The Challenge
After submitting an independent bid that was too high, Will Christopher*, general manager of a communications services firm wondered how he would cost-effectively deliver on a one week, 750,000 piece, SEC regulated financial publications mailing which was to arrive at his end-consumers’ doors by a strict deadline.
Christopher turned to partner Streamlite to help reduce the cost of the bid. Because the project represented a 50 percent increase in the firm’s weekly shipping volume, Christopher relied heavily on Streamlite’s logistics experts to devise a creative delivery plan to reduce costs and make his bid more competitive, without sacrificing transit time.
In addition to containing costs, Christopher emphasized that predictable delivery was equally important in winning the bid, given compliance requirements. The mailing contained important materials to inform and solicit shareholders votes on a corporate financial transaction, and the SEC required that shareholders receive the materials by a specific date.
Streamlite was up to the challenge.
The Solution
Armed with delivery knowledge and detailed distribution data, Streamlite developed a custom solution that creatively cut costs while increasing efficiency and maintaining transit time.
Customization and Data Integration
“The project had two distinct parts: printing and distribution. You might think that Streamlite only played a role in distribution, but we considered the entire process,” said Rick Rover, senior vice president of operations for Streamlite. “Our team discovered that by aligning Streamlite’s distribution with Christopher’s printing processes, we could ship even smarter and save valuable time.”
Streamlite worked with Christopher’s firm to print in prioritized ZIP Code sets, pre-sorting pieces by destination as they rolled off the press. Since the firm was shipping from the New York area, Streamlite recommended West Coast ZIP Codes get the highest printing priority. Sorting at the data-level on the front-end proved more efficient than sorting the 20-ounce packages in a processing center and ensured that shareholders across the country would receive the communications by the deadline.
Rob Tobey, Streamlite director of network management, was responsible for ensuring the project went off without a hitch.
“Being on the ground allowed me to course correct and confirm that trucks were loaded in the optimal order, and that packages were headed to the right ZIP Codes at the right time,” said Tobey.
Most Efficient Routes
Pre-sorting the data prior to printing and shipping also allowed Streamlite to disperse two-thirds of the 750,000 communications pieces among its destination centers closer to shareholders’ homes, bypassing its origin facility altogether and allowing packages to move quickly through the network. “Our flexibility and the client’s faith in our solution allowed us to get creative to cut costs,” said Rover.
The Result
Cost savings and timely delivery: The customized solution saved Christopher’s customer 36% on each piece when compared to other standard delivery products. Even with the significant increase in volume, shareholders received their materials well before the SEC deadline.“Winning this job allowed us to hit our numbers,” said Christopher about Streamlite. “Streamlite really came through for me and made me look good."