How To Manage PC Postage and Carrier Services Across Your Enterprise

How To Manage PC Postage and Carrier
Services Across Your Enterprise

Adam Lewenberg - Background and Experience
• President of Postal Advocate Inc.
– The only mail audit and recovery firm in the US and Canada
– Manage a portfolio of over 134,000 pieces of mailing and shipping
equipment for the largest US companies.
– Speak and teach nationally on mail savings and industry trends.
• Former Industry Co Chair- Boston Postal Customer Council/Mail Systems
Management Association member. CMDSS and MDC Certifications.
• Featured Writer for Mailing Systems Technology Magazine.
• Worked for one of the largest mailing vendors for over 17 years
– Director of national sales for presort, tabletop inserters, addressing
hardware/software and green offerings.
– Was one of the top 5 account managers nationally working with some of
the nation's top accounts.
• Not affiliated with any mailing vendor - Unbiased advice.
September 18, 2019 2

What We’re Covering
1. Challenges of Managing Enterprise PC Postage and Carrier
Services
2. Visibility and Insight – Gathering all the data and reporting of
all vendors and carriers
3. Reporting – Creating a standardized dashboard and reporting
format
4. Key Area of Savings to Look For
5. How We Can Help

Multiple Locations and Workplaces
With the footprint of traditional offices decreasing and the increased
popularity of satellite office locations, remote/agile employees,
maintaining shipping and mailing process controls can be extremely
challenging
• Difficult to enforce rules on how items are shipped
• Maintaining active user list
• Identifying rogue accounts
• Agile/remote and travelling users

Multiple Technologies and Processes
To add to the challenge:
• The use of several different systems such as multi-carrier systems,
airbills, proprietary carrier systems, etc to process packages,
documents and letters makes it almost impossible to track

Fragmented/Incomplete Data and Limited Visibility
• Managing reports received from different carriers in various
formats
• Sporadic reporting from the different vendors and carriers with
often incomplete information
• Invoices not matching the reporting
• Difficulty matching all shipping and mail spend and tying back to
the different location cost centers/GL codes
• Inability to analyze the data to ensure compliance of discounts
set out in your agreements
• Negotiating better rates and agreements for the future

Rising Costs and Increases
• Prices for shipping can be volatile, especially since they
are often tied to the cost of fuel
• Other reasons for price hikes – annual rate increases,
seasonal rates, duty and tariff increases, etc

Untrained Operators Making Shipping Decisions
Two Types of Shippers
Professional
• Trained around shipping process
• Core part of their job responsibility
• Systems and tools provided to optimize
• Traffic management reviews
• Primarily ground services for packages
• Continual education and improvement
Casual Users
• No formal training
• Only done when needed
• Typically use free carrier tools or airballs
• Little oversight and support
• Primarily overnight services for documents
• No formal education around best practices
This group can make up most of a
companies shipping spend and needs
the most support!

2. Visibility and Insight
• Consolidate your carriers wherever possible to gain contracting leverage
• Consolidate billing to get one invoice for all your account numbers and
locations within a carrier
• Request package level detail on all transactions for all carriers to backup
spends
• Limit the number of carrier accounts
• Pull in USPS spends throughout your locations
• Work with your vendors on account consolidation

3. Reporting, Data Analysis and Auditing
• Creating a standardized dashboard and reporting format that includes:
– Cost center chargeback details
– Spends by location and service levels
– Specific areas of focus – 8:30 delivery, pick up fees.
• Promote the top areas where savings can occur and create education and follow up.
• Update this dashboard monthly to find changes in behaviors
• Set benchmarks and segment the data so you can see where the spend is by
group/location etc.
• Look for overcharges/errors/contract compliance issues
– Accessorial
– Contract Compliance – Validate discounts according to your contracted rates
with the vendors
– Duplication of Invoices
• Late Deliveries
• Improper residential fees

