DECEMBER 2010

14

INSIDE >>

3

ManageMentStrategic Planning: More Important than ever

aSSocIatIon11th MFSa Member earns Fulfillment accreditation

6

BuSIneSS oPeratIonS

thoughts on the Fulfillment Industry

(Continued to page 8)

(Continued to page 14)

Post ScriptsM a i l i n g & F u l F i l l M e n t S e r v i c e a S S o c i a t i o n

SpECIalVENDOR

ISSuE

By Dick YemmFirst asset consultants, llc

Bob and caroline Jones were on their way home from the movies one evening when an elderly man ran a stop sign, t-boning their car. everyone involved was critically injured. the hardest decisions af-fecting the outcome of a business’s con-tinued operation center around owner-ship and management. We will take the story of Bob and caroline to show how different levels of planning will affect a business’s future.

Future planning for a business’s continued operation needs to address a large number of po-tential triggering events. these include retirement; incapacity (medical and accidents); family divorce; and death. Bob and caroline had invested the past fifteen years building a successful mailing and fulfill-ment operation with forty-five employees. the busi-ness was purchased by Bob from his father twenty years ago. His father had started it from scratch. Bob owns 51 percent and caroline 49 percent.

Bob is the primary operator of the business. He makes the difficult day-to-day decisions and caro-

line had worked in the office but she has focused on raising the children for the past eight years. caroline sustained life ending injuries. Bob had severe injuries requiring extensive medical treatment leaving him unable to participate for months in the business’s af-fairs. What do you suppose happened to their busi-

ness?

the future of Bob and caroline’s business depends on what level of planning they had done before the accident. their op-tions included no planning; basic estate planning; and business contingency suc-cession planning.

No planningWith no planning, state laws prevail when direct-ing the outcome of a business’s future. Federal laws, regulations and taxes can also influence what hap-pens such as estate taxes. initial decisions regarding guardian and probate issues are made at the circuit or Surrogate court level in different divisions de-pending on the state having jurisdiction. the busi-ness in all probability would be closed because of the time and cost for a judge to determine “who” should run the company due to Bob’s incapacity. the “who” would be solely at the judge’s discretion based on

BuSINESS CONtINgENCy SuCCESSION plaNNINg fOR a COMpaNy

It is too late to make an action plan

after an event occurs.

NOTE: Recently, Dave Campbell of MMS Direct registered four people for the upcoming Mid-Winter Conference in Miami, Feb. 2-5, 2011. MFSA was curious and asked Dave why.

By cindy conner and Dave campbellMMS Direct

our company, MMS Direct, is sending four people to the Mid-Winter conference and have made a significant investment to attend. the brochure was sent at the perfect time as it allowed us to realize the advantages to share this experience with two of our key managers.

the direction of the industry is changing, and this conference looks like it will con-tinue to recharge us as owners to lead the way within our market area. With today’s economy, it’s never been more important to manage and run our business well, while at the same time planning for future growth.

in order to make time for those tasks, we realize the importance of our key employ-ees taking ownership of their responsibilities. the education our customer service and sales manager can gain from this conference is invaluable: from how to imple-ment and manage a results-oriented sales process to enhancing our fulfillment offerings by integrating more variable data printing, and learning to communicate

ONE MEMBER’S pERSpECtIVE ON attENDINg thE MID-WINtER CONfERENCE

Dave campbell and cindy con-nor of MMS Direct explain why they are bringing four people to the Mid-Winter conference

2 MFSA PostScripts

Mark your calendar >>MiDWinter conFerencethe Doral golf resort & SpaMiami, Floridafebruary 2-5, 2011

annual conFerence antlers Hiltoncolorado Springs, coloradoJune 14–18, 2011

Postscripts is published monthly for MFSa members. For advertising information, please contact: Bill Stevenson at bstevenson@MFSanet.org or 800-333-6272.

DECEMBER 2010 ISSuE 630

President’s ColumnPost Scripts

Board of Directors

Chairman of the Board

Ken Gossett; AMI, Alexandria, VA

first ViCe Chairman

Tom Duchene; TDMS, Huntington Beach, CA

seCond ViCe Chairman

Ted Kulpinski; W.A. Wilde Company, Holliston, MA

treasurer

Mike Kellogg; Century Direct, LLC, Long Island City, NY

immediate Past Chairman

Michael Murphy; Japs-Olson, St. Louis Park, MN

direCtors

Charles Buchanan; World Marketing-Dallas, Dallas, TXTammy Caserta; Think Patented, Dayton, OHGreg Fischer; Marketing Support Services, Cincinnati, OHJoy Franckowiak; Valpak, St. Petersburg, FLLaura Harper; FPMSI, Haverhill, MATim Johnson; Impact Proven Solutions, Minneapolis, MNChris Lien; BCC Software Inc., Rochester, NYBuz Prosser; Consolidated Mailing Corporation, Shawnee Mission, KSMike Stewart; Great Lakes Integrated, Avon Lake, OHEric Strand; RESCO, Hudson, WIGary Weinberg; Quality Letter Service, Inc., New York, NY

Mailing & Fulfillment Service association1421 Prince Street, Ste. 410alexandria, va 22314tel: 703-836-9200; 800-333-6272Fax: 703-548-8204email: MFSa-mail@MFSanet.orgwww.MFSanet.org

Well, maybe not embrace it, but at least make peace with it. change is an inevitable reality of life and business. and, is it my imagination or is the rate of change increasing at a dizzying pace? We can perceive it as being positive or negative, but in the end it’s what we make of it that counts.

consider for a moment how change is impacting our industry and businesses. let’s begin by looking at our most significant “business partner,” the uSPS. the past several years have been characterized

by an unprecedented rate of change at the Postal Service as the agency wrestles with financial viability. change has been manifested in a cascade of new rules and processes that have added considerable complexity and expense. and, we now have a new PMg who will be faced with a daunting array of challenges related to the future of uSPS.

Following the november elections we now have a reconstituted congress. these are the folks who will largely determine the future of the Postal Service. as an industry, we now have the challenge of educating all of the new members of congress about the importance and value of our industry, the extended supply chain, and the impact they have on our collective futures. MFSa’s membership continues to face a combination of unprecedented challenges forcing its business leaders to consider fundamental changes to their respective value propositions. Maintaining the status quo will not be an option for most. ensuring a viable future will depend on planning for, and executing new business strategies that will require a new mindset regarding customer focused products and services.

and, of course, these changes require MFSa to change. Beginning with the develop-ment of a strategic plan in 2009, we have been working hard to “reinvent” the associa-tion to better meet the current and future needs of its members. We have reengineered our dues structure to make the value we create more affordable and more customized for members. We have developed new relationships with industry supplier partners to provide additional member support in a variety of areas. We have worked to estab-lish partnerships and collaborations with other organizations to optimize the value we create. We have developed active advocacy capabilities at the local level (Mail Moves america coalition), at l’enfant Plaza where we have developed stronger working re-lationships with uSPS leadership, and at the Federal level where we have established MFSa as a recognized industry representative in congress. We played a critical role in the coalition that influenced the Prc decision to reject the exigent rate case. We have worked to improve the quality of the publications we produce as evidenced by the redesign and repositioning of PostScripts and the dramatically improved quality of our recent industry pricing survey. We led the creation and development of an in-dustry white paper that has helped a number of members map out a new business strategy. We have improved the quality of our conferences with an increased focus on educational content. We have made a significant investment in the development of our chapter structure and support of members at the local level. the risk management committee also launched the MFSa commercial insurance program, which provides a customized risk management and insurance program exclusively for members.

Here at staff headquarters we know our task is far from over. the reality for us is that our commitment to improving the quality and relevancy of what we do on your behalf is never finished – it’s continuous. We look forward to working on developing a deeper re-lationship with members to plot a strategy for success into the future. We encourage you to contact us and let us know your wants, needs, and expectations. let us know what we need to improve – and, we always appreciate hearing what we have done well.

let’s accept change as an opportunity to improve. now is the time to take advantage of the considerable discontinuity that currently characterizes our industry with a com-mitment to dramatic improvement.

ChaNgE – EMBRaCE It!

Ken garnerMFSa President

DECEMBER 2010 3

By Paul D. Meyer, Presidenttecker consultants, inc.

organizations are turning to strategic planning as an important tool for refocusing and rebuilding their or-ganization during uncertain economic times. Strate-gic planning has been about focusing in and getting back to basics or responding to a ‘new normal’ while the organization is coming out of a deep recession.

in working with more than 200 organizations in de-veloping and implementing strategic plans, tecker consultants has identified several attributes that de-scribe successful strategic planning:

the importance of viewing strategic planning as a separate, but integrated, process from ongoing operational planning and budgeting. Strategic planning should be viewed as a process to define areas of focus in a given time horizon rather than a document to include all the important products, ser-vices, and business lines of an organization. We tend to want everything to be strategic; therefore, we in-clude everything in the strategic plan. the plan be-comes glorified operational plan rather than a truly strategic plan.

the importance of environmental scan-ning as a starting point for the strategic plan. looking out at the external environ-ment including current conditions and trends and extrapolating about the future before looking inward becomes an essen-tial step in the planning process. organiza-tions do not have to spend thousands of dollars on research to conduct an environ-mental scan. a literature search, qualitative telephone interviews with a small set of in-dustry leaders or even a short exercise con-ducted with company owners and senior staff can provide the information needed for creating future industry assumptions. You will never be exactly right, but a regu-lar review of the assumptions you create will assist in recalibrating strategy on an ongoing basis.

the importance of creating multiple planning horizons and become a strate-gic thinking organization. traditionally, strategic plans have been created in either five-year or three-year timeframes. i have found that strategic planning requires multiple opportunities for measuring suc-cess not just at a three or five year mark. We call the process “strategic thinking” and a plan in the outcome of the thinking pro-cess. Milestones are created at different

time horizons ranging from one year to sometimes 10 years or more. this requires ongoing assessment of success rather than waiting for the proverbial five-year mark.

the importance of investing in an implementa-tion strategy tied to performance metrics and employee evaluations. a good rule of thumb is to invest as much time and money in creating an im-plementation strategy as you spent in creating the strategic plan itself. Paul observes that most organi-zations exhaust resources creating the strategic plan and spend less on the implementation strategy. a comprehensive implementation strategy includes elements such as a communications plan, perfor-mance metrics, opportunities for working across si-los, a schedule to connect strategies to operations, and a link to employee evaluation.

