• Mail Preparations Services

• Printing and Copying Services can save money on your ever increasing postage expenses.

• Over the past 3 months, the Postal Service has implemented two rate increases, a change in how rates are calculated and more stringent mail sort requirements. 

• We are an internal provider and not subject any EVA charges or purchase order requirements.

• Security has also become an issue at the university and we are fully certified to draw down faculty, staff and student names from the pertinent databases. 

• Letter size and card size bulk mail pieces have increased the least with an average change of .8 to 1.5 cents per piece.

• FLAT pieces have changed the most with an average change of 14.6 cents per piece.

• Some letter shapes (Thickness for one) have been changed to flat rates with a change in first class postage of 39 cents per piece.

• Our services include:

• Data processing, mail merges, tabbing stamping and labeling, machine inserting,
• inkjet addressing and messaging, hand inserting, labeling and sorting, UPS shipping, pickup and delivery

• In data processing we can combine a variety of file type including word documents into a single data base.  We can format the data base fields for the application, parse or separate the names into first middle and last name fields and determine the salutation and suffix fields.  Separate the company names, street addresses, city, state and zip codes. remove international addresses and mail them separately, remove messenger mail addresses for internal mailing SAVING POSTAGE

• These steps ensure a clean standardized name and address file:

1. We then remove duplicated data (SAVING POSTAGE)
2. We can also do list comparisons and field matches
3. We insure that your addresses are prepared to postal standards, correcting them where possible and we then run an NCOA check – this looks for any address changes that have occurred in the past 18 months and updates the appropriate addresses in your list. –GIVING YOUR LIST MORE IMMEDIACY AND BETTER PENETRATION

• After the list is ready we then presort the list for the best postal discounts.  (We can also update and maintain your data bases)

• We can Inkjet address the pieces including the bar code and any pertinent messages.

• Traying for the post office, and delivering the mail to the BMEU or messenger mail, returning any unused pieces to your department. 

• During this process we may have to tab your piece, add stamps or indicia or machine insert pieces into envelopes.

• We can merge your data into letters, flyers and onto cards and do matched inserting.

• Perhaps our most important service is consultation.  Because the design of the piece as well as the makeup of the address list are key elements in being cost effective we are willing to be involved in the inception of the project to ensure that the product being outputted to the community is mailable at economically viable rates.

• Our various address cleanup systems ensure that the postal rates afforded us are the best available.
• We will inspect your mail piece to ensure that there are no shape based or design problems, IE aspect ratio – shape taller than wide, letter to flat issues, basic address panel layout

Introduced Susan Kirby as the new Health System Audit Manager and Victoria Savoy (who was not in attendance) as the new University Audit Manager.

The Audit Department currently has two vacancies.

• Terry Butler

• Reminder that you should use the Invoice Web/Correction Action form to alert AP to invoices changes.  The form is located on Procurement Services web site.
• Previewed demo of electronic invoices and how they will look on the Procurement Services web site.  They will only be from punchout and catalog vendors.  The non-catalog form will not be included.  Will be going live in a month or two, starting with Fisher Scientific.  The Supply Room will be coming soon.

• Ellie Withers      

• Confusion about eVA registered sites.  You must buy from the site that you pick in the Marketplace, you cannot pick an eVA registered site and then fax or send your order to another site.
• Please check recently changed pages on the Procurement website weekly, changes are being made all the time.
• You should also consult the Procurement Guide often.
• The Expenditure Type Search gives the long name and explanations of what it should be used for.
• Gave a demo of ways to stay informed of procedural changes that are published on the Procurement website, from bookmarking “Recently Changed Pages” to the new RSS new feed, which is live at this time.

• Eric Denby

• Introduced New Manager of e-Business – Meredith Dixon.  She will manage e-business operations that support the acquisitions of goods and services and electronic invoicing.  She can be reached at mad2dw@virginia.edu or 982-2006.
• eVA compliance numbers are going down.  There have been a lot of non-compliant payment vouchers.  Please check the website and only use payment vouchers when it is necessary.