Who in your organization is managing the data?
UPS.com
UPS
CampusShip FedEx.com DHL.com Stamps.com PB SendPro
Multi Carrier
Systems
BILLING
Generating monthly invoices (Subscription,
postage adds and supplies) • • • • • • •
Validating charges are correct • • • • • • •
Customized internal billing to chargeback each
cost center based on usage and service fees • • • • • • •
Managing the differences between postage
added to each license to the actual postage
processed • • •
REPORTING
Creating ongoing reporting requirements • • • • • • •
Managing reports are being run and sent at
specific time periods • • • • • • •
Creating cost center chargeback reporting for
AP/Accounting Dept • • • • • • •
Defining thresholds that require attention and
managing these exceptions • • • • • • •
Creating custom reports - ongoing or ad hoc • • • • • • •
VISIBILITY
Providing online inventory of all locations and
account numbers. • • • • • • •
Updating spend data for each location • • • • • • •
Managing contract terms and end dates • • • • • • •
POSTAGE MANAGEMENT
Managing postage access and refill amounts • • •
Minimizing prepaid funds • • •
Validating proper postage chargeback • • •
Recovering unused funds from closed accounts • • •

5. Managing the Day-to-Day Requests
UPS.com
UPS
Multi Carrier
Systems
ONGOING MANAGEMENT
Managing location, user rights and access • • • • • • •
Answering help questions • • • • • • •
Promoting system internally • • • • • • •
Adding new locations • • • • • • •
Adding new users • • • • • • •
Managing passwords, cost centers and address
changes • • • • • • •
Ongoing training and information • • • • • • •
Simplifying supply ordering • • • • • • •
Reaching out to contacts with no activity • • • • • • •
Purging inactive accounts and users • • • • • • •
Handling postage refund requests • • •
• What resources do you have internally making sure your users are supported?
• What level of training does your support staff have to manage these issues?
• How do users make requests and ensure they are completed?
• What documentation and reporting do you have about the requests throughout your
locations?

4. Key Area of Savings
• All require the following:
– Identify the spends
– Group by location
– Distribute the data to the needed stakeholders
– Create education and support to implement changed behaviors
– Report on the changes over time
– Continually reinforce wins

Convert 8:30 to 10:30 delivery
• Most organizations are not receiving the same discounts on 8:30 delivery
as you do on 10:30
• Are there any controls that you want to set up in shipping system or the
location level about who can use this service?
• Visibility to the largest users of 8:30 service
• Would need to have educational programs that we would run on where
this makes sense
• Web links would need to be maintained in your internal intranet where
offices could reference best practices
• Reporting would need to be created to see the change in behavior over
time
1LB UPS Next Day 8:30 UPS Next Day 10:30 Difference FedEx Next Day 8:30 FedEx Next Day 10:30 Difference
Zone 2 $59.47 $29.47 $30.00 $59.18 $29.18 $30.00
Zone 4 $86.51 $56.51 $30.00 $85.95 $55.95 $30.00
Zone 6 $96.65 $66.65 $30.00 $95.99 $65.99 $30.00
Zone 8 $105.51 $75.51 $30.00 $104.79 $74.79 $30.00

Convert 1LB Package to Letter
• Locations may be using the wrong packaging or logging the items incorrectly with significant cost
differences.
• Would need to have educational programs that we could run on where this makes sense.
• Web links would need to be maintained on your intranet where offices could reference best practices.
• Reporting would need to be created to see the change in behavior over time.
Zone 4 UPS 1LB Rate UPS Letter Rate Difference FedEx 1LB Rate FedEx Letter Rate Difference
Next Day 10:30 $56.51 $37.45 $19.06 $55.95 $37.09 $18.86
Next Day 2:30 $50.87 $35.84 $15.03 $49.87 $35.49 $14.38

Convert Air to Ground
• Guaranteed next day delivery in Zone 2
• Guaranteed 2-day delivery in zone 3 and some of 4
• Could replace the majority of 3D
• Need to provide packaging – would need items that could be ordered from your office store
supplies catalog
• Would need to have educational programs that we would run on where this service makes
sense
• Web links would need to be maintained on internal intranet where offices could reference
best practices
• Reporting would need to be created to see the change in behavior over time
1LB Next Day 10:30 Next Day 2:30 2Day AM 2Day 2:30 3D Ground
Zone 2 $29.18 $27.18 $19.71 $18.22 $16.07 $7.85
Zone 3 $43.20 $37.04 $20.52 $18.99 $16.24 $8.23
Zone 4 $55.95 $49.87 $22.29 $19.80 $16.41 $8.96

