Print Solutions Magazine, March 2005 -- Case Study: Envelopes

A Form-Fitting Solution

When consulting a financial client, Dave Putney literally opened windows of opportunity. Sifting through a local bank’s supply closet, he found seven different-sized envelopes—some with wide address windows, others with narrow views. Each see-through spot was positioned in a different place, and each envelope was designed to hold a different, standardized form.

“Unfortunately, because of the way that the forms were designed, the bank ended up using a different envelope for every form,” says Putney, president of Independent Forms Services, Joliet, Ill. The paperwork included account statements, loan payments, overdraft notices and wire transfers.

Meanwhile, his banking customer’s supply closet was cluttered with envelopes in all shapes and sizes as new forms filtered into the paper trail. Existing statements and notices often were overlooked when new forms were created, and tailoring form size to fit envelopes in stock was uncommon.

“Customers don’t realize that with simple modifications and slight adjustments, they can fit all of their forms into one envelope,” Putney says. Such details strike “outsiders” like Putney when he reviews customers’ envelope print orders. His sideline observations often surprise clients, who gloss over physical details as they concentrate on including critical financial information on forms. “Someone from the outside can see these details,” he says. “Employees are conditioned over the years to think that every product has an envelope to fit that need. But that isn’t always necessary.”

Pinching an inch off of a form’s width or tweaking address alignment can save companies significant dollars, Putney says. With this in mind, he helped the bank tailor its forms to fit one or two envelope sizes, allowing it to order in bulk, reduce printing costs and increase its operational efficiency. “If their processing system allows, we help customers redesign forms so the name and address information will always print in the envelope’s window box,” Putney says. “That way, they can use one or two different envelopes for all mailings.” This isn’t possible for all customers because some banks send out forms not printed in house, so altering information isn’t possible, he says.

But banks that can edit form information in their computer systems and change address positioning can custom-fit their forms for one or two envelope sizes. This saves employees time when stuffing and stamping notices because they don’t have to readjust postage machines when they switch envelopes. A one-size-fits-all approach also eliminates mix-and-match madness in the supply closet and frustration from jostling through a mess of different envelope sizes, Putney says. “Some of the mailing equipment is intricate and delicate, and adjusting it takes time,” he says. “Customers appreciate if they can flip a postage machine adjustment once and feed a large quantity of envelopes at once.”

Putney’s redesign hints help customers, though sometimes his clues mean reduced sales from envelope orders. The payoff for Putney is customer loyalty and sales from other products and services Independent Forms Services offers. “If you develop relationships with your customers and they’re comfortable with you, you increase sales because they look to you for other products besides envelopes,” he says. Envelope contents—continuous and laser checks, for example—bolster sales for Independent Forms Services.

—Kristen Hampshire

Stuffing a Sale in 4 Steps

Dave Putney, president of Independent Forms Services, Joliet, Ill., designs solutions to improve his customers’ mailing matters. Consolidating envelopes to a one-size-fits-all order allows clients to buy in bulk, and it saves them stuffing time. Here are steps Putney follows to determine whether customers can buy into his less-is-more tactic:

1. Review the customer’s form and envelope inventory.

2. Does the client print forms in house, or does an outside service provide materials? When printed internally, customers can alter address positioning and use one envelope for all forms. Redesigning forms to fit envelope window size and position might not be possible if customers outsource form printing.

3. Ask yourself, “Is the form setup flexible?”

4. Find out whether the customer stuff forms in envelopes manually or by machine. These details can determine necessary envelope size.