Paul Meyer will expand upon these topics and assist participants in developing or enhancing their own company strategic plans at his three-part education-al session at the 2011 Mid-Winter conference, Feb-ruary 2-5, in Miami, and can be reached at pmeyer@tecker.com for further dialogue and questions.

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4 MFSA PostScripts

ManagementChaNgE IN lEaDERShIp WIll NOt MakE pROBlEMS gO aWay

Cooper has been actively involved in major postal issues for more than ten years.  He founded and chaired the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, which helped organize the mailing in-dustry to pass Postal Reform in 2006. He also serves as Executive Director of Mail Moves America, the organization formed by DMA to fight Do Not Mail legislation in the states.  He is currently a part-ner at Williams and Jensen. Prior to coming to Williams and Jensen, he was with the Printing Industries of America.

Ben cooperWilliams and Jensen

the elections are (finally) over and the new con-gress is planning its reorganization. of course, republicans have won control of the House of representatives and the Democrats have retained control of the Senate with a narrower majority. the republican win in the House was unprecedented in its size and scope.

it is unclear at this point how this new balance of power will play out but there are some general ob-servations that are clear. What might be referred to as the “obama agenda” is done for at least the next two years. in its place will be efforts by House republicans to repeal, roll back or modify health care and financial services reform. there will also be concerted efforts to reduce or limit the size and scope of the federal government. the problem for republicans is that while they have a majority in the House, they do not control either the Senate or the White House so there may be little to show at the end of the next two years other than effort.

What about postal issues and the future of the Postal Service itself? needless to say, a lot is hap-pening. the retirement of John Potter as PMg will be a change in personalities only. Few are expect-ing Pat Donahoe, his successor, to be significantly different in management style. changing leaders also will not make the problems go away. the big issue is how capitol Hill will respond.

in the Senate, it is expected that the current line-up on the Homeland Security committee will re-main the same. Sen. Joseph lieberman (D-ct) will remain chairman and Sen. tom carper (D-De) will remain chairman of the primary oversight sub-committee. Sen. Susan collins will remain as rank-ing republican on the committee. other changes to the committee membership may be created as members consider other assignments. at least one new member is likely to be added to the mi-nority side replacing Sen. george voinovich who will retire at the end of this year.

in January, rep. Darrell issa (r-ca) takes over as chairman of the House oversight committee. While rep. issa has been critical recently of the efforts to “fix” the civil Service retirement Sys-tem (cSrc) overpayment issue as well as delay or “refinance” the retiree medical payment, he has expressed interest in postal legislation. issa’s criti-cisms have followed a charge that began during the consideration of postal reform in 2004 referring to such actions as “bailouts.” candidly, the mailing industry and the uSPS have not done a very good job of framing the issues in a different light.

rep. Jason chaffetz (r-ut) is in line to assume the

chairmanship of the Federal Workforce Subcom-mittee which has direct jurisdiction over the uSPS; however, that decision will not be made until after this article is printed.

House republican leadership as well as some key members in the Senate want to see change at the Postal Service. there is widespread agreement among some of these members that the labor expense is simply unsustainable. they also want to see the uSPS act more like a business. at the same time, the counter pressures on closing fa-cilities and changing delivery have frozen postal management.

it is too early to tell what will happen. clearly, the settlement of the first two labor contracts will be very telling. if significant change does not result from these two negotiations, congress - or at least the House – may take action. Similar to health care issues discussed above, legislation passed by a republican House would not likely make it to the President’s desk.

currently, there is a bill introduced by Senator carper (S. 3831) which deals with a few items on the uSPS wish list and the “instructions to the arbi-trator” language that has been discussed all year. it is also likely that Sen. collins will introduce a bill before the year ends. neither bill is expected to be considered by the Senate this congress.

if there is anything different about 2011 compared to other years, it is a realization that not only are programs such as Social Security and Medicare in trouble over the long road but retirement benefits of state and federal employees are reaching a cri-sis point. in good economic times, it was common to promise life time benefits to public employees; however, in lean times such benefits create tre-mendous burdens on the taxpayer. While there is a compelling argument to be made that postal ben-efits are paid by postal rate payers, it is the taxpay-er that provides the safety net for those benefits if the postal system collapses. this may change the dynamics for legislation dealing with the cSrS and retiree medical issue in 2011- 2012.

the mailing industry is at an interesting cross-roads. only a small number of industry companies are active in Washington. Few of them are active politically (give money to campaigns). Most of the work of the industry has been through trade asso-ciations and many associations have substantially reduced staff and political activity over the years. this reduction in political strength has come at a bad time.

DECEMBER 2010 5

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6 MFSA PostScripts

Fulfillment

By tom Quinn, chief consultantQ Fulfillment Solutions, inc.

as 2010 winds down, i wanted to share some random thoughts and observations about our industry as we continue to work our way through the longest and toughest recession i can recall. i have been fortunate, in this first year of retirement, to continue to be active in the industry through the MFSa Hotline, consulting with several companies, attending the MFSa annual Meeting, and most recently by participating at graph expo.

My thoughts and observations are as follows:things are Changing…fastentering the 2010 graph expo exhibit Hall was the most striking example of rapid change that i have experienced in many years. the primary spots once occupied by Heidelberg, Komori, Man-roland and other offset printing press manufacturers were replaced by HP, Xerox, ricoh, canon and other digital printing manufactures. While the recession has been a catalyst in this rapid change, it makes me wonder if the inevitable change from traditional ink-on-paper to digital has been fully endorsed by the industry. the show was approximately one third the size it was several years ago and the traffic was light. i visualize this change as positive for our mailing and fulfillment members who have developed and diversified with the digital printing technologies.

We are the experts in this market and with the proper planning and investment, we should have a marketing and performance advantage over our printing cohorts. the next several years will be one of those unique periods in our industry when aggressive, entrepreneurial, and forward thinking companies will grow and prosper at a higher rate than the market growth. it is understood that these are tough times, but if you can find the way to continue and embrace your diversification efforts the return on your investment will be realized.

Send Me your Sons and Daughters i find the energy, enthusiasm, and communications awareness of our younger generation (under 40) to be a positive sign that our industry will succeed and prosper in the future. Most of my data to substantiate this claim is being gathered from a Sales Peer group, which was formed this year. the purpose of the Peer group is to train sales personnel, new to the industry, how to sell MSP programs and also to provide a forum for them to discuss problems and opportunities in their sales efforts encountered the previous week.

there are five (5) members ranging in experience from new college graduate to having owned a mailing business. Four of the five are under the age of 30 and most are at their second job. generally speaking, the younger the age, the more communication and computer savvy they are. each week we review a number of sales calls and how they are progressing potential clients through the sales cycle. their energy level is vey high and they are making significant progress in their profession. over the past several years, i have stated that one of the impediments to implementing successful MSP programs (especially fulfillment) has been the lack of time and enthusiasm invested by the ownership of mailing and fulfillment companies. i have pleaded for owners to take a more concerted effort to be involved in these new business entities. However, i have changed my strategy and now believe that the long-term success of our membership companies lies with the future generation and our ability to teach them the business and more importantly, to learn how to sell these new services.

there’s Business Out therein the worst recession since the great Depression, there is still business out there for you to capture. the Fulfillment Hotline, the Sales Peer group and my personal contacts have provided me with data to substantiate this claim. i have had the opportunity to work on several rFP’s in the past year and to assist many more companies with standard proposals. However, the most impressive performance has come from the Sales Peer group.

these young sales people have started with essentially no customer base and have closed substantial amounts of business while learning and working with the handicap that the services they are selling may not be in the core competency of their company. they are achieving their goals the old fashioned way – hard work. they are suspecting, prospecting, and completing other key functions in the sales cycle to drive new business into their respective companies. the sharing they have all received in the Peer group has assisted them in the process. their competitive nature drives them to do more when they compare their performance to their peers. it is great to see that hard work coupled with modern sales management, crM, marketing services and other sales tools still work. the business is out there if you look for it correctly and you are selective in your approach.

i wish you good selling

Thoughts and Observations on the Fulfillment Industry

tom QuinnQ Fulfillment Solutions

Tom Quinn created Q Fulfillment Solutions, Inc., which is dedicated to educating and training mail-ers, 3PF companies, and printers in the establishment, growth and management of Fulfillment Ser-vices within their companies. He recently retired as MFSA Director of Fulfillment Services after five years of service. He is now a con-sultant to the industry, utilizing his over 25 years of experience in the fulfillment industry to help educate and guide members in the area of fulfillment. He fre-quently writes articles for the MFSA newsletter - PostScripts, and other mailing and printing periodicals. He is also a speaker at many industry functions and is the driving force behind the MFSA/NAPL Fulfillment Confer-ence.

DECEMBER 2010 7

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8 MFSA PostScripts

Planning continued from page 1evidence presented. the value of the business after closing would be its hard assets like machinery being liquidated at distress prices.

in many states a judge in a different court division would determine who would receive caroline’s in-terest in the company based on state testamentary statutes. Bob and caroline have three children. the oldest child, Julia, just graduated from college. John, a senior in high school and Bridget, a sophomore, complete the immediate family. none appear to be qualified to run the company at this time. they may be entitled with Bob to shares of caroline’s interest in the company.

Basic Estate planningaccording to investorwords.com the definition of estate planning is “the preparation of a plan of ad-ministration and disposition of one’s property before or after death, including will, trusts, gifts, power of attorney, etc.”

Bob and caroline each had wills and durable powers of attorney as part of their estate planning package. the respective spouse in the event of incapacity was named as attorney in Fact and Personal representa-tive in the event of death. their durable power of at-torney and will had no named successor to either of them.

