Pitney Bowes

Commercial shippers are now able to take advantage of new volume price incentives when shipping through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Commercial Plus pricing launched Jan. 18, with up-front price incentives for qualifying shippers using USPS overnight and 2- to 3-day expedited services.

Pitney Bowes, Stamford, Conn., offers online resources to help customers manage the new postage price changes which went into effect on May 12. They are designed to ensure mailers make wise choices about mailstream options. Visitors to www.pbrateinfo.com will find general information about the new rates, as well as many other topics of importance to mailers. The site also includes an interactive rate change calculator that helps customers understand how the new rates will affect them, and offers specific strategies to mitigate the price increases. The calculator is available through the “Identify Winning Strategies” link on the site. The recent postage price changes are

Nothing is forever, and politicians are using this sentiment to their advantage. As degrees of economic uncertainty and political turmoil continue to fluctuate, the success of candidates vying for control of the White House hinges on platforms advocating change. Currently, direct mail is a key industry particularly affected by change—with no immediate end in sight. In accordance with The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, the costs of mailing services will be adjusted each May. The price for a one-ounce First-Class stamp will increase from $0.41 to $0.42 on May 12, for instance. Furthermore, within the last year, practices and products such as shape-based pricing

The issue of compliance and integrity has become a key topic for service providers who touch and manage sensitive customer data, whether that of their own or their clients’ customers. The increased demand for quality and audit-proof process control often does not translate into capital budget increases, making it even more important to analyze investments made in quality or process improvement. In the case of production mail integrity, discriminating between true compliance and false security is most important, as credibility, hard-dollar fines and loss of business are at stake. The question is: which solution truly validates total integrity? The most common approach

Pitney Bowes, Stamford, Conn., completed its acquisition of Digital Cement—a firm providing relationship management strategies and services—for approximately $40 million. Digital Cement will become part of the company’s marketing services business led by Mark Cattini. Digital Cement provides Fortune 500 clients in the consumer packaged goods, telecom, financial services, retail and healthcare industries with consultative offerings including: strategic planning to address business needs and customer analytics to ensure marketing programs achieve desirable results. For more information, visit www.pb.com.

A recent survey commissioned by Stamford, Connecticut-based Pitney Bowes—a mailstream technology company—and conducted by International Communications Research (ICR), revealed even in today’s digital world, consumers still prefer mail to other communications vehicles for receiving product information, offers and confidential business communications. This is the fourth mail preference survey commissioned by Pitney Bowes since March 1999. The study found 73 percent of respondents prefer mail for receiving new product announcements and offers from companies they currently do business with, while only 18 percent prefer e-mail. Mail is also preferred by 70 percent of respondents for receiving unsolicited information regarding products and services from companies they

Headquartered in Stamford, Conn., Pitney Bowes has added production intelligence to the mail stream with its new Sure-Feed AT3 Product Attaching System, bringing industry-leading processing speeds, unique product attaching opportunities and high-quality documents to service providers and transactional mailers. It features a synchronized servo card feeder for precise product placement, and an operator-friendly touch screen for on-the-fly adjustments. The AT3 boasts changeover times of less than 15 minutes for new applications, and a 6' collection conveyor for easy unloading. Typical applications include attaching phone cards, real estate cards, business cards, credit cards, insurance cards, gift cards, magnets and certified mail. The product is especially useful

Headquartered in Stamford, Conn., Pitney Bowes launched integrated document printing for its DI 900/950 series of tabletop inserters, advancing levels of security and process integrity to mid-volume mailers. The system is especially useful for midsize organizations lacking a robust method to ensure adequate protection of private and sensitive information. Mail pieces can be created, formatted, printed, folded, inserted, sealed and metered without operator intervention. In addition, process verification software provides piece-level tracking to enhance the integrity and accuracy of every job. Estimated printer capacities are up to 250,000 black-and-white and 100,000 color pages per month. The printers also feature environmentally-friendly duplex printing options

Pitney Bowes, Stamford, Conn., announced Murray D. Martin’s role will change from president and chief operating officer to president and chief executive officer. Also, Michael J. Critelli, formerly the company’s chairman and executive officer, will become executive chairman. The recent postal reform contributed to Critelli’s new position. Said Critelli, “I am pleased that the Board agreed that the time is right to evolve our leadership structure, given both our progress in expanding the business and the emerging opportunities in the global postal and public policy environment.” Robert E. Weissman, lead director of the organization’s Board of Directors, said of Martin, “We are very

In 1872, Aaron Montgomery Ward had a burst of inspiration. In the tradition of the general store, he printed a single sheet featuring 163 items and mailed it to potential customers, allowing recipients to receive what they needed through the mail and with a discount, rather than paying higher prices at local stores with lower inventories. It was the beginning of an onslaught of direct marketing that has continued for more than 100 years. Throughout the 20th century, many other innovators followed in Ward’s wake. Sears-Roebuck took the mail order idea a step further, offering the Sears Modern Home, available from 1908 through 1940