10001 Alliance Road Cincinnati, OH 45242 Phone 513-793-0110 Fax 513-792-1922

Application Profiles Water Company Finds Outsourced Billing Function Flows Smoothly A small community of 20,000 in Indiana mails water bills to residents and businesses on a bi-monthly basis. The Challenge They were using a 5-part data mailer which had several design problems and was a source of customer complaints: the mailer was difficult to open; a standard check and the return portion of the invoice would not fit into the return envelope; there were a limited number of print fields on the mailer; and the mailer was not printed on recycled paper, despite a town law requiring the use of recycled materials. The water company wanted to design a mailer that would resolve these customer complaints, expand print fields by 200% and, of course, be printed on recycled paper. The Solution The Miami Systems DPC Digital Print Communication Services Division. Our mailing consultant analyzed the original design and, after reviewing the customer complaint file, took problem-solving a step further. He interviewed the town's Clerk/Treasurer, Director of Operations, Town Manager, Data Service Manager, and Billing Clerk to find out the needs of each area. Working with our DPC Division, our consultant reviewed all considerations and proposed a new design, which was submitted for approval. Next, he met with town officials to perform a cost analysis. They calculated that the town's cost to process and mail water bills was much higher than outsourcing the entire process. Our Digital Print Communication Services Division was able to variably image the data, as well as insert and mail the water bills, while showing a savings of 14% per year. In addition, the new design helped streamline work in the department and saved money on bill payments. The flexible format also allowed extra fields to be added when needed, which enabled the town to add personalized messages to the bills. This new invoice and envelope format eliminated customer complaints, while saving the town money.