Case Study: Alliance Healthcare
Summary:
Lowered overheads, reduced administrative requirements and enhanced customer service are the results of Alliance Healthcare's company-wide integration of imail.
Introduction:
Alliance Healthcare is a leading international provider of wholesale pharmaceuticals. A member of Alliance Boots, it offers value-added services to independent pharmacists and pharmaceutical manufacturers across Europe and beyond.
Alliance Healthcare was looking to streamline the mail operation within two of its UK businesses: Alliance Healthcare (Distribution) Ltd and its homecare business, Central Homecare. Both companies used traditional postal services, with all items printed, enveloped and mailed manually using internal resources or specially-employed temporary staff.
Convinced there was a better method, it looked for a solution to lower overheads, reduce administrative requirements and enhance the service provided to customers. A search of the market introduced Alliance Healthcare to imail, a hybrid mail solution that promised to fulfil all objectives.
The solution:
Since implementation, imail has been doing exactly that. Alliance Healthcare and Central Homecare now send letters to business and residential addresses across the UK via imail using a two-day delivery service.
Alliance Healthcare sends up to 3,000 credit notes each month to independent pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturers, whilst Central Homecare sends between 3,000 to 4,000 items each month, comprising statements, invoices and other forms of customer correspondence. These are now generated and sent electronically, with just a few clicks of the mouse. imail then prints and delivers it from the nearest print centre.
An Application Programming Interface (API) integrates imail with back-office systems. This means that the submission of mail items is fully automated, with a cut-off time of 6pm for same-day printing, so that all customer communications arrive two days after posting.
Benefits:
By automating the mail process using imail, the two businesses avoid the time- and labour-intensive process of printing, folding and stuffing envelopes, while completely eliminating the trip to the post office. This has freed up staff time and reduced mail overheads, as stationery, ink, printers and franking machines are no longer needed.
By streamlining the mail operation, all letters are mailed in a timely fashion. This has had a knock-on effect on cash flow, which has seen a steady improvement. Finally, by efficient scheduling and processing of customer communications, client perception has improved, which means all initial objectives have been more than satisfied.
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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