It happens around this time every year.  The busiest time of year in the direct mail industry and everyone is wondering how long it will take for the seeds to arrive.  The post office is much busier and the delivery windows tend to get longer.  "Are we sure this mailed on time?" we ask ourselves.  "Has the caging company processed all of the returns yet?"  There has been a great unknown, a black hole of sorts, between the time when the mail is picked up and when it is processed by the caging company...until now!  

 

With the Intelligent Mail Barcode comes lots of new options.  "I know when the packages arrive by using US Monitor" you might think.  However, we now have the option to include the recipient's member ID in the IMB and track specific packages throughout the mailstream!  This could play into an online follow up program in which you send emails to specific members letting them know exactly when their packages will arrive. 

 

On the back end, we are also looking into a "Track It Back" program.  Utilizing an IMB on your reply mail could allow you to determine who already sent donations, even before the caging company even receives them.  You could then suppress these specific names from your next mailing, saving you money (and perhaps a few trees too!)

 

The first step is utilizing the IMB on the outgoing mail.  Although it won't be required by the USPS for a while, there are incentives to get a head start now!