CLEVELAND — This week the U.S. Postal Service recognized Sterling Jewelers, Inc., headquartered in Cleveland Ohio, with its Mail Innovation Award for the company’s support of the success of mail and its commitment to a successful business relationship with the Postal Service.
Sterling Jewelers Inc. was one of 21 companies recognized this year by the Postal Service at the National Postal Forum (NPF), which, for more than 40 years, has been recognized as the premier educational trade show for the mailing industry.
“We are pleased to recognize and honor Sterling Jewelers Inc. for its innovation, creativity, and leadership,” said Joshua Colin, vice president, Eastern Area, who nominated Sterling Jewelers Inc. for the award. “By working closely with the Postal Service to develop strategic business solutions, Sterling Jewelers Inc. has produced winning results, which supports the mailing industry.”
The Mail Innovation Award, presented annually at NPF, recognizes Postal Service customers who have implemented innovative mailing solutions. Winning companies embrace new technologies and implement best practices to improve efficiency and productivity in mail operations. They provide customers with a mail product that delivers increased value, which benefits customers and the mailing industry.
The partnership between Sterling Jewelers Inc. and the Postal Service has propelled Sterling Jewelers Inc. to the cutting edge of the retail jewelry business. In addition to being a beta test site for CONFIRM®, the company worked with USPS for IMb™ implementation and they are always open to incorporating new and/or updated marketing strategies. To that end, Sterling Jewelers Inc. worked closely with the Postal Service to create an innovative direct mail piece that literally puts their message in their customer’s hand. The piece is a postcard created out of plastic with a snap off which contains a redeemable savings incentive. Using variable print, the customer is identified by name and is directed to the nearest retail location based on logo. The company has also tested the use of QR Codes for shopping comparison to enhance the consumer experience. The use of the personalized plastic detachable coupon realized an increase over other types of direct mail.
Sterling Jewelers Inc. is a front-runner in the retail jewelry business. Operating under such names as Kay Jewelers, Jared, J B Robinson, Osterman, and Rogers, Sterling Jewelers, Inc. operates over 1300 retail jewelry stores from coast–to-coast and is a giant in the industry. It took a combination of postal knowledge and innovative thinking to achieve this level of success in the industry.
Sterling Jewelers uses Postal Service programs and technology to fine-tune its operations to offer a best-in-class product at the best cost for its customers.
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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation — 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office™ Boxes. The Postal Service™ receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com®, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011, Oxford Strategic Consulting ranked the U.S. Postal Service number one in overall service performance of the posts in the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.
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The National Postal Forum, a not-for-profit education corporation, was established in 1968 by a group of postal customers/mailers who were committed to an ongoing partnership with the U.S. Postal Service. The Forum’s goal, then and now, is to provide education to business mailers and communication/feedback between the Postal Service and its business customers for a more responsive and efficient mail communications system. Held annually, the National Postal Forum is a combination educational conference/trade show offering a wide range of opportunities for attendees. For more information, visit npf.org.