Pickup Fees
• Most carriers charge weekly pickup fees.
• These fees can vary based on the number of days per week that you have pickup
and your weekly spend.
• These fees can add up when you have multiple locations.
• The carriers may offer discounts, but this will mainly be for the greater than $75 per
week shipper that may not cover most of your locations.
• Many locations may have low volumes and could find other pickup options such as
drop box, on call schedules etc.
• This fee needs to be managed to validate you have the best practices happening
throughout your organization – Every location may not need a daily pickup!
UPS 19 FedEx 19
Daily On-Route pickup - weekly Charge <$75 $27.00 $29.00
Daily On-Route pickup - weekly Charge >$75 $13.50 $14.50
50 Locations with daily pickup 50% >$75, 50% Below $52,650 $56,550

USPS as a Secondary Option
• Here are the areas where the costs are lower:
– Residential light weight items less than 3LB’s.
– Delivery area surcharge items.
– Dimensional rated items (USPS has a different calculation that lowers the weight).
– Less than 1LB items where USPS has rates less than $6 for First Class Parcel. (Would need to
provide the envelopes.)
– USPS does not have fuel surcharges, Saturday delivery and other fees that you pay with UPS.
• Would need educational programs and reporting.
• Could use PC Postage programs for locations that could benefit the most.
Zone 4 Rate Comparison USPS
Expedited
Carrier
Expedited
Carrier
Expedited
Carrier
Weight
Priority
1-3 Day Two Day 3:00 Three Day
Ground 1-5
Day
.5 LB $3.22 $19.80 $16.41 $8.96
1 LB $7.49 $19.80 $16.41 $8.96
5 LB $11.67 $25.63 $21.27 $11.42
Delivery Time Range and to Zone 4
1-3 Day,
2-3 Day 2 Day 3 Day
1-5 Day,
3 Day
Rates based research done on 09/18/19
Residential Surcharge N/A $4.40 $4.40 $3.80
Delivery Area Surcharge (23,500 Zip Codes Qualify) N/A $2.70-4.65 $2.70-4.65 $2.70-4.65
Fuel Surcharge N/A 7.0% 7.0% 7.0%
Address Corrections N/A $16.00 $16.00 $16.00
Saturday Delivery N/A $16.00 $16.00 $16.00

Savings Tips - Move to Commercial Rates
• Huge discounts over retail rates.
• Free tracking on usps.com.
• Need to process through a PC Postage solution to get the discounts. (Click-N-Ship from the USPS does not allow for
Commercial Rates – Only Retail)
• Multiple vendor options to process packages
• Requires the operator to enter the address and submit to the USPS electronically and create a shipping label vs. meter tape.
18%
Average
Savings
13%
Average
Savings
Retail Commercial Base Commercial Plus
Weight LB's 1/27/2019 1/27/2019
% Savings over
Retail 1/27/2019
% Savings
over Base
1 $7.35-12.20 $6.95-9.91 5-19% (8% Avg) $6.95-9.91 0%
5 $9.80-34.80 $7.81-28.84 17-25% (21% Avg) $7.81-28.84 0%
10 $13.10-59.90 $9.38-50.38 16-40% (24% Avg) $9.38-50.38 0%
25 $23.35-113.95 $18.04-91.15 17-26% (21% Avg) $18.04-91.15 0%
50 $33.70-180.50 $27.25-144.32 17-22% (19% Avg) $27.25-144.32 0%
Flat Rate Envelopes $7.35 $6.95 5% $6.95 0%
Small Flat Rate Box $7.90 $7.50 5% $7.50 0%
Medium Flat Rate Boxes $14.35 $12.80 11% $12.80 0%
Large Flat Rate Boxes $19.95 $17.60 12% $17.60 0%
Retail Commercial Base
Weight LB's 1/27/2019 1/27/2019
% Savings over
Retail
1 $25.60-56.10 $22.74-49 11-13% (12% Avg)
5 $27.05-91 $23.91-77.47 12-15% (13% Avg)
10 $40.75-134.20 $35.99-114.12 12-15% (13% Avg)
25 $73.85-227.60 $64.69-195.84 12-14% (13% Avg)
50 $130.85-420.90 $114.61-362.2 12-14% (13% Avg)
Flat Rate Envelopes $25.50 $22.68 11%
USPS Priority Mail®
USPS Priority Mail® Express

