If ever there was a firm with a history of success in the print/mail finishing business, it is a company called American Direct Mail.

A.D.M., now a part of Global Document Solutions, one of the premier customer messaging service bureaus in the world, was founded nearly 100 years ago and is believed to be the oldest continuously-operating 'mail shop' in New York City and perhaps the entire U.S.

When A.D.M. was founded in 1906 -- and received USPS Permit #416 -- Teddy Roosevelt was President. There were also only 45 states in the Union, fewer than 80,000 cars registered across the nation, and no personal income tax.

As everyone knows, the world of business has changed immeasurably over the past century. But A.D.M. has kept pace by focusing on and continuously enhancing its core competencies, which currently consist of data handling, software development, document creation, print/mail finishing and fulfillment processing.

Personalized Customer Messaging
As a result, the firm is now an acknowledged leader in processing highly personalized customer messages in both paper and digital form for an array of transactional and direct marketing applications. Indeed, more than 300 employees produce nearly one billion print images and 85 million mail pieces a year on behalf of financial services and other firms. The privately held firm doesn't disclose sales or profit figures, but industry observers estimate the firm achieved about $55 million in revenue last year.

Plus, A.D.M. is now poised to grow even more; thanks to an investment in new processing technology that is ideally suited both to its location in lower Manhattan and its evolving workload.

"Our challenge centered on a need for better efficiency in our mail finishing operation so we could stay ahead of our growing volumes as well as the shifting demands of our customers," explains John Slaney, who serves as president of A.D.M. A nine-year veteran with the company, Slaney also heads American Direct Laser, which is the company's digital printing unit, and serves as C.O.O. of Global Document Solution.

"Previously, we used separate technology platforms for mail finishing," he continues. "One processed our transaction-based mail, which consists of monthly bills, statements and related customer correspondence. And the other handled our direct mail applications, which were larger and more complex and often included over-sized materials as a way to generate interest via the creative use of paper, printing and inserts."

A Lower Cost of Ownership
Both platforms were well suited to their respective jobs. But they also came with a high cost of ownership, especially when factors such as floor space, maintenance and employee training and staffing were considered.

"With 110,000 sq. ft. of floor space, we're not cramped for room," says Slaney. But A.D.M., like any business, needs to use every inch of it wisely. "Since our processing work load varies according to the needs of our customers, there were just too many instances when one platform was overtaxed while the other was underutilized," he says.

Additionally, the distinction between direct mail and transactional-based mail is rapidly blurring. At one time they were entirely different processes serving entirely different needs. But no more.

"Direct mail applications today are increasingly custom-tailored to individual preferences," says Slaney. "They are often based on and even make direct reference to previous transactions.

"Transactional-based mailings are evolving as well," he continues. "They must still record past business dealings. But now they are just as likely to incorporate 1:1 marketing and messaging techniques to cross-sell, up-sell and otherwise create a tighter relationship or connection with individual customers.

"So we really needed a hybrid platform where we could easily process either transactional-based mail, or direct mail, or a combination of the two, all on a single inserting system. "And of course, A.D.M. also wanted the important and related features of assured mail piece integrity, faster processing, a high level of equipment reliability or dependability, and easy set-ups and change-overs -- all the things that yield prompt turnarounds, and high throughput and contribute to high levels of customer satisfaction.

The solution for A.D.M. came in the form of six of the innovative FlowMaster FX12 intelligent inserting systems from Pitney Bowes Document Messaging Technologies. Each is equipped with a high capacity sheet feeder and is capable of operating at more than 10,000 cycles per hour.

Productive and Cost-Efficient
Not only are the new inserting systems faster and more flexible – they operate roughly 50 percent faster than the previous equipment and can accommodate virtually any application now processed by A.D.M., making the entire shop more productive and cost-efficient -- but they were also instrumental in securing a substantial piece of new business.

"The real impetus for acquiring the FlowMasters came from a new financial services customer, who offered us the chance to process a mega-mailing consisting of several million pieces, each containing an average of three sheets of 8.5 x 11 inch paper in a half-fold (or broker's fold) landscape fashion, with two inserts and 3 of 9 barcode scanning to assure integrity."

To make the assignment even more challenging, A.D.M. was given just 30 days to prove it had the necessary capacity in-house to handle the application, and just 5 days to actually process and complete it.

Despite the extremely tight time frame, the equipment was shipped, installed, set-up, tested and ready with time to spare. The mailing was processed smoothly. And A.D.M. now has yet another very satisfied customer.

The faster speeds and the flexibility to accommodate both new and existing work are certainly key benefits. But the new inserting systems also feature a lower cost of ownership. "We no longer have to maintain separate processing platforms and incur the added expenses for equipment maintenance, training and staffing, and downtime," says Slaney.

The investment has also brought new career opportunities for employees. "We were a little concerned at first about cross-training our staff on the new systems," says Slaney. "Many of our people are more accustomed to a mechanical environment and we didn't know how well their would respond to the computer-driven technology of our new systems."

But the shift wasn't a problem, principally because the systems are easy to operate, and the employees enjoy the faster work pace as well as the opportunity to try new tasks and advance into more challenging jobs," he continues.

"Our best FlowMaster operator today is an employee who just six months ago was a folding machine operator with no experience on inserting equipment," says Slaney. "He has absolutely flourished in the new assignment and we might not have uncovered his true potential if we had not cross-trained everyone on the new equipment."

Now, A.D.M. is using the FlowMaster virtually around the clock, and can easily switch back and forth to process either direct mail or transaction-based applications as the need arises. That makes the firm more responsive and valuable to its customers. And helps assure that the next hundred years will be just as successful as the first.