One of the companies owned by our founder Jerry Ballenger is American Newspaper Solutions, LLC. Among its many distribution verticals is the delivery of weekly newspapers, which is powered by the verification assurance provided by CarrierTrack Technologies.
A client approached Jerry about how ANS could assist them in lowering the cost of their distribution of over 500,000 weekly products. They wanted to see if there were financial savings that could be realized, while increasing the level of customer service above what the USPS or other distribution channels could provide.
The ANS team went to work, and within a very short time — by also involving the client and its distribution staff — a plan and implementation timeline was developed. This was an intricate matrix that included whether the present distribution was taking place by an existing ground delivery force (i.e., newspaper carriers) or the USPS.
It involved all of the divisions of the newspaper, since a number of different cities and product titles were involved. Conversion dates were identified by the client and discussions took place between ANS and the production, transportation and advertising divisions of the newspaper company. ANS focused our experienced mapping, route development and demographic analytical capabilities to develop the most efficient route configuration possible.
With the approval of the client, distribution commenced on schedule, which is vital when shifting the distribution channel of products that contain material from many advertisers where print and delivery schedules to a production facility have been locked down for many months. As delivery began, ANS used CarrierTrack to measure the accuracy of all of the geocodes it set for each route. A feature of CarrierTrack is the ability to relocate geocodes in the field to the exact location where delivery is to take place on the property of the recipient (i.e., the driveway, garage door or doorstep). In addition, for the implementation cycle, ANS deployed additional management and physical verification assets to ensure an effective conversion.
Another service that ANS has determined has value is a very focused customer service operation, which permits the receivers to relate any delivery issues they may want to report, such as a change in the location where the delivery is to take place. ANS is able through CarrierTrack to assure that any requests are honored, since CarrierTrack will relate those directly to the contractor on the next delivery cycle.
It is this attention to every detail of the distribution process that creates a successful, on time and on budget implementation.
For information about CarrierTrack®, please contact:
Jerry Ballenger – jwb@carriertrack.com
Rick Epstein – rick@carriertrack.com
Website – carriertracktechnologies.com