Due to caroline’s death, a judge would have to se-lect an attorney in Fact using the guidance offered in Bob’s durable power of attorney. the new “who” to run the company will be at the discretion of the newly appointed attorney in Fact unless contractual arrangements have been previously made. the busi-ness would probably survive though at diminished value and ability. legal costs and interruptions to the business could threaten its longevity. additionally, it is not unusual for employees to jump ship due to the insecurity of the company’s future.

caroline’s 49 percent interest will be distributed ac-cording to her will or contractual titling of shares; i.e. joint tenants with right of survivorship, etc.

Business Contingency Succession planninga Business contingency Succession Plan is the next step beyond estate planning. its objective is to pro-vide a seamless transition of management and own-ership. Management succession is ensured through an action Plan that has captured confidential operat-ing information. the plan focuses on what differenti-ates the company from its competition.

reasons for operating and marketing efficiencies are disclosed in a confidential manner: for example, why one type of press or sorting machine is preferred, or, how family members should fill empty positions.

Plans cover a range of issues from the very basic to the more advanced. circumstances of the triggering event, ownership, family involvement, senior man-agement capability within the company and more should be addressed. issues that will make a differ-ence include:

• Having a seamless transition action plan• Succession of ownership• Succession of management

o Successor licensingo identifying qualified successoro availability of proposed successor

• Fairness to family members• use of insurance and all personal assets• tax considerations• continue to operate or sell the business• Documenting unique advantages over competitors

these are only a few of the many issues that need to be considered.

Bob’s action plan provided a seamless transition of temporary management allowing him to return to his company after many absent months hardly miss-ing a beat in its operation. the value of using an experienced professional team familiar with devel-oping such an action Plan far outweighs the cost of family distress and financial loss. it is too late to make a plan after an event occurs.

Dick Yemm will be a breakout speaker at the Mid-Winter Conference in Miami in February. He is an award winning author, speaker and consultant on contingency succession planning. Dick is a profes-sionally licensed Certified Financial Planner™. For more information please call Dick at 772-562-1281, email: rileyspress@atlan-tic.net or visit www.dicky-emm.com.

IDEa ExChaNgE at MID-WINtER tO lEaD tO ROuNDtaBlE DISCuSSIONS

roundtable discussions have always been a significant networking and learning opportunity for MFSa conference partici-pants. usually, during breakfast participants choose to participate in one of five to six groups addressing a key operational or strategic topic that is of immediate interest to the participant. as part of the 2011 Mid-Winter conference, February 2-5, 2011, in Miami, we have set aside 50 minutes on Friday morning for a free-flowing facilitated exchange and ranking of ideas. We call it “50 ideas in 50 Minutes.”

Participants to the conference who have recently implemented a strategic, operational, sales, mar-keting, Hr, or other idea that has had a significant impact on the company’s profitability and suc-cess will have the opportunity to share that idea with their peers. then at the end of the session the top Five ideas will be selected for further discussion at the roundtables on Saturday morning.

Members should consider this as another reason to attend the 2011 Mid-Winter conference. More education, table-top show, three plant tours, networking, reasonably-priced resort property, u.S. travel – all at similar registration rates as last year. For more information, go to www.MFSanet.org.

DECEMBER 2010 9

10 MFSA PostScripts

Education

What has your company done in the past two years to keep up-to-date with industry changes and challenges? Have you in-vested in the most important of all of your resources: your staff? now, more than ever, is the time to make that investment and reap the benefits of the Mid-Winter conference. the business landscape is very different than it was two years ago, and every-one, businesses and individuals have made sacrifices to survive. the MFSa Mid-Winter conference is an excellent opportunity to re-energize businesses and their staff, with education, network-ing and more, relevant to helping business thrive in the coming year.

the MFSa Mid-Winter conference has changed to meet the needs of today’s mailing, fulfillment and printing company. Here’s how MFSa has invested in creating a better conference experience:

• Broader education, with tracks on strategy, fulfillment, sales, marketing, postal, and operations. • Plant tours of some highly successful south Florida companies. • an exclusive table-top vendor forum, with a limited the number of companies in attendance to create a one-on-one experience.

even though MFSa has reinvented the Mid-Winter conference to broaden its relevance and appeal, one of the more popular aspects of the conference has been preserved: the destination. it may not make sound economic sense to take the meeting to a luxury resort in Hawaii right now, but MFSa has managed to get a great deal at a great resort in South Florida. the location was chosen primarily for its mild winter weather and the great meeting space, but to sweeten the deal – it has great luxury ac-commodations, world-class golf, an incredible spa, pools, family activities and great nightlife! attendees will come for the educa-tion, networking, plant tours and vendor connections, but will also plan to enjoy the surroundings to leave refreshed and ener-gized, ready to take on the next business challenge.

Here are some highlights of the Doral resort:• Five championship golf courses, including the famed Blue Monster • golf driving range • clinics and lessons at the Jim Mclean golf School • Blue lagoon pool with multiple pools and 125-foot waterslide • lap pool, kiddie pool, adults-only pool • Fitness center/weight room • tennis center • camp Doral, with activities for children ages 5 – 12; Babysitter services for younger kids • the Spa at Doral • Sauna and Jacuzzis

the guest rooms at the Doral are an oasis of comfort when it’s time to take a break from the conference activities. the decor of the spacious guest rooms captures a fresh, so-

phisticated resort atmosphere. Plantation shutters, private bal-conies or terraces, deluxe baths, high-speed internet access in every room and uncompromising service are just a few of the special touches every guest enjoys. less expensive hotels can be found in Miami, but not with the amenities and meeting space that the Doral provides. this is a top-notch property at an excel-lent price.

the most successful companies in 2011 will make the invest-ment to stay informed and be better prepared to face the year’s challenges.

You know you want to go.

the negotiated MFSa room rate at the Doral resort is $219 per night with no resort fee. the MFSa rate includes internet access in the guest rooms. Make reservations now by calling (800) 266-9432 and request the group rate for the Mailing & Fulfillment Service association. Book online by going to the hotel informa-tion section of the Mid-Winter conference website at:www.MFSanet.org/midwinterhotel

the deadline to make hotel reservations at the discounted rate is January 10, 2011. Make the reservation now and avoid the post-holiday rush.

2011 MfSa MID-WINtER CONfERENCE: a SOuND INVEStMENt IN yOuR BuSINESS

DECEMBER 2010 11

The Doral Resort • Miami, FL

February 2-5, 2011There’s something big on the horizon!

MFSA is offering 3 educational tracks, designed to appeal to owners AND managers.

This growing conference

has big things being

planned for you: Education,

networking and more.

For more information

about how to reserve your

hotel room, go to:

www.MFSAnet.org/midwinter

Hold the date and make your plans now to attend MFSA’s Mid-Winter Conference in Miami, FL.

12 MFSA PostScripts

Christopher C. Antone is the managing partner of the Dallas office of Jackson Lewis LLP, our Association’s Labor Counsel. Celebrat-ing 28 years with Jackson Lewis, for the past four years Chris was named one of the top 100 labor law-yers in the country by the Labor Relations Institute. If you have any questions regarding this article, or for more information or assist-ance, please contact Chris Antone at (214) 647-2095 or antonec@jacksonlewis.com. For a description of Jackson Lewis’ services and more information on work-place law issues, please visit their web site at www.jacksonlewis.com.

chris antoneJackson Lewis

Management

Supporting predictions that the americans with Dis-abilities act amendments act (aDaaa) would make it more difficult for employers to win aDa cases at the summary judgment stage, a district court in in-diana has ruled that cancer in remission constitutes a disability under the law regardless of whether it cur-rently limits a major life activity. Hoffman v. carefirst of Fort Wayne, inc. d/b/a advanced Healthcare, no. 1:09-cv-251 (n.D. ind. aug. 31, 2010). as more plain-tiffs are able to prove they have a “disability” under the amended aDa, as in Hoffman, the focus of litiga-tion will turn to whether employers have complied with their obligation to provide “reasonable accom-modation” and equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with disabilities.

aDaaa’S Relaxed Definition Of Disabilitythe aDaaa, which took effect in January 2009, makes it significantly easier for a plaintiff to establish that he or she is disabled under the aDa. While the aDaaa retains the aDa’s definition of “disability” as a sub-stantial limitation of a major life activity, it stipulates that its meaning “shall be construed in favor of broad coverage of individuals . . . to the maximum extent permitted by the terms of [the aDa.]” in addition, the aDaaa makes clear that “[a]n impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would sub-stantially limit a major life activity when active.”

Because the aDaaa does not apply retroactively, courts ruling on disability discrimination cases in-volving facts that arose prior to January 1, 2009 have continued to apply the original aDa standard. now, almost two years after the aDaaa took effect, cases arising after January 1, 2009 have made their way through the eeoc administrative process and are reaching the federal courts. Hoffman portrays in stark relief the difference between the original aDa and its post-aDaaa counterpart when it comes to the definition of disability.

hoffman and the “New” Disability Standardthe plaintiff in Hoffman, who worked as a service technician supplying patients with home medical devices, was diagnosed with Stage iii renal carcino-ma in november 2007. Soon after, plaintiff took time off from work for surgery and recovery, returning to work in January 2008 with no specific restrictions on his ability to work or his work schedule.

in January 2009, while the plaintiff’s cancer was in remission, his supervisor informed him that all ser-vice technicians were required to work mandatory overtime up to 70 hours per week because of a new account. Hoffman provided his employer with a doc-tor’s note indicating that he could not work more than forty hours per week. the company ultimately

agreed to limit Hoffman’s workweek to 40 hours but required him to work out of an office that would ne-cessitate two to three extra hours of travel time per day.

