Simplified Package Shipping Solutions from the USPS Part 2: UPS Mail Innovations and USPS Informed Delivery for Packages

tensionapdev on September 27, 2022

USPS and UPS offer innovative solutions like UPS Mail Innovations® and Informed Delivery® to help businesses streamline eCommerce shipping. UPS Mail Innovations reduces touchpoints and costs by combining UPS’s national network with USPS’s last-mile delivery, while Informed Delivery provides email previews of mail and packages, creating new marketing opportunities with high engagement rates. Together, these programs enhance operational efficiency and customer communication, supporting businesses in meeting rising eCommerce demands.

In our previous post, we explored USPS Connect™ its convenient shipping and return services. Now, let’s turn our attention to some additional simplified package shipping solutions.
 

The United States Postal Service (USPS) claims it’s “delivering for America with innovative solutions for businesses.” Informed Delivery® by USPS and UPS Mail Innovations® make good on that promise.

Both programs help businesses keep pace with the astonishing rise in eCommerce shipping by solving a handful of operational challenges.

What is UPS Mail Innovations?

UPS Mail Innovations is a collaborative program between USPS and UPS to deliver parcels more efficiently. Shipping solutions relying on traditional USPS mailing methods typically see a parcel travel through six separate touchpoints along its journey. By integrating with UPS and leveraging its national network of processing facilities and technology, that number is slashed. UPS handles the heavy lifting—long transits, labeling and, sorting of qualified mail—before dropping mail pieces at a USPS facility for last-mile delivery.

The streamlined solution offers speed and lowers costs. Those aren’t the only benefits, though. Today, 20% of merchants, including pharmaceuticals and healthcare providers, use the service. With the ability to brand, personalize and even include bounce-back incentives, the labels become another important piece of the marketing toolkit.

Convenience can’t be underscored either. Merchants can drop off packages at any UPS store, 24-hour service kiosk*, or rapid drop-off station. And returns are just as simple with easy-to-use, prepaid labels.

What is Informed Delivery?

Informed Delivery by USPS has been around for a few years—enough time to realize the benefits are real. The free service provides recipients an email preview of their mail before it arrives. But the real upside to this shipping solution belongs to those businesses that capitalize upon it.

Informed Delivery email open rates are strong at 63%, meaning more than half of direct mail pieces receive multiple impressions across channels. Shippers can use Informed Delivery to enrich an existing marketing campaign—at no additional cost. What’s more, they have access to a digital dashboard sharing important metrics like click-through and open rates. Great for A/B testing, it can help businesses understand what messaging resonates.

And it’s about to get better. Until now, Informed Delivery only pertained to letters, but package campaigns are coming soon.

Contact us to discuss how we can enhance your operations in tandem with these USPS offerings.

About Tension

Tension Packaging & Automation is a leader in complete packaging and automation solutions for the eCommerce and pharmacy automation industries. Our line of packaging equipment seamlessly integrates with transportation management systems (TMS) with options for weight verification, rate shopping, and sorting to multiple carriers (e.g., USPS) and service levels — contact us to get started.

Product Spotlight: BPM (Bottle Packaging Machine)

tensionapdev on July 21, 2022

The online pharmacy market is set to soar to over $210 billion by 2028, presenting significant opportunities—and challenges—for mail-order and central-fill pharmacies. Tension’s Bottle Packaging Machine (BPM) is a high-output, automated solution designed to scale with demand, offering unmatched accuracy and efficiency. With a multi-stage verification process, on-demand printing, and throughput rates of 600+ packages per hour, the BPM streamlines pharmacy operations while ensuring patient safety.

The global online pharmacy market is expected to reach more than $210 billion by 2028, up from $69 billion in 2020. This significant growth represents exciting opportunities for mail-order and central-fill pharmacies yet it can also pose a sizable operational challenge as business needs are scaled.
 

What is the BPM?

The BPM or Bottle Packaging Machine is a high output bottle and vial packaging system for mail-order and central-fill pharmacies. With throughputs* of up to 10 times that of a packing clerk in a high output pharmacy, this fully automated system packs prescriptions and patient-specific documents in bags that are printed on-demand.

*Actual throughput is dependent upon multiple factors including staffing productivity and performance, workflows, data interfaces and availability of product to the system.

