of documents directly for printing at FedEx Kinko’s stores. It was criticized by Kinko’s competitors who feared it would hurt them.

Adobe said it didn’t expect material revenue from the link, so it “will have little to no impact on Adobe’s financial results.”

A version of Adobe Reader will still be available from the FedEx Kinko’s Web site that contains the link.

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Catalogers turn to postcards

Posted by | Aug 2, 2007 | |

In the wake of the postal increases, catalog mailers are increasingly turning to creative solutions to keep the volume and integrity of their marketing messages intact, while keeping costs down.

One solution is postcards. Women’s clothing catalog Lady Venus went to Clearwater, FL firm PostcardMania in a bid to increase the number of its qualified leads, cost-effectively. The company wanted to get sales from the leads as well.

Many catalog mailers are now using postcards ahead of a full catalog mailing, inviting prospects to request a catalog.

“Mailing a catalog can be outrageously expensive,” said Karla Jo Helms, vice president of PR for PostCardMania. Sending a prospect a postcard costs much less money and if that person requests a catalog, they are much more likely to buy. For Lady Venus, the results were strong. “My ROI is very good,” said John Sauer, owner of the Lady Venus catalog. In fact, Sauer received immediate orders for the item advertised on his postcard.

“An important tip is getting a clear, defined list before you even start planning the postcard; analyze the database,” Helm said. “Pick one product that sells a lot and feature it with a clear headline so that when people see it, they are motivated to buy.”

In designing a postcard mailing, clear bold headlines, eye-catching color, clearly stated benefits from a product or service and an offer with a reason to “call now” should be clearly displayed.

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