First-Class Mail®
Package Service
Best Savings Opportunity
Less than 1 LB parcels where USPS holds a
Monopoly (Private carriers start at 1LB)
1-3 day delivery
Weight
Ounces
First-Class Mail®
- Parcels Retail
First-Class Mail®
- Package
Services
Commercial Savings
Up to 4 $3.66-4.06 $2.66-3.09 24-27%
5 $4.39-4.81 $3.18-3.63 25-28%
6 $4.39-4.81 $3.18-3.63 25-28%
7 $4.39-4.81 $3.18-3.63 25-28%
8 $4.39-4.81 $3.18-3.63 25-28%
9 $5.19-5.66 $3.82-4.33 23-26%
10 $5.19-5.66 $3.82-4.33 23-26%
11 $5.19-5.66 $3.82-4.33 23-26%
12 $5.19-5.66 $3.82-4.33 23-26%
13 $5.71-6.27 $4.94-5.53 12-13%
14 $7.35-9.30 $4.94-5.53 33-41%
15 $7.35-9.30 $4.94-5.53 33-41%
15.999 $7.35-9.30 $4.94-5.53 33-41%
Convert from Retail to Commercial

Certified Mail with Electronic Return Receipt
(ERR)
• Save $1.20 by switching to an electronic version.

Consider Multi Carrier Web Based Enterprise Systems
• Employee-level access
• Multi-carrier rate shopping
• Single Sign On for simple user
management and control
• USPS capabilities including
• Commercial rates
• Electronic Return Receipt
• Optional stamp printing
• Simplifies visibility and oversight
Empowered Employees

Why is it easier for a company to send a $10
Overnight item than a $.55 letter?
• Use CampusShip or Fedex.com
• Simple to use and defined process across
the organization.
• All users can ship from any location at any
time.
– Includes home office and traveling
users.
• All charges are summarized by cost
center and downloadable into an excel file
for uploads.
• Multiple ways to process.
– Postage Meters
– PC Postage
– End users purchasing Stamps
• No defined process across the organization.
• The location determines how mail gets
processed based on purchased technology.
– The majority of locations will need to drive to
the USPS to purchase stamps and will not
have the correct denominations for heavier
items.
• Limited visibility to postage spends.
Fragmented process between vendors, petty
cash and credit cards.

New System Onboarding
• The success of the onboarding plan will determine the
systems internal acceptance and optimization.
• Do you have the right internal resources?
UPS.com
UPS
Multi Carrier
Systems
ONBOARDING • • • • • • •
Create rollout plan • • • • • • •
Working through IT Issues • • • • • • •
Setting up system to client specifications • • • • • • •
Adding users • • • • • • •
Adding cost centers • • • • • • •
Ordering scales, label printers and starter
supplies • • • • • • •
Sending out first time user email and
instructions • • • • • • •
Running Educational Webinars • • • • • • •
Validating first time use - activation and
training • • • • • • •
Assisting with current equipment returns • • • • • • •

5. How We Can Help
We can:
• Compile the data and put it in a detailed dashboard
• Do a detailed audit to provide cost reduction/savings
opportunities
• Manage the day-to-day requests in our web self-serve
case management system
• Help educate the locations on transportation/carrier best
practices to optimize shipping spend controls

Using Best In Class Tools and Resources
• Work with all vendors’ data and build this visibility
• Maintain this data in a multi-vendor multi-location system
• Update this data monthly and when big changes in your
portfolio happen
• Use this data to drive savings through your portfolio

Contact: Adam Lewenberg - President
888-977-MAIL X 501
adam.lewenberg@postaladvocate.com
Questions?

How To Manage PC Postage and Carrier Services Across Your Enterprise

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Similaire à How To Manage PC Postage and Carrier Services Across Your Enterprise

Similaire à How To Manage PC Postage and Carrier Services Across Your Enterprise (20)

Plus de Postal Advocate Inc.

Plus de Postal Advocate Inc. (14)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

How To Manage PC Postage and Carrier Services Across Your Enterprise