Atlanta, GA, February 2, 2000. SmartMail Services, one of the nation's leading expedited delivery services networks, today announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from Orinda, CA to Forest Park, GA with the opening of a 62,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art processing and training center. The new SmartCenter- a technology-driven address verification, manifesting, tracking, and sorting facility capable of processing 250,000 pieces of flat mail a day on behalf of its business-mailer customers-- will be part of the new facility. "We chose Atlanta as our corporate headquarters because the city offers many incentives, including a high quality of life for our employees," said Jim Martell, CEO of SmartMail. "As a major gateway to the South, Atlanta is the best choice to institute a national distribution strategy such as the one SmartMail is deploying in what we euphemistically call the new 'mail-lennium.'" The new Forest Park facility is at 1500 Southpoint Drive, strategically situated near the Hartsfield International airport.
How SmartMail Works
SmartMail Services has a strategic partnership with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to deliver flat mail - first-class mail pieces weighing approximately 3oz to 16oz, ranging from compact discs and paperback books to enrollment kits and proxies. Through this alliance, business mailers are guaranteed 15 percent off of the original postage rate and still receive the USPS' 1- to-4-day delivery commitment.
SmartMail picks up business customers' flat mail pieces, sorts them at the local SmartCenter facility and routes them to a specified destination-end Postal Service drop off center for distribution within the designated locale. By exclusively utilizing the USPS' expedited services network, SmartMail is able to maximize delivery, at a cost savings, while adding previously unavailable benefits.
"SmartMail's business, in addition to its model for providing superior quality processing and expediting services, is very important to us," says Gail Sonnenberg, senior vice president for sales, United States Postal Service.
Unique Service Offerings
As part of its mission to revolutionize the management and distribution of non-letter size and e-commerce mail-SmartMail has pioneered a unique encoding, manifesting and tracking system known as FlatTrack. Unlike other carrier manifesting systems, FlatTrack can trace a mail piece by customer address and tracking number. In addition to this technology, SmartMail offers a portfolio of other services including: - Proof of processing from the USPS for each mail piece - Variable weight manifesting to avoid overpayment of postage - Address and ZIP Code verification to prevent delayed and undeliverable mail - Address ID™ which identifies unassignable addresses - Selective routing and delivery to bypass problem delivery areas - Delivery testing services to ensure timeliness of a customer's business communications - Free mail consultation
About SmartMail Services
SmartMail Services is a privately held company based in Atlanta that currently operates eight SmartCenters throughout the U.S. (Atlanta; Chicago; New York; Cincinnati, OH; Kansas City, MO; Los Angeles; San Francisco Bay area and Tampa, FL). In August 1999, SmartMail received venture financing from Great Hill Partners.
