Letting our customers have their say!

PGGM, Sander van Essen

The best mail deal for PGGM

PGGM was one of the first senders of bulk mail to capitalize on full postal market liberalization. This year, the pensions administrator will use DHL Global Mail to send around 1.2 million summaries of the pension funds that constitute its clients. ’It will save us a significant amount on postage costs and that’s not to be sneezed at in these austere times,’ says Sander van Essen, a buyer at PGGM. ‘We’ve been doing business with DHL Global Mail for quite a while already, but until now just for sending out our magazine ‘Eigentijd’. Now that the market has been opened up, we’re using their delivery network for our pension summaries too. ‘We’ve had positive experience with the quality of delivery. We were prepared to take the leap. Twice weekly deliveries are perfect for pension summaries,’ continues Van Essen. ‘Incidentally, we also looked at other delivery companies on the market and requested several quotes. Ultimately there were two reasons we decided to go with DHL Global Mail: the price and the faith we had in DHL Global Mail’s ability to deliver our mail safely. Pension summaries simply have to be delivered on time and must never go astray. We’re sure that DHL Global Mail will deliver our mail properly and that means we got the best mail deal out there’.

VGP, Bob Verburg

Postal market: open at last!

We’re really pleased that the postal market is being thrown completely open at last,’ said VGP Chairman Bob Verburg, reacting to the political decision to liberalize the Dutch postal market fully as of April 1, 2009. The VGP, or Vereniging Grootgebruikers Postdiensten, represents the interests of bulk senders of addressed mail. Think of organizations that make heavy use of documents and postal services, such as banks, insurance companies, telecommunications providers, utility companies, public authorities and other bulk users. Taken together, VGP’s members account for more than 20% of domestic mail by volume. Verburg continued: ‘Now that the politicians have spoken, we can finally lobby for a market that functions effectively. The VGP advocates transparency in postal processes and works to ensure that our members enjoy the highest quality service for the best price. We think the decision to lift the monopoly on deliveries of addressed letter mail up to 50 grams was the right one. It has certainly benefitted our customers’ wallets. The VGP is busy benchmarking rates to ensure even greater transparency. Liberalizing the market should further stimulate that processes. It will give each one of our members more opportunities and a chance to begin negotiating market rates with the delivery companies. An open postal market will also help VGP develop as an interest group – we can help our members to share their knowledge of document processing and mail carriage and to develop innovative new mail services together with market participants.’

PTI, Jan Posma

Co-operation between Pincode Telenet [PTI] and DHL Global Mail

Pincode Telenet [PTI] and DHL Global Mail already have a long history of working together. ‘We’ve been together from the moment the postal market was liberalized,’ says Jan Posma, Marketing Director. ‘What was then called Selekt Mail arriving on the scene when it did was good for us. We were able to offer our customers, predominately the utility companies, a real alternative for sending meter reading cards. PTI and DHL Global Mail co-operate on several levels. We send meter reading cards on behalf of our clients for preferential rates and also monitor delivery quality. Once the cards are delivered, the response rate gives us a clear picture about delivery. We keep an eye on it for our customers and it also provides DHL Global Mail with reliable information about successful deliveries. DHL Global Mail certainly plays its part, because its delivery success is comparable with that of other delivery companies. PTI is able to measure delivery success by counting responses to the card. PTI’s principal job in the whole process is quality monitoring. Utility companies understandably want their meter reading cards delivered reliably so that every gas, electricity or water customer is able to respond. Responses come in either online, by telephone or using the reply card. We feed all the information into the utility companies’ processes in real time so that they always have the most accurate information. That represents a big saving for our customers and has helped PTI grow to become number one in the utilities sector. That’s something we’re pretty proud of!’

About PTI

PTI develops solutions that synchronize and merge information from various data streams, such as (mobile) internet, telephone and paper documents, into one single database. That often involves processing large amounts of data. PTI ensures that everyone has access to the latest (company) data wherever they are. The company has developed cost-effective total solutions for data streams, particularly for utility companies. The initial aim behind these tailor-made PTI solutions is to cut costs and, wherever possible, to provide additional information that benefits utility companies both at home and abroad.

Essent, Lex van Erp

Essent opts for reliability

Essent has been using the services of the former SelektMail for the last 18 months. Lex van Erp is a Marketing Communication Advisor with Essent in 's-Hertogenbosch. “Most of the time, my job involves following up large orders for direct mail and printed matter. We use Selekt Mail to send out our magazine Helemaal Thuis, amongst others. Each issue has a print run of 1,750,000 copies. It is sent to our retail and small-business customers and is packed with interesting tips and articles”.
Helemaal Thuis is published twice a year and is dispatched within a week, mainly throughout Essent’s traditional supply territory in the north-east and south-east of the Netherlands. “To make sure everything runs like clockwork, we need a reliable mail delivery service. We chose SelektMail because they came out on top when it came to reliable deliveries. SelektMail is also a great fit with Essent as both providers are focusing increasingly on customer service’.

