- Where is my print job?
- Have my statements and letters been mailed?
- When will those documents be delivered?
- Have I re-couped postage and production cost by line of business?
In a world where you can order an item on Amazon, have it delivered the same day and track the delivery, does your print and mail operation deliver the same instant gratification or is it behind the times?
If you outsource your printing and mailing or if it is an in-house operation, are you able to track the data through the data processing and manufacturing stages? Can you see/approve/reject a mailing in two clicks? Are you notified when the job has been released to a postal carrier? Are you empowered to track each mail piece down to when the postal carrier delivers each individual mail piece?
Challenges with easily obtaining critical status and updates
The world and customer expectations have changed greatly in the past decade. Traditional print and mail operations are lagging far behind for many organizations. This is causing companies to focus on electronic and app-based deliveries as opposed to print and mail.
The need to be able to view, track and approve or reject your data files is not new. Many internal mailers and outsource providers have been offering this service for quite some time. Often the clients are not aware of how the system works. The interfaces are so cumbersome to navigate that it is easier to pick up the phone and ask for a status update or walk down to the production department.
Recent workplace changes have created issues with leaving your department or even being able to get an employee on the phone can now be a challenge. This is where technology can become your best friend.
Providing transparency and access is not always easy
An Automated Document Factory (ADF) style print and mail tracking dashboard that utilizes real-time information and integrates with all aspects of the manufacturing and mailing process can empower users with an extremely powerful self-service platform.
Many outsourcers have commissioned studies on how to best handle customer questions related to job and mail status update requests. (If you have ever worked in a production facility these requests are never ending.) The solution is always the same…embrace transparency, have the internal or external client select how they want to be notified about job status and let them utilize an intuitive web interface to track and manage their jobs and or mail pieces.
This is not always as easy as it sounds, as an internal or external provider you are required to ensure that information is handled securely. At the same time, you need to provide access to the status information.
Real-Time Enterprise Visibility, Status & Tracking at your fingertips
Many organizations have devoted years trying to develop and integrate systems and solutions to manage this. Often times the project is never completed or fails to provide real time information in a secure manner. Crawford Technologies has deployed secure, completely vendor neutral, middleware integration platforms that connect to virtually all your internal systems and production devices while providing a secure web-based job tracking and reporting system known as PRO Conductor.
Crawford’s PRO Conductor is an integration platform that consolidates all job management and print solutions providing internal and external users a single source of the truth. A secure interface allows access to reports, job progress and employee productivity. Even mail piece status updates can be supplied through a USPS integration.
PRO Conductor replaces the costly time-consuming employee interaction of manually updating internal and external customers with a modern self-service interface.
If you are looking to empower customer self service and you need a company that stands behind the solution, take a few minutes to talk to the Crawford Technologies sales team. They will take the time to understand your needs and provide you the right solution to solve your problems and deliver it within budget.
