Keeping it simple
Mail Workshop is one of the UK’s largest mail and distribution companies and has seen many competitors come and go over the last few years. They are currently responsible for distributing upwards of 300 tonnes of mail and parcels each month and are recognised as a vital cog in the communication wheel for many companies across a number of industry sectors including print/publishing, retail and government. Here, managing director Mark Rosenberg, considers how and why Mail Workshop has grown and continues to thrive in the current climate and looks in detail at the addition of another significant new client.
Mark enthuses: “This business is simple, it’s about delivering the best service at the best price. We use the most appropriate technology, pay close attention to detail and deliver exactly what we promise, this way mistakes are minimised and efficiencies are maximised. This ethos runs deep within all we do at Mail Workshop and we pride ourselves on quoting right first time around – this complete clarity in quoting with no hidden surprises when you get the bill.”
The new business boom
Mail Workshop was established in 2003 out of the frustration that they knew they could do better. Mark Rosenberg and his business partner, Steve Riley, could see a gap in the market and set out to continually challenge the industry on delivery cost and performance as well as delivering a superior client service. Purposefully located in the centre of the country, their Nottingham based warehouse and offices now employs forty staff and acts as the central hub for their international distribution. Mail Workshop’s entrepreneurial spirit has led them to enjoy year on year growth. The year end turnover up to March 2008 was £2.2 million and at time of writing they are on target to exceed their March 2009 forecast of £3.25 million, profits are up too – from £120k to £220k. As an independent supplier they are responsible for selecting the most appropriate carrier and service to suit their clients’ distribution and this is typified by their latest appointment as distribution agents to Heist, the specialist marketing and market research company.
“The way we work is through customer research and intelligent marketing strategies to optimise the response rate from each marketing pound spent, we do this by using the latest personalisation printing techniques. For example: let’s say you work in the professional cleaning industry and one of your suppliers has sent you their latest catalogue, on this occasion their personalised carrier letter not only includes the suitable PPI, your name and delivery address but also thanks you for buying cleaning products ABC (the last products you bought) and then recommends cleaning products XYZ to match your last product purchase. Whether you noticed this change consciously or sub-consciously it’s bound to influence your purchasing choice of products.” Explained Mark.
Long term relationships
Mail Workshop have long enjoyed a strong relationship with Heist since 2006 when they managed the distribution of over 1 million University prospectuses from British Universities to addresses which stretch all over the globe, from Cornwall to Copenhagen. New for 2009 is the return of Heist to Mail Workshop for the completion of this prestigious job, the client’s biggest project of the year.
Leading through innovation
Mail Workshop doesn’t just react to market trends, it leads through innovation and suggesting new methodologies to it’s clients. So even before Heist expressed their environmental concerns about the distribution, Mail Workshop had provided the solution.
Mail Workshop and Heist have always worked together in sharing a combined commitment of delivering their clients key messages direct to the target audience.
Heist prides its Prospectus Distribution Service on a number of core values, including reliability and value, making it the most cost effective way of distributing multiple copies of prospectuses to all schools, colleges, careers offices, libraries and other reference points worldwide. For Heist it is imperative for the future success of its business that it teams up with a distribution company that provides strength, security and safety – never more so than in these turbulent times.
Universities across the country have reported an increase in applicants, with Thames Valley University alone reporting a 10% growth. Students are ever more confused with the instability in the current market place and as such the need for guidance via prospectuses and other literature has never been higher.
Heist’s Head of Data and Mailing services, Michael Smith explained why they returned to Mail Workshop for this prestigious job.:
“I remember enjoying working with Mail Workshop in the past and so kept them in mind when it came to finalising the deal with our existing distribution partner. In these tricky financial times it was important that our financial department checked the credit ratings of all of the companies on the shortlist to win the project.
“Some of these results were surprisingly low and the knock on effect could be huge. Beyond the success of our own business lay that of the one hundred Universities that entrusted us with the supply of their prospectuses, and even more important, the future of the next generation of University students for the whole of the UK.
“To my relief Mail Workshop had been awarded a top grade, with an impressive Credit Rating of almost a hundred. Their impressive Credit Rating, coupled with the knowledge that this particular large despatch of over 2kg catalogue size prospectuses was their forte, made it a very easy decision to change from our existing distributor to Mail Workshop.”
Do we really need to do that?