Elektor International Media BV, Anouska van Ginkel

Elektor worldwide with DHL Global Mail

The electronics magazine Elektor is sent to 45,000 readers every month. They are all waiting impatiently for their copy to land on the doormat. “It is not the easiest of target groups. These are people who are mad about electronics. Their magazine has to arrive on time”, explains Anouska van Ginkel, Elektor’s Customer Services and Readership Manager. “DHL Global Mail is the ideal partner. Deliveries are punctual and their service and support is fantastic. They make us feel like colleagues, not customers.” Elektor is published by Elektor International Media (EIM). It is produced in five languages (Dutch, English, German, French and Spanish) and is available in more than 50 countries. Our distribution area is huge. “That’s precisely why we chose DHL Global Mail. They ensure Elektor is delivered in every country we serve, even Brazil. I have a single point of contact at DHL Global Mail who deals with absolutely everything”, continues Van Ginkel. That person is Arnoud Guldemond, a member of our Customer Relations team. “A customer like EIM really allows us to show our full potential. We have vast knowledge and experience of distributing international magazines. Not only that, we also have links with sister organizations in numerous countries.” In the Netherlands, Elektor is delivered by the company formerly known as SelektMail, while DHL Global Mail ensures deliveries in Germany. In countries where DHL Global Mail doesn’t operate, we arrange delivery with local mail companies, such as Royal Mail in the United Kingdom and La Poste in France. Guldemond has the final word: “Elektor’s strapline is ‘electronics worldwide’. We make that happen, either ourselves or via our sister companies."

Center Parcs, Ingrid Goethart

Extending the customer/supplier relationship

Mention Center Parcs and woodland lodge holidays spring to mind. ‘Absolutely!’, agrees Ingrid Goethart, Direct Marketing Manager for Center Parcs and Sunparks. ‘Center Parcs guarantees that our guests can enjoy an all-weather break whatever the season. There are so many activities on offer at our parcs in the Nederland, Belgium, Germany and France that our guests generally choose to spend most of their time in the parc itself. All the facilities are in place for a relaxing break together, making your stay the perfect opportunity to take time for each other. Sunparks sites are the ideal base for discovering exciting new regions, such as the Eifel Mountains in Germany or the Belgian coastline. We work very closely with DHL Global Mail to reach our target groups in Germany. They make sure that our German mailshots arrive at their destination. A good customer/supplier relationship is very important to us: we see it as an extension of our own Direct marketing activities. We expect to be given advice and are happy to leverage our supplier’s knowledge. What with the various developments currently taking place on the postal market, it’s good to know we can relax and simply leave our partner DHL Global Mail to deliver our mailshots in Germany. In fact, our relationship has grown. We’ve found that we get best results when both sides invest in a working relationship and DHL Global Mail does just that’.

Holland Casino, Chantal van der Walle

Favorites magazine & Uitagenda

Holland Casino Favorites cardholders receive a copy of the Favorites magazine once a quarter thanks to the former SelektMail. It provides readers with exclusive promotions, offers and more. “That’s why it is so important that the magazine reaches them on time,” explains Chantal van der Walle, one of Holland Casino’s marketing communications staff. “They mustn’t miss out on their chance to take advantage of an offer or promotion. Of course price was a consideration when it came to choosing a mail delivery company, but for us it was even more important that deliveries were fast and reliable. After all, we’re talking about our regular guests.” A survey showed that Holland Casino clients value the magazine very highly. Favorites magazine helps to create a more positive image of Holland Casino and readers also find it informative and inspiring. What’s more, the magazine is always first to report on new types of games, slot machines and whole new casino sites.
Holland Casino currently operates at 14 sites (including Amsterdam Schiphol Airport) throughout the Netherlands. As well as delivering Favorites magazine, SelektMail also distributes ‘Uitagenda’, which is sent to all visitors to Holland Casino. Casinos located in border regions attract visitors not just from the Netherlands but from Germany as well. Global Mail takes over from SelektMail when sending ‘Uitagenda’ to visitors from Germany. Because DHL Global Mail combines a range of mail services, it’s easy for Holland Casino to hop across the border. Together, the companies cover the domestic and international markets: a perfect fit with Holland Casino’s ambition to become one of Europe’s major casino operators.

