Mail Inventory Management Tips for Small Businesses

Mail Inventory Management Tips for Small Businesses

Did you know that, according to CNN Money, home mail delivery could soon be a thing of the past for 15 million of the 37 million American business and homes that currently receive it?

The U.S. Postal service has been recording billions of dollars worth of losses every year, and has been able to show that collecting and delivering mail in cluster mailboxes would save about $4.5 billion annually. That is more money than the agency would save by eliminating Saturday services, which was a previous proposal. Mail delivery is the postal service’s largest fixed cost. Unions are the biggest opposition to the change because it could potentially mean cut hours or layoffs for postal employees.

When it comes to companies who deal with mail day in and day out, there are many ways that processes can be made more efficient in order to save both time and money. Here are three things you should know about mail inventory management for small businesses.

Upgrade Your Mail Systems

You may have used the same mail system successfully for the last 30 years. However, a system that works isn’t always a system that works as well as it could. Did you know that investing in a machine that calculates exact postage cost could save you up to 20% on the cost of shipping your letters? Over several months, this can really add up. As can the benefits of other machines that take the work out of envelope preparing and stuffing.

Automating Mail Systems

Many people interested in helping out politicians like to say they’d be happy with “stuffing envelopes.” However, with companies and organizations that do handle large volumes of mail every week, this is actually an action of the past. Envelope inserting machines can automatically insert papers into hundreds of envelopes within the space of hours, or even minutes depending on the model. If you would normally pay someone $10 an hour to stuff envelopes, this machine would pay for itself within the space of a few days, and then begin to save you money for the next several years.

Not Everything Needs to be Bought at Office Max

Many business owners assume that the only way to get an envelope is to buy them in bulk from a nearby store. When you’re purchasing hundreds of envelopes, though, it’s worth exploring other options. Did you know envelope folding machines can drastically reduce the amount you spend on envelopes, and can quickly and efficiently fold paper? There are also folding and inserting machines that do multiple jobs at once.

How could you improve the mail systems at your company? Let us know in the comments.