Mail Workshop’s client, Michael Smith, details the importance of the Credit Rating well beyond thinking of safeguarding your own business;
”Looking at this global prospectus dispatch, our responsibility is far greater than it would seem on the surface. You only have to look at a few of the delivery addresses on the database and you’ll be amazed how many are from overseas schools and colleges whose students will apply to English Universities from abroad. For those pupils it’s key that they are equipped with all the information so that they and their families can make one of the biggest decisions of their lives.
“Not to mention how bountiful the payment supplements from international students are for the Universities it is important that they can continue to invest for many more generations to come. Should Heist’s distribution partner slip up on these deliveries then we could have a disaster of similar magnitude to when the exam board lost the exam papers for thousands of A level students in 2008.”
One way to protect yourself from your supplier going bust and leaving you in trouble is to do as Heist did. The Credit Checks work in a simple manner – the details of both limited and non-limited companies are stored by the government and by companies like Experian that have their own databases. You can subscribe to an online service and you will be given access to the Risk Report portfolio for any UK business. These Risk Reports contain far more information than a mere Credit Rating and they take an objective view – just how much risk is involved in doing business with each company?
Mark Rosenberg put’s it another way: “Everyday hundreds of UK companies are going into administration and it’s not always the company directors that are losing the most. With the increase in pre-pack companies, many directors are closing down one day and re-starting the next, in the same industry, to the same potential clients and even with the same trading name! Whilst the company directors carry on regardless, the existing customers are often the biggest losers with no-one to complete their jobs and the headache of finding a new distribution partner. Some companies may insist they go the extra mile, but for whom are they really doing that to protect? This should probably be a quote – you can get away with being more controversial in a quote as it’s someone’s opinion.“
One simple idea: Reduce, reduce reduce!
The simple idea that Mail Workshop sold to Heist enabled them to reduce their carbon footprint associated with transporting over 1 million prospectuses by 33% but also served Heist well financially.
How was the efficiency applied? Through a simple idea: Heist undertook two deliveries to all addresses instead of three. Previously they ran an early dispatch, a main one and then a final one for the later Universities, but this time they will run one much larger, and, due to economies of scale, more environmental and economical despatch followed a smaller secondary despatch for all the institutions that were unable to make the first date; approximately one month later. Of course, if the set mailing dates did not correspond with the University prospectus production cycle, Mail Workshop arranged, and offered through Heist, a bespoke distribution service to send out the prospectuses to potential students at any time after the final shipment, these minimal quantities had even been required when they did three shipments, but are expected to be reduced more so because of the added energy that has been put into the publicity of the new despatch date.
Throughout this year Heist collated all of the requests for prospectus from all of the UK and overseas recipients. Their database of requests has been built up over 20 years of mailing campaigns and is the most comprehensive database of its kind. From their database they offer free reports to the Universities, which detail every single request for the prospectus.
Mail Workshop’s enthusiastic approach to optimising Heist’s existing process is an exciting one for everyone in the packaging and distribution sector because of the efficiencies created. Presently the packing and distribution sector is largely known as one of the largest for producers of greenhouse gases, but we can change people’s perceptions says the Managing Director of Mail Workshop, Mark Rosenberg;
“Mail Workshop has over 5 years experience in helping the packaging and distribution industry reduce environmental impact and save hundreds of thousands of pounds. This sector is affected by specific environmental issues and their services are tailored to meet all parties needs including; stakeholder demands to reduce CO2 emissions, waste, energy and transport miles, to reduce overhead costs, importantly through waste management, to comply with legislation and to reduce Carbon footprint and minimise environmental impacts.”
Mail Workshop have seen a rationalisation amongst many of his clients in the catalogue and directory distribution, where Mail workshop traditionally ship-out thousands of 2kg and heavy weight catalogues every month. Mark has noticed that for 2009 the catalogues have tended to be smaller and lighter since the downturn in the economy but he is keen to point out the potential advantages of this.
Enthusiastically optimistic
With all these inventive ideas coming from Mail Workshop at the moment there is a genuine buzz around the company as this hot bed of ideas is progressed into projects for their clients. They continuously work to save money, reduce waste to landfill and become more sustainable. They can help your organisation do the same by using their knowledge, skills, established networks and links for national and international distribution.
Not surprisingly with his enthusiastic and optimistic outlook, Mark is positive about the future, disclosing another growth in the market, Mail Workshop has seen a 50% increase in the number of direct mail shots they have been sending out.
Mark finishes, “With the Heist project we were delighted to change and adapt with them and follow in the core aims of our business that we set out when we started in 2003. These were to continually challenge the industry on delivery cost and performance as well as delivering a superior client service.”
mail workshop tel: 08452?581182 www.mailworkshop.co.uk
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