Challenge
A privately held, family-owned homeowners insurance company, serving approximately 300,000 policy holders in the state of Florida had entrusted its printing and mailing operations to an outside supplier. It relied on this vendor to print and mail thousands of documents (checks, claims and policies) each month. This vendor fell short of the company’s expectations in several areas. Utilizing cut sheet method of printing the method posed several challenges such as, purchasing and storing expensive pre-printed stock and checks. Also, the process was slower than more sophisticated equipment like Ink Jets; causing backlogs. This technique was also costly; often double the price per sheet than continuous printing (supported by Ink Jets. The ability to print checks and claims together was another issue resulting in checks being printed and mailed separately from related policy or claims information. This meant that customers would receive checks and correspondence at different times; not to mention extra spending on postage to accommodate additional mailings.
Finally, the technology’s limited composition capabilities (i.e. black and white print and no design options) frustrated the company’s marketing efforts—customer correspondence was often rigid by design, difficult to read, and not visually appealing. Static templates and preprinted stocks eliminated the possibility of on the fly, customized marketing campaigns. Taking all of this into consideration, the company sought the services of a new provider with greater expertise and more sophisticated technology.
Solution
In 2016, Exela was selected to manage the printing of claims, policies, and checks, as well as notices and letters out of its Charlotte facility. One of the first initiatives was to upgrade to high-speed, full color ink jet printers; capable of handling millions of sheets on a monthly basis. A single, connected role of paper took the place of thousands of individual sheets. The checks were produced in-line with the rest of the associated documents and packaged and mailed together. The new machines presented a more financially sound solution for the company. It was no longer required to pre-print paper stock. The new 4-color printers also offered an expansive menu of design options, allowing the company to produce more readable and appealing marketing communications. Exela utilized a 2-D barcode that was placed on each piece of correspondence enabling each sheet to be tracked all the way through production and into the mail.
Results
Entrusting all of its printing and mail operations to Exela was beneficial in several ways.
- Cost Savings: Utilizing new Ink Jet equipment, the company avoided costs associated with storing high volumes of paper and check stock, and print costs per sheet were significantly lower. In addition, postage was greatly reduced by the ability to combine documents and checks into a single package.
- Time Savings: Inkjet printers are capable of achieving much greater speeds on a daily, monthly and annual basis; with higher utilization rates and productivity. Redundancies were eliminated by combining packages right off of the printer.
- Enhanced Marketing: The new equipment offered an expansive menu of design options for more targeted and impactful full color marketing; and greater flexibility to accommodate customized print requests
As the company expands its customer base, and the volume of claims grows exponentially, Exela has the facilities, equipment and resources need to accommodate the company’s evolving requirements.
