ree Reasons to Outsource Your Fulfillment Program by Jeremy Suratt

As an avid do-it-yourselfer, I enjoy tackling a variety of home improvement projects. My latest is building a playroom in my basement.

As with any job or hobby, there are aspects I enjoy and do well - like framing walls, and anything involving wires. (I am an engineer after all.) But when it comes to hanging wall board, major plumbing work, or any detailed finishing work that requires specialized tools or skills (or patience), that's when I call in the professionals.

That logic is probably valid for most things in life, and definitely when you are evaluating whether to partner with a fulfillment services expert. Here are some things to take into consideration:

Cost. Fulfillment specialists have the right equipment, dedicated personnel and expertise to do the work accurately and efficiently because that's their business. If you handle fulfillment in-house, you buy, maintain, upgrade and/or replace equipment, as well as train and maintain staff for this function. Those costs are fixed, even in times when you aren't using the equipment or personnel at full capacity. If you outsource instead, you can redirect that portion of your budget to more mission-critical uses, and you'll pay only for what you use. Moreover, your fulfillment services partner - like a good coach or personal trainer - can suggest ways to keep improving your communications and production processes, to reduce your ongoing costs.

Time to market. Slow or inaccurate fulfillment can cost your company big money. Unless you have a product that's absolutely unique, chances are your prospects are looking at your competitors' offerings, as well as yours. If your competitors respond first, they may close the deal before your materials get delivered. Fulfillment services companies use automated processes to minimize time to market. They can also scale up quickly to meet critical, but time-limited, demands like a new product or service rollout.

Optimization. Fulfillment is more than just putting stuff in a box and mailing it. New technologies and techniques let you get more out of your programs, optimize your spend and provide a better, more relevant experience for your customers and prospects. For example, instead of sending every prospect an envelope filled with the same generic materials, your fulfillment partner can help you customize communications for various market segments and personalize individual materials using digital printing services. You can also take advantage of custom kitting capabilities to create a more attractive, better organized package. By cutting the clutter and increasing the relevance of your materials, you can save money and improve response rates.

This is illustrated in a recent Target Marketing case study, where they looked at how California-based eHealthInsurance saved money and improved response times by partnering with Iron Mountain.

Although the majority of eHealth's subscribers complete and sign their applications and pay their premiums electronically, a significant percentage still opt to receive paper applications, which they sign and send back with a check. These applications, which can include as many as 75 pages, had been produced and mailed manually by the company's enrollment unit.

As eHealth's business volume grew, in-house fulfillment became too cumbersome and costly for their existing staff and processes. So, in 2011, they turned to Iron Mountain to handle this critical task.

The bottom line? eHealth reduced its unit costs to produce applications by 43% and describes itself as much more nimble in getting applications and follow-up letters to prospective subscribers. As they continue to grow, they can be confident that Iron Mountain's scalable capabilities will keep pace with their needs.

As this case demonstrates, there's a time and place for doing it yourself. But companies that are experiencing rapid growth or rolling out new products or services need to keep their eye on the essentials. By hiring the right fulfillment services partner, you can be assured that your messages will be targeted and relevant and get where they need to go quickly and cost-effectively.

Now back to my basement. Anyone know a good plumber?

LINK:	http://blogs.ironmountain.com/2014/service-lines/marketing-production-...
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