Case Study: London Scottish Mortgages
Summary:
London Scottish Mortgages has cut costs and seized control of its mail with imail's API, a completely integrated solution that can be accessed by authorised users throughout the company.
Introduction:
London Scottish Mortgages is a well-established provider of residential and commercial mortgages in the UK, with head offices located in Manchester. The business specialises in financing the purchase of non-standard properties and arranging mortgages for people with difficulty in raising finance.
London Scottish Mortgages has over 5,000 clients and generates a lot of mail, mainly transactional mailings such as mortgage statements, as well as general customer communications. Previously, the business had been relying on a large print production facility in Salford to implement its bulk mailings. However, at a cost of 50 pence per letter, using the facility was expensive and inefficient. It was unreliable, too, with the perceived ‘low priority' nature of London Scottish's print work triggering prolonged delays. To make a bad situation worse, the business had limited control over its letter templates, making any changes to document design cumbersome and time-consuming.
A solution was needed to streamline costs and speed up the mailing process and London Scottish Mortgages hit on imail as the answer.
The solution:
New to the concept of hybrid mail, the company nevertheless recognised the benefits of such a solution – and imail's edge in terms of technology, cost and innovation. The imail solution was tested in tandem with the existing system for a one-week period, using large volumes of letters. imail's reliability and performance won hands down and installation and testing was completed within two weeks.
The system is simple and effective. An application programming interface (API) is installed on London Scottish Mortgages' document composition server. This enables its back office systems to be integrated with imail, to transfer data electronically. As each document is generated, it is sent via HTTPS (encrypted communication) to the imail server, with a copy stored in the document archive on the in-house server.
imail then ensures that all documents are printed and posted reliably. The postcode checking software automatically identifies and alerts users to defective postcodes, boosting efficiency and reducing volumes of returned mail.
Crucially, the business can now easily implement changes in document design, which is particularly helpful when it comes to satisfying new stipulations from the Office of Fair Trading. Booklets and information sheets are automatically added to the required documents via a few simple clicks of the mouse. Month-end and annual statement runs are also easily reconciled prior to the documents' release for printing and postage.
In turn, London Scottish Mortgages receives regular reports via email, providing status updates on their mail items, allowing detailed reconciliation back to the clients' database.
Benefits:
Since implementing imail, London Scottish Mortgages has enjoyed significant economy and efficiency improvements. Within five months, the company cut mailing costs by 36% using imail's mono-printing option, while dramatically reducing delays in delivery. No queues at the print production facility means users can choose between next-day and two-day delivery, regardless of print requirements. Reliability has vastly improved as a result.
Further cost savings have been achieved through postcode validation. By avoiding misdirected post, this useful feature has slashed wasteful and superfluous spending.
As an added benefit, London Scottish Mortgages has reduced its print media's environmental impact by cutting the delivery mileage of sending a letter.
Above all, London Scottish Mortgages has regained control over its mailings. Company-wide access – with restrictions managed by the system administrator – means authorised users anywhere can generate document templates, create and adapt content and schedule delivery of all mail, while remaining fully informed with regular reports on usage and spend.
About imail:
imail was launched in 2008 by UK Mail as the only alternative to the first class postal service. It enables users to send letters and postcards with just a click of the mouse from as late as 3pm for next-day delivery, or 6pm for two-day delivery. The mail documents are sent electronically to the UK Mail sorting centre closest to the destination, where they are printed, enveloped and sorted for onward delivery.
imail is ideal for all sizes of business, from SMEs to large corporations, offering a dynamic desktop-to-delivery service at a keystroke that provides a host of cost, time and environmental benefits.
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