Hoffman sued his employer, alleging the company violated the aDa by terminating his employment without offering a reasonable accommodation and because it regarded him as having a disability.

the employer moved for summary judgment. it as-serted that Hoffman did not have a disability under the aDa because there was no substantial limitation on a major life activity; Hoffman’s cancer was in re-mission during the period that gave rise to the litiga-tion, the company argued, and he did not have any work restrictions, performed his regular job duties, and did not miss any significant time from work.

the district court rejected the employer’s argument. according to the court, under the aDaaa’s require-ment that “[a]n impairment that is episodic or in re-mission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active,” Hoffman’s condition constituted a disability because renal cancer would have substantially limited a major life activity when it was active. the court also relied on the eeoc’s pro-posed regulations implementing the aDaaa, which lists cancer as an impairment “that will consistently meet the definition of disability.”

relying primarily on its failed argument that Hoff-man was not disabled, the employer, according to the court, largely ignored any reasonable accommo-dation analysis. Hoffman, on the other hand, “carried his initial burden of showing that his proposed ac-commodation [of working closer to home] was rea-sonable on its face,” the court said. thus, the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment.

now that the aDaaa has been in effect for almost two years, employers can expect a growing number of decisions arising under the new standards. em-ployers meanwhile still are waiting for the eeoc to issue final regulation to implement the aDaaa. un-der the original aDa, many courts, after conduct-ing an individualized assessment, concluded that a plaintiff with cancer was not substantially limited in a major life activity and, therefore, not an individual with a disability. under the aDaaa, employers will have a harder time defeating a claim of disability. as Hoffman illustrates, they should be prepared to dem-onstrate that their actions complied with the aDa obligation to provide reasonable accommodation and equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with disabilities.

COuRt INtERpREtS aDaaa, SayS CaNCER IN REMISSION IS a DISaBIlIty

DECEMBER 2010 13

By eric HerrenkohlHerrenkohl consulting

getting employees to take more ownership for re-sults in your business can be tricky. there are two primary components that are required to get an em-ployee to take ownership: the employee’s talent & motivation and the owner/manager’s time. Without talent and motivation, employees won’t take initia-tive. But even the best employees can’t take respon-sibility for work if you don’t invest the time to explain to them what needs to happen, why it is important, and how to make it happen.

Here are some different scenarios and different ap-proaches for helping employees to take ownership of their work.

get out of your own way. Sometimes the business owner is the biggest obstacle blocking the way to employee initiative. if you have a strong individual on your staff that has proven his or her ability to get things done, carve out a specific area of responsibil-ity and ask them to put together a plan to take it over. review the plan with them and provide your input and suggestions. then agree to next actions and let them run with it. trust me, the best thing you can do is let go of some con-trol and let people do what they are capable of doing.

have them set their own goals. as leaders and managers we often insist on dictating to people what they need to know in order to be effective. With your more senior people, ask them to tell you what they need, and ask them to set their goals and objectives first. You will often find that they set more demanding goals and time frames than you would. the employee is now aiming for goals and completion dates that he has set for him-self.

Invest in your best people. there is a ten-dency in many businesses to devote too much precious time to problem children and not enough with your best employees. as a business owner or manager, you have a tre-mendous number of things to oversee and your time to invest with employees is limited. Make sure to invest your time where it will yield the biggest return.

Don’t leave your passenger seat empty. take people with you to events and meet-ings. one of the best ways to assess if an em-ployee has the right stuff is to include him or

her in a vendor meeting or in planning a marketing event. get employees exposed to the different as-pects of your business.

hold weekly individual meetings. Your best em-ployees need you to coach them through the process of taking on more responsibility. You, however, must be extremely conscious of your time and invest it in areas that generate the biggest payoff. one method for doing this is scheduling a regular weekly meeting with this employee. this gives you scheduled time to help them learn what they need to learn. it also pro-vides you with a set time to measure their progress and make sure they are getting things done.

give your best employees a career, not a job. take the time to ask your best employees about their goals for their career and their life. Work with them to shape their responsibilities to help them achieve their goals. in this way, you increase the chances that your best people will stick around and take on even more ownership and responsibility down the road.

MFSA members can get a copy of the new Pricing Study TODAY!

This is by far, the most comprehensive national study of pricing for mailing services available. This study includes typical pricing, based on national averages for all of the industry’s most prevalent mailing services, as well as regional and the middle range prices.

$179MEMBERS ONLY

Available online at:

www.mfsanet.orgor call 1-703-836-9200

Eric Herrenkohl is President of Herrenkohl Consulting and author of the new book How to Hire A-Play-ers. Herrenkohl Consulting works with executives in Fortune 500 and mid-sized businesses to create the businesses they want by building the organizations they need.

He has more than 20 years of experience in executive coaching, consulting, and personnel assessment. Pre-vious to founding Herren-kohl Consulting in 2002, he worked in the sales incentive and recruiting industries, focusing on all aspects of recruiting and coaching A-player teams.

gEttINg EMplOyEES tO takE OWNERShIp IN thE BuSINESSBusiness Operations

eric HerrenkohlHerrenkohl consulting

14 MFSA PostScripts

Association

Your mailings deserve first-class treatment.

1-877-MAIL-IMS www.mailims.com

International Mailing Solutions will handle your international mailings with care and attention. Our personal, cost-conscious service ensures that your international mailings reach their destination without delay or errors.

the value of direct mail (roi) with current and potential clients – it’s a no brainer. additionally, our general manager will be at-tending to take advantage of the Postal update, see how other companies operate during the plant tours, oSHa and safety, and to gain an overall understanding of the importance of staying ahead of the curve because of the ever-changing industry.

Because of the value of our key managers, as well as all of the other employees (families) our business supports in our com-munity, Saturday mornings’ session on success planning hit a hot button for us. at this point in our careers, we know the im-portance of making sure the company continues to provide for everyone after we’re gone – and our hope is that the light will come on for others attending as well.

not only do we appreciate the value of the education MFSa is offering during the Mid- Winter conference, we see this as an ex-cellent team building opportunity for us and our key managers. as we start stepping away from the day-to-day operation of our business, we couldn’t be more pleased with the staff we leave in our place to take care of our clients. From the front door to the loading dock, our team has a “Whatever it takes” attitude, and this in part is a reflection of continual education and support.

Mid-Winter continued from page 1

reSco, Hudson, Wi, was recently awarded MFSa Fulfillment ac-creditation, the eleventh MFSa Fulfillment accredited company nationwide. they join Fulfillment concepts, Marketing Support Services, Sgi, great lakes Direct, Mossberg & co., complemar Packaging & Fulfillment, W.a. Wilde, corporate communications group, impact Proven Solutions, and the John roberts com-pany.

eric Strand, ceo, stated, “We sought accreditation from MFSa because we wanted to validate that our processes and proce-dures are among the best available for companies that we do business with and for those that are yet to do business with us. it made sense to turn to the industry experts at MFSa to give us that third party validation. i am proud to receive this accredita-tion from MFSa and proud of the reSco employees who keep doing an outstanding job for our clients.”

the Mailing & Fulfillment Service association unveiled in april 2007 the industry’s first fulfillment accreditation program after years of research and development. the purpose behind this program is to enable fulfillment operators to be recognized for their documented commitment to fulfillment, to help other ful-fillment operators to improve their operations, and to show cus-tomers which companies are the “cream of the crop.” accredited companies must complete a comprehensive application seek-ing documentation in 11 critical general operational areas and be subject to an audit of their operations in 14 technical and op-erational areas such as receiving, and put-away, order picking, order packing, hand assembly, returns, reporting, etc. overall the accreditation program has 168 criteria to examine. appli-

cants must pass all the required elements (55) and 75% of the supplemental elements (113).

reSco has been providing sales and mar-keting support services since 1957. reSco offers a complete array of strategic plan-ning and tactical application services includ-ing lead generation, graphic & web design, printing, mailing services, warehousing & fulfillment services (dry refrigerated and frozen food sample fulfillment), teleservice, promotional products and PoS merchandis-ing. reSco specializes in supporting food manufacturers in several channels including foodservice, vending, convenience stores, and retail grocery. it operates out of a 78,000 square foot facility and employs over 45. the company’s website is www.rescocom-pany.com.

to find out more about MFSa Fulfillment accreditation and for a description of MFSa Fulfillment accredited companies, go to www.MFSanet.org.

RESCO aWaRDED fulfIllMENt aCCREDItatION

DECEMBER 2010 15

28121 Scippo Creek RoadCircleville, OH 43113

1-888-858-88961-888-858-8897 - Fax

www.MailAutomationInc.com

Mail Automation, Inc.

F-001-0209

MAIMail Automation, Inc.

Mail Automation, Inc. is a full-service Systems Integrator specializing in mail manufacturing and processing facilities. Our focus is to provide customized solutions for applications within the mailing industry.

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More Experience. More Options.

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TRAY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

16 MFSA PostScripts

Vendor Profile

Duplicate contact records undermine the efficiency of any orga-nization’s operations, communications and bottom-line. as in-formation systems become more complex, organizations need software and services to create and maintain an accurate, timely and complete view of the customer within or across multiple data sources, departments and business units. combined with Mailroom toolKit® products for address validation and updates, Satori matchit delivers a comprehensive solution that helps clean and manipulate contact data more efficiently.

from address Quality to Contact Data QualitySatori matchit combines multiple algorithms for detecting pho-netic, fuzzy, mistyped and abbreviated information. then, based on user-defined criteria and scoring parameters, Satori matchit identifies duplicate records and intelligently determines which ones to retain, merge or remove. now organizations can improve and maintain the strength of relationships with customers, pros-pects and business partners by consolidating and linking data from multiple data sources without tedious manual busywork.

Integrated processing or Standalone SoftwareSatori matchit is available as an aPi for integrated processing or as a standalone desktop application. the combination of Mail-room toolKit products for point-of-entry and batch address validation and Satori matchit for advanced duplicate manage-

ment and record linking provides mailers with the ability detect and either eliminate duplicate records or link contacts across disparate databases. these aPis can be used to build a powerful web-to-print system. imagine a system where clients can upload multiple lists, specify a suppression list and select their mailing preferences. the result: fewer errors, faster pro-cessing and less labor overhead.

find Out If you Need a Better Matching Solution this comprehensive contact quality solution makes commu-nications more effective and eliminates considerable waste. consider this: in a representative test, Satori matchit identified 226% more duplicates than a typical merge/purge application. in short, Satori matchit reliably delivers powerful results that go beyond mere duplicate detection.

to learn more about Satori matchit and set up a free roi evalu-ation, contact Satori Software at 800-553-6477 or visit www.sa-torisoftware.com.

