Stroke Association transforms labor-intensive outbound mail management with Quadient Impress Distribute
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The Stroke Association is a UK charity that supports people rebuilding their lives after a stroke. It provides specialist support, funds research, and campaigns on behalf of stroke survivors. In 2023, the Association began using Quadient Impress Distribute to send out letters and information to stroke survivors. The printing and mailing facility has saved the Stroke Association time that it can reinvest in its core support activities.
The challenge: to optimize outbound mailing processes that keep stroke survivors informed
A 500-strong national team of workers is central to the Stroke Association’s work. It enables the charity to arrange visits to stroke survivors to provide them with support and information as they recover. The charity supplements these visits through tailored letters and information, including guides and leaflets.
“Our aim is to meet and see one hundred per cent of stroke survivors,” says Craig Allen, logistics and supply lead at the Stroke Association. “We look for solutions to help us achieve this, but we have systems that are outdated. Our mailing system was managed through an email box that everyone uploaded their letters and attachments into.”
The central team that received these instructions would print and mail the letters and documents on behalf of the charity’s volunteers, but this was a manual and time-consuming activity. Another volunteer, working three days a week in the office, would collate the printed pages and put them into envelopes to be sent out.
“We only have a small space for fulfilment,” adds Craig. “So, we looked for a solution to handle the letters that don’t include publications. I knew this type of automation was out there.”
Transforming its outbound mailing process could help the Association be as efficient and effective as possible as it goes about its life-changing work. To this end, Craig recognizes the benefits that technology can bring to its working processes. “It is going to be an important part of helping us, as a small team, meet all the demands of the organization,” says Craig.
The process: open to change
The Stroke Association had an existing business relationship with Quadient through the mail machine it used. During an equipment review with the Quadient team, Craig indicated the organization was open to change, if it could improve the way it sent out its communications.
The solution: Quadient Impress Distribute
Quadient suggested Impress Distribute, a cloud-based, multi-channel document delivery solution, to meet the Stroke Association’s needs. Craig says: “I was excited. I thought, ‘yes, that’s going to solve some issues for us.’”
The Association now uploads its documents to Quadient’s certified mail production facility to print, sort, insert into envelopes, add postage, and submit items into the postal system.
“The portal is super easy to use; training was only around a few hours - our admin employees picked it up very quickly,” adds Craig. “At some point, we are looking to put attachments – our guides and leaflets - with it too, and we are going to see if our senior coordinators would want to use it themselves to work from home.”
The results: time saved reinvested elsewhere
In the first six weeks, the Stroke Association issued over 100 mailings a day through Impress Distribute. Craig estimates the new approach has saved two full days of a worker’s time - a significant reduction in labor that the charity can reinvest in its operations elsewhere.
“Cost is always a driver, but it was more about the quality and all-round experience,” says Craig. “It does save us time, but we do think we are making a cost saving too.”
Impress Distribute also helps with the accuracy of the charity’s mailings, as Craig explains: “It lets you know when something isn’t right, such as an address position. You can recall the letter before it goes to print, to go back and alter it.”
What’s more, Craig explains that as the project went on, he realized the solution can help the team support staff with occasional childcare or other issues that prevent them from getting into the office. As documents can be uploaded to the portal from anywhere, it facilitates agile and homeworking, the value of which became apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With Impress Distribute, the Stroke Association can focus on the essential support it provides to stroke survivors, rather than the mechanics of outbound communication. As the charity maximizes its use of the outbound click-to-print solution, it is also keen to explore the reporting it offers to gain greater insight into mailing volume and frequency.
