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Pitney Bowes to launch Volly

Press release from the issuing company

New York - Pitney Bowes Inc. today announced the Volly secure digital delivery service, a new cloud-based digital mail communications platform that will empower consumers to receive, view, organize, and manage bills, statements, direct marketing, catalogs, coupons and other content from multiple providers using a single application. This opt-in, consumer-focused consolidation service, which also includes online bill pay, will begin to be made available to consumers in the United States in the second half of 2011.

Expanding Pitney Bowes's Customer Communications Management (CCM) portfolio, the Volly digital delivery service will provide a secure, electronic means of communication and help organizations realize significant cost savings, while ultimately empowering consumers with an opt-in, spam-free experience to help organize and manage their lives.

With the Volly secure digital delivery service, Pitney Bowes will provide participating high-volume mailers with a communications service that can expand consumer options while also giving mailers the ability to:
- integrate with their existing physical mail delivery processes;
- rapidly deliver cost savings including reduced operating expenditures.

Pitney Bowes can also help mailers, billers, cataloguers, and government agencies save time to market and additional valuable resources by initiating the electronic relationship and connecting them with each customer.

Pitney Bowes already connects with consumers in their daily lives. From providing the engine that generates postage labels for millions of eBay shipments every year, to handling all American changes of address on an outsource basis for more than 40 million moves annually -- Pitney Bowes has extensive experience understanding consumers, and managing consumer interactions and financial transactions.

Supporting Quotes:

Murray Martin, chairman, president & CEO, Pitney Bowes Inc.

"In this multi-channel world, consumers are demanding choice in channel and control of their content. As a natural extension of our existing business, we will capitalize on our legacy of innovation, expertise, previous acquisitions, and our intellectual property to enable our customers to better communicate with their customers, using the channel they prefer."

Doug DeSchutter, president, Customer Communications, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

"We are excited to be Pitney Bowes' first strategic partner for their Volly secure digital delivery service. This service will increase our clients' flexibility, choice and control over how they communicate with their customers and shareholders. Moreover, the integration of this service with our existing operations and workflow processes will provide us with further enhanced capabilities which will enable us to offer our clients new, innovative services in a cost effective manner."

Forrester Research

According to a November 2010 independent report by Forrester Research Inc. entitled "Paperless Plight: Growing Resistance Outpaces Adoption Among U.S. Bank Account Holders," "There are few surprises left in understanding customers' attitudes to going paperless. Year in and year out, consumers tell Forrester the same things: 'I need the paper for record-keeping,' 'I want you to store years of statements for me,' 'I want to be able to print a copy on my computer.'" The report continues, "As U.S. consumers make increased use of multiple channels, a new statement model is needed."

Pete Basiliere, research director, Gartner

"These new platforms are a powerful form of customer communications management that spans a consumer's physical and digital world. With a mutually managed experience, both the mailer and the consumer have control. They require contextually aware content around transactions, promotions and consumer preferences; and, work best when presented with a look and feel that's native to the desktop or handheld device."

Jeff Hayes, president, InfoTrends

"We believe service bureaus and high volume production printers need to expand their offerings to include both physical and digital personalized communications. The key area for investment is software, particularly products that can be embedded in the existing workflow to simplify the implementation process and accelerate new revenue streams."

Key Facts/Highlights:

Broadridge, a technology services company focused on global capital markets, processes and distributes nearly 1 billion shareowner communications annually.

Pitney Bowes launched an entire industry with the introduction of the postage meter in 1920 and has been responsible for virtually every technological innovation during the ensuing decades, including remote postage downloading, Internet postage and networked digital mailing systems.

Pitney Bowes led the way in providing businesses with the ability to send their customers electronic versions of their printed bills and statements. Pitney Bowes also made it possible for businesses to give their customers the option of viewing and paying their bills online.

Pitney Bowes is uniquely qualified in this emerging market:

- Current relationship with 74 percent of high-volume mailers across U.S.;
- The Company generates substantial free cash flow annually;
- 90 years' expertise in encryption and payment security;
- Scalable systems that capitalize on mailers' existing infrastructure;
- Intuitive user experience that promotes mailers' brands;
- Leadership in Customer Communications Management technologies;
- One of the world's largest software companies, according to Software Magazine;
- Proven coverage across the full mailstream-both paper and digital.