Colorado In-plant Named Mail Center of the Year

In 2011, the mail team implemented several strategies:

• An estimated $1.6 million was saved in postage with the installation of a new Pitney Bowes Olympus letter sorter that allows for five-digit presorting.
• The addition of a flat manifesting system paid for itself in less than nine months, saving taxpayers a minimum of $100,000 in postage during 2011.
• Productivity increased by 30 percent thanks in part to a new inserter, letter sorter and inkjet printer.
• By presorting flats with the new Pitney Bowes EZ Flats system, these items now qualify for postage discounts.
• Hand labor and setup time on the floor inserters have been minimized by adding a tabletop inserter.
• A new electronic ordering system was created to allow customers to include with their mail request the bill code, mail rate and contact information. These elements have aided in processing mail jobs more efficiently.
• Each job submitted by customers is now analyzed to identify any avenues that could be pursued to deliver a savings in postage, labor and materials.
• The implementation of daily production meetings has significantly increased communication among customer service, mail and print.
• Using the NCOA database, IDS created its own Address Quality Program that cleanses the database at the beginning of the process before any materials are produced or any postage has been affixed. On just one mailing alone, the state was able to save $150,000.
• To develop more efficient mail routes, IDS procured hardware and software to track packages travelling through the network. Using the information and route development software, IDS was then able to create routes that significantly reduced the number of miles traveled and time spent between stops.

In 2011 IDS Mail Operations launched another special service: archiving customer hard copy files. The idea was born when a high security state agency with documents archived across the state was searching for a way to consolidate its materials. Because the reproduction and storage facilities of IDS are secured areas, requiring official clearance, the agency reached out to the mail team for suggestions.