SatORI MatChIt DElIVERS aDVaNCED DuplICatION MaNagEMENt fOR BEttER OVERall Data QualIty

adphos is releasing a new series of drying solutions for the graphic arts industry which will have many new features and capa-bilities over past near infrared radiation products and will still carry the quality brought forth by past adphos products. this series is due to release in the first quarter of 2011 and will feature a compact design, more upgradability, as well as other inno-vative features. adphos’ utilization of nir drying has allowed past and current customers an increase in speeds, energy savings up to 80%, while printing on a wider variety of substrates.

adphos is planning to continue to offer three models in the series which will al-low for choice of which is right for your company. this series, named the M-series, will offer three different sizes to accommodate sheet-fed applications from small to large. the removal of the power cabinet and placement of vital wiring within the unit allows for a more compact design, thus allowing for more space to be utilized by other necessary items within a workstation. With ever changing ap-plications, printers need equipment solutions that are easily configurable and upgradeable to meet the needs of a diverse customer base and to protect their initial equipment investments.

With many businesses looking to “go green”, companies will appreciate that ad-phos nir energy, air management systems, and patented reflector systems, com-bine to reduce power consumption by up to 80%. adphos, in addition to drying solutions offer inkjet integration products, in cooperation with gSS the tower, Dryer, carriage or tDc in short, was awarded the graph expo Worth-a-look award for offset Presses. tDc systems are a family of high performance, cost effective solutions which enable the integration of digital monochrome, spot or process color inkjet printing with traditional offset web presses and finishing lines at speeds of up to 1,000 feet per minute. tDc’s can also be used in offline applications as ultra high speed standalone laser printing replacement systems. tDc’s are available in portable, simplex and duplex configurations.

For more information on all products offered by adphos, visit www.adphosna.com.

NEW aDphOS DRyINg SOlutIONS aVaIlaBlE IN 2011

DECEMBER 2010 17

Web-to-Print

+ Architect

= EfficiencyIntegrate address correction and postal presorting into transactional,

web-to-print and variable-data printing processes. CASS™ and PAVE™

Gold certified MailRoom ToolKit® Architect delivers comprehensive

mailing preparation tools built for straightforward integration and

trouble-free maintenance.

Architect features the latest and best technologies

Integrated 48-month NCOALink® processing, unlimited PAFs for users with multiple customers

Complete Basic and Full-Service Intelligent Mail® technology

Client/server architecture scales to meet your needs

Be More Productive Today

Call 1-800-553-6477 option 3 to see how your mailing operation will benefit by upgrading.

www.satorisoftware.comSimply Powerful Data Quality Solutions

©2010 Satori Software, Inc. All rights reserved. Satori Software and MailRoom ToolKit are registered trademarks of Satori Software, Inc. Satori Software is a nonexclusive NCOALink Full Service Provider licensee of USPS®. The following trademarks are owned by USPS: CASS, PAVE, NCOALink, Intelligent Mail and USPS. AD#05.10

18 MFSA PostScripts

Vendor Profile

Maintaining excellent address quality is an absolute necessity to run an effective business, and these days you need more than batch processing to keep your customer and prospect address data up to par. You need constant access to complete, correct and current address information that you can utilize at the point of data entry. accurant aQ, a solution for address standardiza-tion and validation by Bcc Software, does exactly that. it cov-ers all data entry points and evaluates incoming address data, reducing data errors before they can cause serious problems throughout an organization. and it does that batch processing for you as well, so you can be sure that your address data is al-ways up-to-date.

accurant aQ was developed with ease of implementation, integration and maintenance in mind. it is deployable over multiple platforms and wide opera-tional configurations, and can be used as a standalone solution or as part of an existing workflow. the software can be installed and maintained on a central server, so there is no need to pur-chase multiple licenses or perform installs and upgrades on multiple workstations, which reduces both cost of implementa-tion and time required to perform installation and maintenance tasks. the central location also enhances data control and allows for the monitoring of accuracy, efficiency and productivity.

users have immediate access to accurant aQ via a web-based interface. it can be accessed by anyone in a company, regard-less of department, branch or line of business. this provides an unprecedented opportunity for unification and increased com-munication within a company, allowing separate departments, branches and lines of business to pool their knowledge and share resources.

For more information on Bcc Software and accurant aQ, please visit www.BccSoftware.com/DataQuality/accurantaQ.aspx or email us at info@BccSoftware.com or call us at 800-337-0442.

aN aDDRESS QualIty REVOlutION: BCC SOftWaRE’S aCCuRaNt aQ

Accurant

e‐Mail and text Messaging is now integrated into the accuZiP’s core accuZiP6 5.0 product at no additional cost. Seamlessly inte-grated into the 100% automated Script feature, its users can now setup the product to send e‐mails or text messages when a new file starts processing, during the script process and when the processing is completed.

Script Monitor with e‐Mail and text Messaging uses:• complete automation and communication with no user

interaction for 100% complete automation.• automatically e‐mail or text a notification direct to one

or multiple recipients when a job has started processing on your server or computer.

• automatically e‐mail or text a notification direct to one or multiple recipients when a job finishes processing on your server or computer.

• automatically print the postal reports to a PDF, and then use the new feature to e‐mail the reports to your custom-er or to another department to print.

• automatically attach one or multiple documents or files to an e‐mail.

• Setup default cc/Bcc e‐mail accounts to be copied each time a new e‐mail message is sent.

• text the final postage amount, database quality results, processing time, or other useful information when the job enters or exits your processing stream.

the new integrated e‐Mail and text Messaging capabilities are endless and further automates database management, list hy-giene and mail preparation. For more information, contact ac-cuZiP inc. at pressrelease@accuzip.com.

aCCuZIp INC. RElEaSES aCCuZIp6 5.04.36

introducing Buskro’s new 2500 Series printhead. Based on the latest piezo technology, this innovative 2.55” printhead with its smaller, compact head construction features configurable vertical resolutions available in 200 DPi, 300 DPi and 400 DPi. advancements in printhead technologies have been incorporated to improve jet accuracy and tighter array spacing, which combined, consistently produce clean & crisp images. Drop modulation and horizontal resolution (from 110 DPi up to 660 DPi) are software selectable allowing the customer to regulate ink coverage, print speed and im-age quality. Buskro’s simplified trueFloW ink path technology allows ink to flow effortlessly and efficiently to the printheads, resulting in quicker start-ups and superior print sustainability with increased up-time.

the BK1700 series controller, coupled with the printhead’s smaller footprint, gives customers the ability to configure a system with up to 40” of print in a smaller area than ever before. Solvent and uv fluid choices are always part of Buskro’s philosophy of flexibility; truly making this solution one of the most versatile products offered in the industry today.

For more information, contact Buskro at 888-828-7576 or www.buskro.com.

BuSkRO RElEaSES NEW pRINthEaD

DECEMBER 2010 19

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Window Book’s mailing data management software, Dat-Mail™, now has a new module, MD client Manager that helps mailers easily track their Mail.dat® jobs on the Postalone!® site. it elimi-nates the labor-intensive work that is involved with tracking the statuses of your Mail.dat file uploads and provides feedback to you in a clear, concise and automated manner. You can focus on keeping your production flowing while ‘MD client Manager’ performs all of the monitoring for you!

get real-time results on your Postalone! Job StatusMD client Manager leverages the power of the Postalone! Mail.dat client batch mode system by uploading your Mail.dat files and extracting valuable information from the client and Debug log files in real-time. this information is then stored for easy ref-erence and use by other functions in Dat-Mail, Window Book’s industry-leading Post-Presort mailing software.

Whether you process just a few or hun-dreds of files a day through Postalone!, this tool will help make your job easier. Here a just a few of the highlights of MD client Manager:

• configurable to monitor uSPS Pro-duction, teM or cat environments

• configurable to start the Postalone! Mail.dat client upon start-up

• alerts the operator when the Post-alone! Mail.dat client needs to be updated

• Monitors log files and organizes them by Job

• Statuses can be viewed at the Mail.dat file level as well as the statement level

• Detects when the Postalone! Mail.dat client shuts down and restarts it

online Mail.dat® 11-1 validation Servicean online Mail.dat validation service is now available at http://maildat11-1.win-dowbook.com - for the upcoming Mail.dat® 11-1 specification. Mail.dat users can upload 11-1 Mail.dat files for validation to ensure they have Postalone!®-compliant

files before actually transmitting it to the Postalone! system in January 2011.

Window Book’s Mail.dat 11-1 validation Service is a complimen-tary tool available to mailers and service providers that will help them validate their Mail.dat 11-1 files well in advance of the date they are required to submit them to Postalone!. this is just the first of several new Dat-Mail automated services, which are be-ing rolled out to the marketplace in the near future.

For more information contact WindowBook at postalspecialist@windowbook.com or 800-524-0380.

Vendor ProfileMD Client Manager for uSpS MDR Client

20 MFSA PostScripts

Vendor Profile

We’re all looking for the same thing: consistent monthly profits from customers. Some people do it through long-term contracts with their customers. others just provide an exceptional service and try to make multiple relationships within a company, so if their main point of contact leaves, the account is still safe. But how about offering customers a service that is vital, will deepen your rela-tionship and is easy to implement?

it’s called reputation Management. it’s a very new service in the marketplace, though i am sure some cutting edge shops have already heard of it (or are starting to implement it!) What is reputation Management? Simply it’s tracking a customer’s online repu-tation and working to improve it.

How can i Manage the reputation of My customers? We offer comprehensive software that scours the web to find search engine results, sponsored listings, user reviews, ratings, blog and twitter posts, newspaper articles – just about any reference to a business online. the information we find is gathered into a report that offers a comprehensive view of the reputation and presence of the business – and how to improve it!

aren’t there already companies doing this? of course there are, but it is a new market, and most of these companies do not have a significant brand name or current dealings with your customers. this is a way to use your long-term relationships to offer customers a new product. Why would i want to get involved? For one thing, the margins are great. and you can either get involved with the reputation management yourself, or take a bit less margins and go with the full service model (zero work on your side).

What type of companies need this service? any company that has a retail location and can garner more business by increasing their reputation. this is especially useful for any type of multiple location outlet such as restaurants, furniture store, etc. How can i find out more? We developed a tour that is completely white-listed. go to www.MailersHaven.com/Myrep and view it.

