How to Plan for and Respond to Envelope Supply Emergencies

If you’re a retailer, nonprofit, or marketing agency – and you send direct-mail marketing campaigns – you know how critical envelopes are to success. Yet even the most efficient supply chains and inventory management programs can face unexpected disruptions.

For example:

• A national event presents a major opportunity for direct-mail marketing, but you didn’t anticipate needing 100,000 envelopes overnight
• A printing error or uncaught typo ruined thousands of mailers, and you don’t have enough stock to fulfill your order by the deadline
• A political candidate made an announcement you can capitalize on, but your usual supplier doesn’t have the capacity to supply enough envelopes in time for election day

These and other scenarios aren’t uncommon in the marketing world, but they don’t need to represent missed opportunities and deadlines or lost clients.

Follow these tips to plan for and rapidly respond to envelope supply emergencies so you can serve your clients and instantly capitalize on lucrative opportunities.

Conduct a Risk Assessment

Begin by assessing your risks. Examples include:

• Inability to capitalize on last-minute opportunities
• Printing mistakes and failures
• Natural disasters, such as floods, fires, earthquakes, and tornadoes
• Urgent, unanticipated client needs, such as an overnight project or a last-minute change to artwork or addresses

Next, determine the impact of those risks. Examples include:

• Missed opportunities
• Lost revenue
• Lost clients
• Poor reputation
• Loss of future business

Once you understand your risks and their potential impact, it’s easy to justify the investment in proper emergency preparation.

Identify Emergency Suppliers

Identify suppliers you can count on during an emergency – ideally, a supplier that has emergency response in their blood. It’s part of what they do.

Seek a supplier that:

• Has safety stock and raw materials: They can provide and produce envelopes during emergencies, allowing you to stay on schedule and prevent missed opportunities. They also have back up material on hand
• Is prepared for quick turns: For example, a customer came to Priority Envelope on Good Friday and needed envelopes by Monday. We’re not typically staffed on Easter weekend, but our team members volunteered to work through the weekend and met the customer’s needs
• Has its own strong, diversified supplier network: They don’t think “can we do this?” They think, “how can we do this?” They rely on their own facilities for special materials and have relationships with other suppliers they can obtain envelopes from when needed during emergencies
• Has proven, reliable processes: Your supplier should have processes in place to ensure a steady flow of jobs through their system

Ultimately, you should work with a supplier who will jump for you when you have an emergency project. They understand that their success is dependent on yours and will find a way to help you successfully navigate emergencies.