Industry Insight

August 30, 2004

"We are getting closer and closer to 'lights out' automation in the mailroom, where we can just flip a switch and let it run. We're pretty much there with imaging and the pressroom. I think in the next three to five years, you'll start to see it in the mailroom. With today's bewildering number of micro-zoned inserts, mailrooms have to become more automated, and automation takes up space," said Chuck Blevins in an interview for Press Time by freelance writer Randy Woods.

Blevins went on to say, "Most mailrooms being built today are too small. Publishers put too much focus on the cost of square footage. There hasn't been a building site where the mailroom didn't shrink when the budget got tight. You may be minimizing costs, but are you optimizing your operation? With Sunday inserts representing a larger slice of the advertising pie every year, the mailroom design is more of a marketing decision than a production issue."

The mailroom is a marketing center and revenue generator. However, in a traditional mailroom, as the number of inserts grows so does the labor component and the size or number of inserters. This means that process changes are required to maximize the value of the additional revenue.

When CBAssociates clients have explored facility expansion options many of these projects have been triggered, in part, by the lack of mailroom space, which was restricting revenue growth. These companies have taken advantage of the opportunity that their construction projects have provided to look at minimizing mailroom labor and streamlining the process.

Dayton Daily News, a past client of Chuck Blevins & Associates, is a good example of a company working toward a "lights out" environment where feeding inserts is about the only manual operation remaining. This change has minimized labor, improved productivity and provided revenue opportunities that were not available with the 'old system.'

CBAssociates looks forward to chatting with you about how we can help your mailroom operation improve quality and throughput while reducing unit cost. We specialize in making your operation better through the following services:

• Strategic Planning
• Operations and Distribution Planning
• Process and Equipment Design
• Equipment Specifications and Procurement
• Efficiency and Quality Improvement