ExCItINg NEW pRODuCt WIth aMplE REVENuE pOSSIBIlItIES!

alg Worldwide logistics has created a core-market co-mingle solution. this standard-class letter co-mingling operation is be-ing created to support the growing need for postage reduction solutions in the standard-class letter environment. the alg co-mingling solution will initially be based in its new 500,000 square foot “super center” located in romeoville, illinois, with expan-sion planned in 2011 to its 300,000 square foot “super center” located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. the target audience for this service offering will be alg’s expansive letter-shop and com-mercial printer client base. alg Worldwide logistics’ complete line of co-production services will now include co-palletization, co-mailing and co-mingling services. these services are compli-mented by alg’s unrivaled destination entry solutions and will be provided in a single-source facility.

“as a provider of services to the print-media marketplace, alg strives to be an industry leader in developing cohesive postage reduction solutions. the creation of alg co-mingle is in direct response to our clientele’s needs and closes the loop in co-pro-duction. By providing a single-source solution to the direct mail marketing industry, alg is pro-actively looking to reduce our clientele’s overall production and distribution costs. offering co-mingling, co-mailing and co-palletization services in a single-source environment allows our clientele the flexibility needed to continue to bring their products to market successfully,” said alg President, Patrick J. Del Monico iii.

For more information about alg Worldwide logistics, please vis-it our website at www.algworldwide.com or contact chris agne at 708-544-9400.

alg WORlDWIDE lOgIStICS CREatES a CORE-MaRkEt CO-MINglE SOlutION

HP Specialty Printing Systems has a new imaging technology applicable for the mail addressing and variable imprinting mar-ket: the HP color Print Module.

the HP color Print Module is a modular solution for variable color printing on envelopes and documents. this cost-effective module attaches onto your existing equipment and integrates easily into your workflow. You can produce envelopes and docu-ment 600 dpi (600x300 optimized from 300x300 input) at 400 feet per minute with four 4.25” printheads without having to purchase a standalone device. and you can reduce your operat-ing costs over time with automatic printhead maintenance. get more details here: HP color Print Module

Pitney-Bowes has recently inte-grated this technology into its new high-speed inserting sys-tem, the Pitney-Bowes Print+ Messenger color inkjet Sys-tem. the Print+ system helps increase mail’s value, relevance and response by bringing full-color personalization to the outside of the envelope.

For more information, visit HP Specialty Printing Systems at www.hp.com/go/oeminkjet.

hp SpECIalty pRINtINg SyStEMS IMagINg tEChNOlOgy aVaIlaBlE

DECEMBER 2010 21

22 MFSA PostScripts

Vendor Profile

UV & IR Systems

Feeders/Card Attaching

InkJet / Vision Systems

Tabbing Systems

www.kirkrudy.com

Kirk-Rudy, complete system solutions...Engineered & Manufactured in the

USA for 43 years.Visit our website for more information on these systems & our many other product lines!

Nov 2010 ad .indd 1 11/3/2010 4:33:43 PM

Kr545D applies tabs to 3 sides in a single pass to meet the new uSPS specifications for self-mailers and booklet tabbing regu-lations. the Kr545D handles large 18” diameter rolls and runs all major types of tabs as well as pressure sensitive stamps and labels of various shapes and sizes. Multiple tabs or labels can be applied in a single pass. the Kr545D’s innovative dual web design allows inline operation with

standard addressing and binding systems.

WaveJet v2.5- Kirk-rudy’s new larger 2.5 inch print head featur-ing versaDrop™ technology which offers greater functionality by modulating ink drop size. the result is sharper text with the crisp edge definition required to produce grayscale images with vibrancy and clarity all without sacrificing production speed and print quality.

combine this innovative technology with the WaveJet v2.5 ver-satility in supporting multiple fluid types and the result is the capability to create those eye-catching ads your customers re-quest on a wider variety of substrates! Built-in reliability and ease of use make WaveJet v2.5 well suited for all production en-vironments.

kIRk-RuDy’S latESt IN taBBINgMonticello has developed software that uses the industry stan-dard presort-generated Mail.dat files. our software streamlines mail acceptance, verification, and the payment process. in addi-tion, our software optimizes drop shipment postage discounts and meets the processing requirements for the uSPS full service intelligent Mail Barcode (iMB) and Postalone! system.

Monticello software provides data validation for Postalone! which will identify missing required data fields. in addition, our software can edit and change mail attributes (e.g. piece weight), and provide for automating, managing, and submitting partial mail releases. Mail.dat files are validated upon import to our Monticello software. our uSPS Drop Ship entry Point optimi-zation analysis and co-palletization analysis are used by many mailers to lower their postage costs. the uSPS Full Service intelligent Mail Barcode discounts and requirements are fully supported by our software including making mail shipment ap-pointments and identifying container barcodes.

Monticello was founded in 1995 by Joe Bailey, terry lee, and tom Bailey. Bailey, president of Monticello, serves on a variety of uSPS committees and is considered an experienced consultant in the mailing industry. For more information, contact Monticel-lo at 540-854-4200 or at www.montsoft.com.

SOftWaRE tOOlS fOR thE INDuStRy

DECEMBER 2010 23

In addition to four great benefi ts of membership.....

You can take advantage of the new MFSA Sponsored Commercial Insurance ProgramYou can take advantage of the new MFSA Sponsored Commercial Insurance ProgramKen Estes, CICVice President, Business & Professional Division1-800-358-7741 ext 15721-501-517-4391 cellKen_Estes@rkfl .com

Alfred L. Williams CWCA, Risk ConsultantSr. Vice President, Business & Professional Division1-800-358-7741 ext 11111-501-912-5062 cellAlfred_Williams@rkfl .com

For more information about the business insurance program or to obtain a quote, call:

24 MFSA PostScripts

The Envelope Imaging Company

PRETTY

Think RENA for high speed addressing and tabbing. The XPS-ProMail is user-friendly, works fast, prints great and keeps downtime minimal. Utilizing genuine HP inkjet technology, maintenance is easy and print quality is excellent. Our industrial specialty inks also offer the material versatility and flexibility you need in mail fulfillment.

GetGet started today. Visit our website to find your local Authorized RENA Systems Dealer

New Membersadd-Jet technologies distributes digital print and mailing solutions to the commercial printing and mailing industry. By combining our expertise of inkjet, camera, and digital printing systems-- we provide our customers with high quality turn-key projects at a reasonable cost. add-Jet technologies is based in chesterland, ohio (near cleveland). Stephen leciejewski, re-gional manager, can be reached at 440-413-1247.

advanced Mail Solutions offers inserters, inline Feeding Fold-ing and accumulation Solutions, camera Systems, inline ad-dressing, total System configuration and options, Sorting Mlocr and uSPS iMB Solutions, Postage, accounting Software and Systems. advanced Mail Solutions is located at 9116 e. Sprague ave. #175, Spokane valley, Wa, 99206. Paul Bruhn, own-er, can be reached at 509-939-4685.

Millennium Resources, established in 1998, offers barcod-ing, bindery services, consulting, creative, desk top publish-ing, fulfillment-literature, fulfillment-product, fulfillment-catalog, fulfillment-promotional, fulfillment-premiums, hand assembly(custom packaging), machine inserting, ink jet ad-dressing, international mailing service, laser printing-sheet feed, letterpress printing, merge/purge, national change of address uSPS licensee, first class presort, polybag inserting, packaging & shipping, sheetfeed offset printing, tipping/affixing, tabbing, turnkey, transportation services, warehousing/distribution, and word processing. Millennium resources is located at 7230 ed-

ington Drive, cincinnati, oH, 45249. greg Kuntz, president, can be reached at 513-891-0800 or by FaX at 513-891-5099.

Custom BackOffice Solutions, established in 2010, offers con-sulting, fulfillment-literature, fulfillment-product, fulfillment-catalog, fulfillment-rebate, fulfillment-subscriptions, fulfillment-promotional, fulfillment-premiums, hand assembly(custom packaging), international mailing service, packaging & shipping, transportation services, and warehousing/distribution. custom Backoffice Solutions is located at 1931 W grant rd #320, tucson, aZ, 85745. Jean reehl, president, can be reached at 520-547-0922 or 520-620-5580.

NSO press, established in 1996, offers creative, data processing services, hand assembly(custom packaging), machine inserting, ink jet addressing, list broker services, merge/purge, national change of address uSPS licensee, first class presort, and tab-bing. nSo Press is located at 520 e. 56th avenue, Denver, co, 80216. Marcus Fines, general manager, can be reached at 303-477-8335 or by FaX at 303-477-8076.

Supremex Inc., offers envelope conversion, fulfillment-product, glue-folding, packaging & shipping, and web offset printing. Su-premex is located at 400 Humberline Drive, etobicoke, on, can-ada, M9W 5t3. Bart gogarty, business development manager, can be reached at 416-675-9370 or by FaX at 416-848-8388.

DECEMBER 2010 25

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

BCC_Postscripts_Dec_outlined.ai 1 11/10/2010 12:41:15 PM

26 MFSA PostScripts

pOStMatIC hIgh SpEED INlINE StaMpINg BaSE aVaIlaBlE

the PoStMatic High Speed, High volume inline Stamp Base is designed with the same identical foot print of a Pitney Bowes® or Hasler® inline mailing machine. this base will drop right in place with no modifications or alterations. Bases are available to accommodate the Postmatic Model 6000Sa and Model 7000Sa Self adhesive Stamp affixing attachments. With cycling speeds in excess of 18,000 per hour, it can be used with almost any high speed or standard inserter, ink-jet, labeler or tabber. used with a feeder makes this unit a very affordable, high speed alternative to using tabbers for off-line stamping.