Automated Bottle Packaging Equipment for Pharmacy Fulfillment

The BPM offers best-in-class bottle automation and fill-pack technology for pharmaceutical filling machines with its:

  • Scan–Print–Pack–Seal™ configuration
  • Print on-demand patient documents
  • Tension’s Auto-Fold Technology
  • Power unwind feature for positive bag-web control
  • Multi-step verification

Additionally, multiple configurations for a customized BPM system are available based on your needs and configurations.

Ensure Accuracy and Efficiency with the BPM

  1. The BPM features a multi-stage scan verification process and remains the most accurate and efficient solution on the market today:
    Each patient-specific barcode is automatically scanned and matched to an order.
  2. Patient-specific documents are printed, scanned for verification and folded without human intervention.
  3. All prescriptions and documents are inserted into the printed or labeled package, and the patient’s order is sealed.

If any of the scans do not read or do not match, the system rejects the order for review by a technician.

The BPM is the Ideal Bottle Packaging Machine for Pharmacies

Tension’s BPM runs in mail-order and central-fill pharmacies at rates of 600 packages per hour and higher. Easily interfaced to single bottle lines or puck-based conveyance systems, the BPM provides the accuracy, throughput and efficiency of space to optimize your pharmacy.

Want More Information on Our Pharmacy Automation Solutions?

Give your mail-order or central-fill pharmacy operations an efficient boost with the Tension BPM. Contact us to get started today, or check our product page for more details.

Heat Seal vs. Cold Seal Packaging: Which Option is Right for Your Packages?

tensionapdev on February 8, 2022

With global parcel volumes projected to double by 2025, selecting the right packaging equipment is crucial for handling increased demand. Heat seal packaging offers strong, weather-resistant seals ideal for clothing and soft goods, while cold seal packaging is perfect for dense items like books and electronics, offering cost and productivity benefits. Tension Packaging & Automation provides tailored solutions to optimize your operations and meet your growing needs.

According to a recent study, global parcel delivery volumes will increase by 100% by 2025. In addition to their annual peak season rushes, retailers and order fulfillment companies have a need to prepare for greater package volumes to come over the next few years.

When choosing equipment for your operations – and especially as you plan for growth – understanding the difference between heat seal and cold seal for packages can help guide your overall logistics strategy.

What is Heat Seal Packaging?

As the name implies, heat seal packaging uses heat to melt the sides of film packaging together to create a seal. In packaging applications, a heat seal can be used to both create a bag from two sheets of poly film and/or to secure the bag closed.

Heat Seal Benefits

  • Protective Material: This material provides a strong package that helps to protects contents from harsh weather conditions, such as rain or snow (and the lighter weight material can possibly reduce shipping costs).
  • No Adhesives Required: Because a heat seal uses heat to create the seal, there is no need for special pressure-sensitive adhesives.
  • Increased Productivity: Using one of Tension’s automated heat seal solutions, you can pack and prepare 8-16 packages for shipment per minute, on average, vs. 1.5 packages per minute using a hand packing method. Additionally, the variable length system helps create a right-sized package that could save you on shipping costs.

What is Cold Seal Packaging?

Cold seal packaging refers to water-based adhesives that are used to seal paper (e.g., kraft corrugate) and film packaging material. Cold seal is a self-sealing type of closure, only requiring pressure to create the seal on a package.

Cold Seal Benefits

  • Product Protection: Box-style packages* created from a cold seal eliminate the need for void fill, which creates increased protection for products inside.
  • Increased Productivity: Keep your machine running fast with easy-to-use features like batch processing or length adjustments for variable sized packages with capabilities of up to 8-16 packages for shipment per minute.
  • Cost Controller: Because cold seal packaging equipment requires no heating elements, it reduces costs related to electrical consumption.

Heat Seal vs. Cold Seal: Who Uses It?

A cold seal is ideal for companies packaging harder, dense products, such as books, CDs, DVDs or video games. Conversely, a heat seal is an ideal solution for companies packaging clothing, soft goods, shoes and other boxed items.

Contact Us

All packaging equipment is not created equal: Your products often dictate your seals and other packaging needs. Contact an expert at Tension to learn about solutions that can help optimize your productivity.