MultiCopy, Wim Sloots and Gerard Slot

SMEs reaping the benefits of an open postal market

MultiCopy is pleased that the postal market has been opened up. Managing Director Gerard Slot says: 'Finally we can offer our customers a real choice. Whether for direct mail or business letter mail. We’ve had strategic co-operation in place with DHL Global Mail for our mail deliveries for a while now. Now our customers can also send their letter mail via your network. It’s top quality and you deliver twice a week. That’s plenty for most companies’ needs'. MultiCopy is the leading communication support company for small and medium-sized businesses. There are more than 80 franchises operating in the Netherlands. MultiCopy franchise holder Wim Sloots, based in Zwolle, has also noticed that a liberalized postal market has brought several benefits for his customers. 'We already print lots of bills, summaries and payment reminders for our SME clients. Now we can send those items via DHL Global Mail as well, allowing small and medium-sized companies sending business mail to benefit fully from the advantages an open postal market has to offer. Great stuff!'

Kamerkrant, Jan Portegijs

Project Manager on the ‘Kamerkrant’

Jan Portegijs: “The ‘Kamerkrant’ has a clear role. The job of the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce is to advise businesses. We want to explain the tricks of the trade. How to keep accounts, what happens when the taxman pays a visit, what’s happening in your region. These are things that are of interest to every business. We go to great lengths to make sure the content is up to scratch, because we want to be seen as an impeachable guide to rules and regulations. Particularly because reference is often made to what we print in official discussions held between businesses, or with the authorities. People will often say “I saw it in the ‘Kamerkrant’”.

The focus is primarily on small businesses. “Our biggest group of readers provides B2B services, from accountants to insurance brokers and advertising agencies. In total, they make up 25% of our target group. The second largest group is wholesalers and retailers. Every business receives a copy of the ‘Kamerkrant’, even the big players. But the self-employed far outnumber the big businesses. That’s why our content is skewed in favor of smaller businesses. In any case, the big hitters mostly have enough know-how and experts in-house.”

A new ‘Kamerkrant’. “Qualitative and quantitative surveys showed that people thought highly of the ‘Kamerkrant’, but that its reach was declining. In any case, we were no longer satisfied with it. Businesses need more useful information. We felt that we could do better, so we tweaked the formula and added more hands-on and practical information into the mix. We moved away somewhat from news. We also felt that the ‘Kamerkrant’ needed to be more accessible and more appealing. Even for a builder who’d rather not spend his time reading, because they also have to deal with declarations of employment status, the accountant and the taxman. These people don’t have much spare time, but they do read the ‘Kramerkrant’ pretty thoroughly. 59% of small businesspeople read more than half the paper. On average, they spend 18 minutes reading and concentrate on the articles of interest to them, so the headlines are given very close scrutiny. We’ve also made the articles shorter.”

‘What’s in it for me?’ “That’s something businesses often ask: ‘We pay for the Chamber of Commerce, but what does it do for us?’ So we’ve included some space in the paper where we explain exactly what we do for small businesses. We give advice and explain how people can contact us. We also make very clear how we help to fuel the regional economy. Many businesspeople might find that pretty uninteresting, but they’re the ones reaping the benefit. There are 22 regional editions of the ‘Kamerkrant’. Each contains a national section, common to all the editions, as well as a regional section focusing on regional events and the region’s businesspeople.”

Saving on delivery costs. “We have already been working with SelektMail [part of DHL Global Mail since 2007] for more than three years. Before then, TNT Post delivered our mail. When distributing such a large print run of 800,000 copies, delivery costs are our biggest expense. The reason we chose SelektMail was mainly because they were considerably less expensive. Initially, we found that deliveries were slightly less reliable. The target was to deliver 95% of all items within 3 days. That target was missed for some of the first deliveries, but now the delivery agreement is honored to the letter. Incidentally, we have also outsourced all non-editorial activities such as pre-press, advertiser acquisition and printing to Wegener Nieuwsdruk. They have also signed a contract with SelektMail.”

Management Scope, Martijn Lub

Management Scope wanted to give print shop more breathing space

At the start of the year, Scope Publishing and DHL Global Mail began working together.
Martijn Lub (34) is the manager of Management Scope, a trade paper for managers and directors of large and medium-sized businesses in the Netherlands.
“When new entrants came on to the postal market a few years ago, we decided to experiment. Most of the time, those experiments were far from satisfactory.
While they were certainly cheaper, many of the 55,000+ copies of Management Scope either didn’t arrive on the right day, or simply went astray.
DHL Global Mail proved itself to be a reliable, enthusiastic and flexible partner that prides itself on quality. Management Scope is published eleven times a year and we like to hit the shelves on a Thursday or Friday. Because printing can be quite an involved process, we wanted to give the print shop a little more breathing space. DHL Global Mail seemed to have no problem at all meeting our request. They gave us the go-ahead to deliver on Tuesdays at the very last minute. We’re more than happy with delivery, which is punctual to a fault. DHL Global Mail has definitely gained our trust, no question.”