Navigating a Turbulent Commodity Market

Last year, when we came to realize that the country would be closed longer than a few weeks, my wife and I began looking for clippers so we could (try to) make my hair look presentable on video calls. We were surprised when we could not find any! Looking back, we should not have been that surprised, as millions of people were thinking the same thing, and we were just the last ones to act. After several days of searching, we ended up paying much more than we wanted for hair clippers on eBay from a seller in Alaska! The idea that I typed this sentence and that it feels completely normal still gives me pause on how we have all adapted over these many months.

I am sure you have a pandemic story like mine, most likely revolving around household cleaners, toilet paper, lumber, appliances or even laptop computers. So, what’s the point?!

It seems no one is immune to cost increases of some kind these days, and our industry is certainly being hit with our fair share of them. The past few months have been filled with rumors and formal announcements of extraordinary increases for postage, paper, freight, labor, envelope window patch material, label adhesive…the list goes on.

The reasons for the increases are varied, but the reasons do not change the fact that they potentially represent significant impacts to your direct mail program. As an industry, this is not the first time we have been hit with this kind of seismic market activity. Perhaps under different specific market circumstances, but the concept of volatility is not new to you or to your PS team.

This is exactly when you need to be able to leverage our strengths on behalf of your bottom line. We are optimistic and enthusiastic that as your true strategic partner, we will navigate the turbulence and we will position your program for continued success, now and into the future!

To that end, we are creating a new blog series in which our staff of experts will be drilling down into the specifics about the increases we are encountering and anticipating in the weeks ahead. We will share our collective thoughts on creative, proactive solutions, and how we can not only mitigate the effects of cost increases but thrive despite these challenges.

Production Solutions’ purpose is to elevate your experience, with an ultimate vision of inspiring more people to give. Together, we can make more possible! We are here for you and your fundraising program because every dollar is critical to your mission. We hold ourselves to the highest possible expectations to achieve success with you.

We will continue to work with you to share our analysis of the data and information as it becomes available. There are no “one-size-fits-all” answers, but together we will work to turn these cost challenges into opportunities. This is why you work with us!

Be on the lookout for our future blogs in this series! We will explore cost savings opportunities within the following aspects of your direct mail program:

• June 28: Formats

• July 6: Premiums

• July 12: Ganging

• July 19: Paper Stocks

• July 26: Art & Color

• August 2: Postal