Features include vacuum Belt transport tech-nology and Precision gear Drive electronics for fast and accurate stamp affixing. Fully self contained with a high volume blower motor to provide constant control of the piece as it passes through. Quality Dc Drive provides fixed speeds of 240 and 330 feet per minute. Manufactured using high quality materials, sealed ball bearings and precision electronic control provide years of trouble free use. For more information, contact Postmatic at 888-784-6046 or www.postmatic.com.

ekEy MaIlERS DElIVER ValuE INStEaD Of BROkEN DISkS

customers spend countless hours and resources marketing their products or services. But up to 25% of the cDs or DvDs they send are received as damaged goods. How can you help them de-liver results instead of rejects? Bid farewell to traditional multimedia containers and give a warm welcome to eKeY™ Multimedia Mailers. “thanks to an innovative and durable design, eKeY mailers allow our customers to spend less while earning more in delivery success and response rates,” notes Steve Brocker, vP sales and marketing for Western States envelope & label.

the success rate of eKeY mailers is attributed to its patented design that minimizes or eliminates damage to disks during processing. Made from a surprisingly thin yet durable paper substrate, eKeY mailers are lightweight as well as a greener alternative to traditional cD and DvD mailers. all eKeY mailers have been tested and approved by postal engineers and the uSPS Pricing and classification Service center for automated letter processing. this innovative mailing solution comes in four in-stock mailer designs, as well as 27 customized options.

there’s no better way to convey the benefits of eKeY mailers than through a customer’s own words. Joe olson of Hope international sent 1,000 promotional DvDs out monthly in a black case that was approximately 4 x 8” and ½” thick. unfortunately, he had tremen-dous breakage issues. not only did olson experience more breakage, he essentially paid for that breakage to occur. “the Postal Ser-vice went from .33 cents a piece to .99 cents a piece…essentially tripling the cost because they went to shape-based rates in 2007.” He was apprehensive at first, but olson’s mailing luck changed significantly with eKeY Multimedia Mailers. after looking into the mailing process, olson learned that the eKeY design minimized breakage. there’s no human intervention until the point of delivery. What is olson’s breakage rate now? “in two years, i have heard of one or two pieces. i was amazed at the difference.”

eKeY Multimedia Mailers are brought to you by Western States envelope & label—a Sustainable Forestry initiative (SFi), chain-of-custody certified envelope manufacturer committed to “greener” production techniques and a reduced impact on the environ-ment. in business since 1908, Western States sells wholesale to the printing and mailing industry. call 1-800-558-0514 to inquire about what eKeY Multimedia Mailers can do for your customers.

Vendor Profile

DECEMBER 2010 27

Vendor Profile

QR CODES: MakINg pRINt, MaIl, & fulfIllMENt INtERaCtIVE

as i’m sure most of you would agree, interest in Qr codes has skyrocketed over the past several months. one reason that this is happening is because sales of smartphones continue to increase. this means that a growing majority of our prospects and customers have the capability (and often the desire) to access content on the web with their mobile phone. at interlinkone, we have built the Qreate & track product. Feel free to try it today – just go to http://Qreateandtrack.com

the Qreate & track application allows you to easily generate Qr codes for website urlS, landing pages, social media pages, videos, and more. then, you have the opportunity to measure the success of the Qr codes via real-time reporting dashboards and charts. But enough about our software --- here are a few important things to know about Qr codes.

QR Codes 101For those unfamiliar with the technology, Qr (Quick response) codes are 2-dimensional bar codes that have been around since 1994—widely used throughout Japan and in parts of europe. However, with the increased adaption of mobile phones, they are quickly rising in popular-ity in the united States.

accessing the information Qr codes hold is simple. Some phones come with Qr code readers pre-installed. others require you to download them. once your mobile device contains a Qr code read-er, you simply point your phone to the code, snap a picture, and the software on your phone decodes the image. instantly, you are directed to a Web site or landing page with information about the prod-uct or company of interest. they may also take you to a video, or a social media page that promotes your company. Qr codes make it easy for consum-ers to quickly to jump from a printed piece to the Web with the help of their mobile devices.

today, in order to grow your business, it is impor-tant to understand and seek out ways to connect traditional print, mail, and fulfillment with other popular channels, because your customers are looking at all channels of communication in an ef-fort to reach their own customers. Qr codes are becoming popular because they can easily engage a customer with immediate response. learning how you can implement the technology and then showcase your capabilities to current and prospec-tive customers will only add to your marketing ef-forts.

For more information, contact interlinkone at in-terlinkone.com or 978-694-9992.

28 MFSA PostScripts

CEO to CEO

PostScripts recently polled its business owners and CEOs to get feedback on how their business handles certain issues. Think of this as a virtual roundtable— getting answers to help you run your business better without having to leave your office.

We determine if/when to invest in new equipment based on the anticipated roi. For capital equipment, we generally look for payback in less than four years. our director of finance is consulted in all significant cash expenditures. regarding others who are involved in those decisions, the answer is ‘it depends.’ it depends on what is driving the possible purchase of the equipment and it depends on the dollar value of the investment. equipment investment decisions driven by a potential gain in productivity or quality, or both, are usually made by the head of the department and their team. Decisions driven by a customer or prospect that involve a new capability are usually made by the director of operations and the ceo. if the investment is > ¼ percent of our annual sales, we involve our whole leadership team. tim Johnson, CEOImpact proven Solutions

When and if to purchase equipment……for us, need generally determines the new equipment acquisitions that we choose. the decision usually compromises individuals from production and management, but not always. in recent years equipment acquisition from our wish list has been possible because of the tax-saving incentives that are available. this has allowed us to offer new services and help the company grow.Dave Campbell, ManagerMMS Direct

if the equipment is “new” technology, such as a color digital press, we ask what is the projection of the amount of dollars the new offering will generate? You may already be offering this technology but subbing the work out. is it cost effect to bring it in house? if the equipment is for, say, a new tabber that puts 3-tabs on in a single pass, we’d have to analyze how many jobs and the number of pieces per job require the three tabs. We look at the cost of the new tabber verses running a double pass on existing tabbers. if the number of jobs is low and volume is also low, than it would be hard to justify the purchase. it would take too long a return on investment.Dave hedges, Chief Executive OfficeMailer’s Choice

this is really a complex question and a large array of issues are involved, from the type and cost of the pur-chase, to the tax implications of a purchase. First and foremost amongst consideration is need. Do we need a piece of equipment and is that need sustainable? that inquiry is a collaborative one, involving sales and production personnel and sometimes even a client from whom we seek a commitment of volume. very often we will purchase the service before buying the capacity to test the actual demand and the equipment. if we are seriously considering a purchase because we have concluded that the need is sustainable, we will create a financial analysis and overlay that on our existing financial statements to see the short and long term ef-fect of the purchase. ultimately the decision to purchase rests with the partners after the vetting process is complete. Michael t. kellogg (Mike), Chief Executive OfficerCentury Direct, llC.

the decision to purchase new equipment is driven by many factors, including but not limited to improving internal productivity and efficiency by replacing equipment that has become obsolete whereby there will be profitability gains with the new equipment such as computer and it hardware, and safety improvements to keep our employees safe while operating the equipment….like many pieces of bindery and finishing equip-ment. a big factor in purchasing new equipment is often times client driven by the needs of our clients and our interest in efficiently filling a niche. in order to do this, generally a contract with the client would be in order to secure our longer term interest in covering the debt. We have never been believers of the “buy it…and they will come” concept. We are much more comfortable knowing we have the guaranteed business before we make the short or long term equipment loan.

the expectation is that employees, department heads and management will all cooperate to find what’s most efficient and productive to our jobs here at reSco. Management, with shareholder approval, would make the final financial decisions to commit to a major purchase.John knutson, presidentRESCO

How do you determine when, and if, you should purchase new equipment for your business? Who is involved in the decision making process?

DECEMBER 2010 29

Vendor Profile

Taking prinT shops inTo The digiTal age—

virTually overnighT.

Midnight is designed to take print shop owners into

the digital era, and to do it efficiently, cleanly and

profitably. It’s for printers who are expanding beyond

the confines of traditional print and moving into

more broad-based marketing services such as mailing,

fulfillment, data analytics, purls, and email blasts.

Midnight contains tools to help companies price

these services correctly and manage complex

marketing projects from start to finish, allowing

them to maximize profitability. Call us or visit

www.virtualsystems.com today to learn more.

888-581-3100 | www.virTualsysTems.com

there’s always been something mysterious and ominous about midnight, and even though Halloween is already behind us, mid-night will once again captivate its audience. instead, however, of making people shudder in fear, the only screams and howls will be those of thrilled print shop owners when they learn of virtual Systems’ new software system, Midnight.

Midnight is a new software program for printers who are ex-panding beyond the confines of traditional print and moving into more broad-based marketing services such as mailing, ful-fillment, data analytics, purls, and email blasts. Midnight fea-tures tools to help companies price these services correctly and manage complex marketing projects from start to finish, allow-ing them to maximize profitability by being more efficient. Mid-night comes with modules for crM, mailing, fulfillment, project management, web-reporting services, postage accounting, and billing.

With easy-to-use web dashboards and interfaces, printers can quickly become experts at procuring and managing marketing projects. the software also features a complete menu of expert pricing for mailing and marketing related services. While many companies already have a system to manage their businesses and print, Midnight is designed specifically to help companies further leverage their investments in digital and marketing tech-nology to gain a competitive advantage.

“Because the printing business is different than the marketing business, printers who are expanding their businesses into mar-keting services are seeking business tools to efficiently manage the sales and workflow process of marketing,” said virtual Sys-tems President chris Huber. He continued, “Midnight marks a new era of open architecture and web-based project manage-ment by providing these essential business tools. the tools al-low companies to fully capture new marketing service revenues and increase profits.”

Midnight provides controls for companies to improve quoting and management of mailing jobs, better account for postage transfers, estimate and manage the complex task of handling email blasts, purls, landing pages, and data analytics, roll all marketing services into a single page estimate and invoice and provide customers with an online view of projects and status. Without using Midnight, printers moving into the digital era are forced to singularly manage each of these tasks, creating an ad-ministrative challenge and a far less profitable approach. With Midnight, the user can manage each of these tasks in concert with one another creating never-before available efficiencies

and, ultimately, find profitability in new areas. For more info: visit www.virtualsys-tems.com

SOftWaRE fOR pRINtERS MOVINg INtO BROaD-BaSED MaRkEtINg SERVICES

30 MFSA PostScripts

Chapter News

Northwest ChapterPresident: gordon taschuk; Kirk integrated Marketing1st vP: Mark Weeks; international Direct response Services2nd vP: chris Huber; virtual SystemsSec/treasurer: Wayne Modica; aKa Directevents coordinatorand Membership: Dan Minga; imagistyxFor more information, please contact MFSa at 703-350-6177.

pacific ChapterPresident: tom Duchene; tDMS immediate PastPresident: Ken cachat; Direct list technologyBoard Member: John Hodgman; Direct connection MailingFor more information, please contact MFSa at 703-350-6177.

