As you look at the operational aspects of your business, what can you improve upon that will actually reduce costs? One answer is outsourcing printing for transactional mail. It’s expensive, labor-intensive, and often inefficient to manage in house. You can realize many benefits from outsourcing, so why not adopt it in 2022?
Outsourcing Reduces Costs in Many Ways
When looking at all the cost line items for in-house or in-plant print operatonis, very few are avoidable. You need sophisticated printers, inserters, and other equipment. Those are capital expenditures that also require maintenance. Additionally, you have to replace these items every few years.
Next on the cost list is all the money you spend on the operation itself. There are materials, of which paper and envelopes are high on the list. Paper is currently experiencing price increases and scarcity.
Beyond materials, you need the labor to use the machines. Other operational expenses include the space itself—energy, rent, security, etc. Postage costs round out the expenses.
All these expenses add up quickly. Many of them are outside your control, and you have no strategic way to reduce them. For example, postage is fixed price, but it can be less if you’re able to optimize based on volume, address hygiene, presorting, or use of Intelligent Mail® barcode (IMb).
When you outsource transactional mail printing, most of these costs go away. What you do have to pay for the service, printing, materials, postage, compliance protocols, and more is dramatically less than what you pay today. Thus, the only tangible way to reduce costs around print and mail is to look for a partner. Maintaining an in-plant is only going to get more expensive. If you’re struggling to balance the budget today, it will be more challenging tomorrow.
Outsourcing Can Reduce Compliance Risks
In the realm of transactional mail, compliance is a pillar. Each document contains personal and confidential information, from bank statements to healthcare communications. There is literally no room for error. One mis-mailing could result in fines and reputational harm. So, how are you managing compliance today?
If you’re less than confident, you’ll be glad to know that outsourcing can reduce risk with the right partner. Our commitment to compliance is unwavering. We have advanced technology that verifies that every piece of paper gets into the correct envelope. We also hold certifications relating to regulatory standards, such as HIPAA, HITRUST, FISMA, SOC I & II, and PCI DSS.
Further, we have regular internal and external audits. These rigorous standards, along with our adoption of LEAN manufacturing, help us achieve an industry-leading accuracy rating of 99.9999%.
If compliance is a true concern for your operations, you’ll need to invest to catch up. Bring true peace of mind to your transactional mail operations by working with a company that goes beyond standard compliance protocols.
Outsourcing Can Save You from Unplanned Downtime
There’s always the threat of downtime in any operation. Natural disasters, security breaches, or other unplanned disruptions can result in being offline. How long could you wait before the inability to print and mail becomes a problem?
Transactional mail is often time-based. You have to deliver communications within a mandated time period. Or, in the case of statements, delay of delivery could impact your cash flow.
When working with a professional printer, they have built-in redundancies. It’s not just backups in a location but an entirely separate one that models the other. With this model, if one place goes down, the other picks right back up. You can feel confident that business will keep moving.
Outsourcing Offers Opportunities to Engage Customers
Another motivator to move to outsourcing printing is the ability to print on each communication dynamically. To do this requires a specific set-up and technology stack.
Each letter, statement, or notice can include custom messaging, allowing you to better target customers. It replaces the need for inserts, which are expensive and get tossed. The communication itself usually does not, so you have an engaged person reading the document.
You could use the space to cross-sell, promote, educate, inform, or anything else. This capability could be a gamechanger in how you think about transactional mail.
Outsourcing Printing: Save Money, Reduce Risk, Avoid Downtime, and Connect
The advantages of outsourcing printing are clear. If you can improve quality and compliance while decreasing costs, why wouldn’t you? If you’re ready to make the move, PCI Group is here to help. Explore how we make outsourcing easy.
