Colleges and universities that were already facing budget issues are scrambling to stay afloat after the costs associated with keeping campuses as safe as possible, along with students choosing to take a year or semester off due to COVID-19. While these institutions will need to get creative and find their own unique ways to keep going, one option they would be wise to consider is their mailing expenses.
There Are Two Main Options
When a company sees hard financial times, they have two options: Increase their revenue or lower their costs. The same is true of colleges, even though they are not companies. They must find ways to spend less and/or bring in more money. Mailing is not likely to bring in money but if a college can lower their mailing costs, it can return a chunk of the budget that could be better used for other purposes.
Many Colleges and Universities Have Inefficient Shipping Processes
What we want to focus on today are the inefficient shipping processes that many colleges and universities deal with. They often do not realize just how many outbound shipping charges are being rung up, partially because a wide variety of departments likely use the same shipping program. When administrators don’t have visibility on how the shipping process works in their own school, it can be difficult or impossible to note smarter delivery strategies that could result in significant savings.
Shipping Inefficiencies Can Drag Down Operational Costs in Several Ways
There are a number of ways in which not just the cost of shipping, but the cost of your employees handling these services can be costly. If you have unmanaged shipping, it can bog down your expenses. In most cases, schools will centralize their shipping in a mail center, but there are generally hundreds of others who have access to school-paid purchase cards adding additional shipping costs.
Second, if you have one main method of shipping, then everything must be shipped that way, whether it is the most cost-effective option or not. For example, if you have only one large envelope size, then anything that does not fit in a regular envelope will go into it. Having a variety of envelopes means that the right choice – and the most cost-effective – can be made each time.
We Can Help Colleges and Universities Find the Best Shipping Solutions
No matter the size of your college or university, or what types of budget shortfalls you are dealing with, we are happy to talk to you about potential shipping solutions. Contact Square One Business Machines at (972) 370-3664 to get started.
