For in-plants as well as print services providers (PSPs), it can be challenging to navigate the complex world of mailing and postage. Fortunately, householding and commingling printed documents offers several benefits that can help streamline and optimize your mailing experience. One of the primary advantages of commingling mail is that it achieves low, if not the lowest, postage rates possible. This is because when mail is commingled, it is sorted by Zip Code, which allows for greater geographic concentration and optimal postage rates.

In addition to lower postage rates, commingling mail can also improve delivery service from the USPS. By sorting mail more efficiently, commingling can help reduce the amount of time it takes for mail to reach its intended recipients. This can be especially beneficial for companies that have strict deadlines to meet, or that rely on timely delivery to maintain customer satisfaction.

Another significant benefit of commingling mail is that it helps reduce costs for the USPS while improving its profitability. Commingled mail allows the USPS to process and deliver mail more efficiently, which reduces operational costs. In turn, this can help ensure that the USPS remains a reliable and sustainable service for years to come.

Areas of Improvement for Digital Commingling

For digital commingling, there are several areas of improvement to consider. One critical area is the ability to track and monitor orders, which can help eliminate missed service level agreements (SLAs) that can be costly for organizations. By using alerts and automated processing, companies can ensure that their mail is delivered on time and avoid penalties for missed deadlines.

Another area of improvement for digital commingling is the ability to use labor more efficiently. When there is unused production time available, the system can select a batch of work due in the future that can be mailed early. This helps to level out equipment utilization and production times, which can reduce costs for the company.

Householding with Smart Batching Further Automates Processes and Postal Savings

Finally, smart batching like work, for example one-to-two ounce First-Class US mail with a standard envelope and same due out date, together with householding can drive further automation and reduce your postal spend. By combining content addressed to the same location or person in one envelope, companies can save not only the cost of envelopes but also the cost of postage on multiple pieces. This can result in dramatic labor, paper, and postal savings for businesses of all sizes.

For example, by digitally commingling content across different types of documents, companies can achieve greater Zip Code saturation for greater postal discounts. This solution assembles various input files into a single output with consolidated indexing, which helps streamline the entire process and reduce costs. Whether your company is large, midsize or small, digitally batching, householding, and/or commingling mail can help you achieve significant postage savings and improve your overall factory operations and processes.

Mary Ann Rowan has been in the production printing and customer communications delivery industry for over 30 years. As Chief Experience Officer and a principal founder of Solimar Systems, Inc., her focus is on developing and executing Solimar Systems’ go-to-market and customer and partner engagement strategies.

This article originally appeared in the July/August, 2023 issue of Mailing Systems Technology.