New England ChapterPresident: laura Harper; FPMSiimmediate Past President: Kerry Hannify; Data-Mail2nd vice Pres.: Shannon campbell; W.a. Wilde companySec./treasurer: Paul Silvestri; FPMSiFor more information, please contact MFSa at 703-350-6177.

Southwest ChapterPresident: Jack gressett; advertising Mail corp.For more information, please contact MFSa at 703-350-6177.

Chesapeake ChapterPresident: Ken gossett; aMitreasurer: Milton olekson; aMiFor more information, please contact MFSa at 703-350-6177.

Rocky Mountain ChapterPresident: Jim albany; newmark Printingimmediate Past President: george Heinrich; the Postal Professorvice President: troy Fischer; on target Mailing ServicesSecretary: Wes Powell; tMr inc.For more information, please contact MFSa at 703-350-6177.

Ohio Valley ChapterPresident: tammy caserta; think Patentedvice President: John Palazzolo; adPhosSecretary : lori Swetlin; Pitney BowesFor more information, please contact MFSa at 703-350-6177.

Southeast ChapterPresident: Scott coggin; DatadirectSecretary: townley chattman; Highcottontreasurer: chuck cairatti; McQuiddy classicFor more information, please contact MFSa at 703-350-6177.

philadelphia ChapterPresident: John rafner; Streamline Solutionsvice President: Michael Brenneman; intelligencer Mailing & Fulfillment For more information, please contact MFSa at 703-350-6177.

great plains ChapterBoard Member: Mike colestock; Japs-olson Board Member: rhea Friederichs; the John roberts companyBoard Member: craig Schiller; action Mailing ServicesFor more information, please contact MFSa at 703-350-6177.

New york ChapterPresident: carmen ocello; Direct Mail Depot 1st vice Pres.: Joseph gomez; Federal Direct2nd vice Pres.: timothy Kennon; Mcvicker & Higginbothamtreasurer: John lagreca; Federal DirectSecretary: Doug Branch; Mailtech Mailing SystemsFor more information on meetings or member information, contact Jim Prendergast at 212-217-6824 or visit www.mfsany.org.

great lakes ChapterFor more information, please contact MFSa at 703-350-6177.

DECEMBER 2010 31

Vendor Profile

less than a year after the introduction of the new eagle 4.25” se-ries of Drop-on-Demand (piezo) printers by McS, the number of direct mailers embracing the technology has grown rapidly and the product family continues to expand. the print technology features higher speed and throughput, and a level of quality un-attainable in systems without 4.25” print heads. in addition, the quick setup increases uptime over older alternative technology.

the 4.25” print head customers are increasing production throughput by 60 percent with feeding mailing pieces at 90° from conventional short-edge first practices. the non-stitched, 4.25” head gives top quality (including iMB codes) – at almost double the throughput for some jobs.

the McS eagle is a clear answer for the segment of the mar-ket that needs graphics covering large areas at 600 DPi. Direct mailers are now saying “yes” to jobs for store-locator maps and graphics that would have been difficult to produce on systems with multiple stitched heads.

Direct mailers have been looking at inkjet printing to reduce

costs – and grab market share – for the price-competitive laser printing market. the new 17” version of the McS eagle with two solid 8.5” print heads allows direct mailers to per-sonalize letters on the roll at 250 feet per minute directly into a cutter/folder – with consumable costs only a fraction of laser.

not limited to a mail transport base, the small print head (2” x 8” footprint) can be moved onto folders, inserters, attachers and web presses. Direct mailers know that the best way to get a quick payback is to move printing systems around the shop – to facilitate more jobs. For those printers and mailers focused on specialty applications such as plastic cards, high-gloss stocks and synthetic materials, McS has recently announced the uv-curable ink versions of the eagle print heads! For more information on McS products, see us at www.mcspro.com, email at info@mcspro.com or call 800-728-0154.

MCS hIgh SpEED EaglE INkJEt SyStEM taRgEtS DIRECt MaIlERS

three Dog logistics introduced Mail rover, our transporta-tion management resource. Mail rover is a fully automated, eDi-based system that simplifies on-line logistics. Mail rover is smart. Mail rover is fast. When Mail rover sniffs out a rate, you get prices that are consistently lower than you’re pay-ing today. He’ll give you dynamic instant rates, an optimized shipping method, bills of lading, and shipping labels. He’ll even arrange for pick up and delivery appointments.

Mail rover is easy. When you set up your account with us, we issue a user iD and password. this gives you access to our world class transportation management system.

When you enter your destination and give us the weight, our dynamic rate rover will instantly give you your rate for your ltl shipment. (if you have a full truckload, simply give us a call and we’ll take care of it!). a detailed online demonstra-tion on our website will show you exactly how to pack your mail so that it arrives on time and in good shape.

then we pick up your job using the name brand carriers you know and trust. From there, Mail rover tracks everything for you: the status, deliv-ery day, shipment history. and he can also find any bill of lading for you at any time.

For more information on Mail rover, please visit our website and select “view Demo” at www.threedoglogistics.com.

tRaNSpORtatION MaNagEMENt SIMplIfIES ON-lINE lOgIStICS

the videojet® crescendo v2 System controller from videojet technologies inc. offers dual-line printing from a single binary array printer for greater flexibility and maximum uptime. With the capabilities afforded by the Windows® XP-based crescendo v2 controller, a single videojet BX6600 binary array printer can now print on two separate lines simultaneously, enabling com-plex jobs for the mailing and commercial printing industry to be completed more quickly and decreasing the equipment invest-ment required to support fluctuations in mailing volumes.

the crescendo v2 controller supports two new bar codes — gS1 DataMatrix and gS1-128 — in addition to the fully configurable bar codes supported by the original crescendo controller, in-cluding the intelligent Mail® Barcode, PoStnet™ and Planet code®. in addition to english, the crescendo v2 controller’s user interface now also supports five other languages: Dutch, French, italian, german and Spanish.

videojet BX6600 printers are designed for high-quality printing of addresses, bar codes, maps and promotional messaging on direct mail pieces, magazines, loyalty cards and a wide range of other applications. With the crescendo v2 controller, a virtually unlimited number of variable graphics are easily incorporated into print jobs, while features such as PDF proofing and auto ad-dress Block significantly reduce setup time.

For more information about the video-jet crescendo v2 System controller and the videojet BX6600 binary array printer, call 800-843-3610 or visit www.videojet.com.

VIDEOJEt OffERS Dual-lINE pRINtINg fROM a SINglE BINaRy aRRay pRINtER

32 MFSA PostScripts

ClaSSIfIEDSgOlD paRtNERSthe following supplier members have become gold Partners with MFSa due to their level of support.

accuZIpadphos alg Worldwide logisticsBCC Software hewlett packardinterlinkONE kirk-Rudy, Inc.Mailers haven MCS/think Inkpitney Bowes printStream R.R. Donnelley logisticsSatori Software three Dog logisticsVirtual Systems

For information about becoming a gold Partner, contact MFSa at 800-333-6272.

Reduce undeliverable Mail, protect postal Discountsabout 1.2 million households and businesses file a change-of-ad-dress notification with canada Post each year. reach more of your canadian customers by obtaining their current addresses. Melissa Data offers a low price pledge on u.S. and canadian ncoa process-ing. For more info, please call 1-800-635-4772 opt. 5 or go to www.MelissaData.com/cncoa.

Join your MfSa Chapter todaychapters provide educational and networking opportunities and are a great resource of informa-tion that affect the mailing and fulfillment industry. the 12 regional chapters are governed by local volunteers and function under the umbrella of the national headquarters. they serve their specific regions, each with its own opportunities and challenges. More information can be found online at: http://www.mfsanet.org/chapters.

NEED hElp – Call fulfillment 911... the MfSa fulfillment hotline recently retired MFSa Director of Fulfillment Services, tom Quinn, now offers all MFSa members the opportunity to get 30 minutes of fulfillment consulting at no charge. Whether your questions be on operations, warehouse layout, software, sales, or marketing, you are only a phone call or email away from getting the answers. to contact tom, please call him at 770-632-9253 or tom@qfulfillmentsolutions.com.

NEED hElp – Call postal 911... the MfSa postal hotlineSpeak with postal professor, george Heinrich, for advice on postal regulation, mail acceptance, or operational issues. this is an MFSa membership benefit – the first 30 minutes is complimentary. george can be reached at 303-325-3048, 8 am – 6 pm Mountain time. need help with a postal regulation? remember the MFSa listserve or contact leo raymond at 800-333-6272 ext. 203.

Printed on newPage Futuralaser gloss text, 80 lb.,

manufactured in north america.

MFSa consulting Service can Improve Your Business!MFSa’s consulting Service consists of a group of experts who can help identify spe-cific areas for improvement and also provide the methods or the “how” to improve. the consulting Service helps you without going through an elaborate and costly consulting engagement.

“We are very pleased with this service. the recommendations provided by the MFSa consultant, tom Bush, once implemented, will have a significant positive impact on our sales and customer service. in fact, in just a few months, we expect to see a huge return on the investment in this service.”- John Hodgman, Founder, Direct connection Printing & Mailing, la verne, ca

“MFSa’s consulting program is a cost-effective way to get a fresh perspective from an experienced professional who is committed to your success. it was worth the investment.”- cheneile norasaeng, general Manager, DW Mail llc, Denver, colorado

MFSa’s consultants all have significant experience and provide their services at spe-cial MFSa rates. clients receive six hours of on-site consulting plus at least two hours of preparatory work along with a post-visit analysis and recommendations in any of the following areas: postal, marketing, sales, fulfillment, operations, strategy, cus-tomer service and “going green.”

the MFSa consulting Service is reasonably priced and clients only pay for the ser-vice once after they accept a consultant. For questions, go to www.mfsanet.org/consulting or contact Dave core at 800-333-6272, ext. 211, or dcore@mfsanet.org.