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| p2p Magaz i ne | Spr i ng 2013
01732 759725
MAILING
item,” he said.
Other advantages of metered mail
include better ‘open rates’, the ability to
monitor postage spend through simple
web-based reporting, a more professional
image and access to other bulk mailing
discounts for businesses sending 500 to
25,000 letters per mailing.
According to Neopost, Royal Mail
Business Mail (previously Cleanmail,
Mailsort andWalksort) offers discounts
on the cost of franked mail of as much
as 23.5% depending on various factors
including the number of letters sent;
how the mail is addressed (OCR font
or barcode); addressing accuracy; and
whether mail is unsorted or pre-sorted by
the customer into specific postcode areas.
Pricing in Proportion
Franking is just one of the ways in which
businesses can reduce their mailing
bill. According to Neopost Marketing
Director Andy MacKenzie, businesses of
all sizes could save money by analysing
and managing mail processes better.
“At a time of major structural change
in the industry and more options to
automate the mailroom, too many
businesses are failing to make the most
of opportunities to cut costs, improve
productivity and manage the mail
process,” he said.
One way to save money is to invest
in a folder-inserter that automates the
folding and insertion of letters, flyers and
other inserts into envelopes. This saves
manpower costs by completing mailings
more quickly and helps avoid higher
costs for Large Letters introduced with
Pricing in Proportion (PiP) in 2006.
PiP brought in the concept of
differential pricing based on an item’s
size and weight. At today’s prices, an
unfolded A4 letter (Large Letter) costs
50% more to send than one that is
folded and inserted into a DL or C5
envelope. Using a folder-inserter to fold
an A4 letter into a smaller envelope will
save businesses up to 30p per item.
For more ways to reduce the cost
of postal communications visit the
Knowledge Centre section of www.
neopost.co.uk and download Neopost’s
free whitepapers.
Sending a parcel
Franking machine users should also be
aware of changes Royal Mail has made
to the way parcels are priced (see table).
They are now offering a service that
is clear and simple with three options:
Guaranteed – Timed next day delivery;
Confirmed –With proof of delivery and
Standard – Great value delivery.
To find out more about the changes
visit
www.royalmail.com,
www.neopost.co.uk,
www.pitneybowes.co.uk/ratechange
and
www.frama.co.uk
Franking delivers 12% refund
Studio lighting specialist The Flash Centre has cut postage costs by 12% since installing a
Neopost franking machine to process the 4,500 parcels and items of mail it sends each month.
The Flash Centre was a long-time user of franking machines, but until it switched to Neopost it
wasn't making the most of the savings on offer, explains Managing Director Chris Whittle. “After a
month of using the new machine, we received a 12% refund from Royal Mail in keeping with their
volume-related discounts scheme – something that we were completely unaware of before switching
to Neopost. And the best thing is that since then we have continued to receive these discounts which
have had a positive impact on our postal budget.”
...continued from page 12
The table above is taken from the Neopost white paper
Smart Ways to Save Money on Postage
SaveWth Franking
Frank
Stamp
Saving
Letter First Class
47p
60p
13p
Letter Second Class
33p
50p
17p
Large Letter First Class
71p
90p
19p
Large Letter Second Class
58p
69p
11p
Small Parcel 0-1kg First Class
£2.65
£3.00
35p
Small Parcel 0-1kg Second Class
£2.25
£2.60
35p
Small Parcel 1-2kg First Class
£5.85
£6.85
£1.00
Small Parcel 1-2kg Second Class
£4.60
£5.60
£1.00
Medium Parcel 0-1kg First Class
£4.80
£5.65
85p
Medium Parcel 0-1kg Second Class
£4.40
£5.20
60p
Medium Parcel 1-2kg First Class
£7.50
£8.90
£1.40
Medium Parcel 1-2kg Second Class
£6.85
£8.00
£1.15
...too many
businesses are
failing to make
the most of
opportunities to
cut costs...