Direct marketing solutions provider Direct Group will be consolidating its direct mail, digital printing and fulfillment operations into one location over the remainder of this year and anticipates eliminating approximately 50 positions as a result.
“We want to optimize our associates, equipment and facilities infrastructures,” said Don McKenzie, president and CEO at Direct Group, of the move.
By shutting down the Robbinsville, NJ, fulfillment operation over the next few months and moving associates and equipment from that location to its existing Swedesboro, NJ, location, Direct Group believes it will be able to better serve clients with greater efficiency and lower unit costs.
“We have several clients who use us for both direct mail and fulfillment,” said McKenzie, adding it will be easier to meet their needs from one location instead of two. In addition, more clients are looking for full-service solutions, he continued.
The move is designed to position Direct Group as a strong player in the execution of personalized, targeted triggered-based acquisition programs as well as retention programs for its clients in the financial services, pharmaceutical, insurance, telecom and nonprofit sectors.
The newly combined Direct Group operation is the culmination of a multi-year growth strategy that has included more than $30 million in investments in new equipment and software as well as strategic acquisitions, such as the 2007 purchase of database marketing company Enterprise Marketing Solutions Inc. That business will remain in Piscataway, NJ.
The Swedesboro campus was the first facility in the US to install an Océ JetStream 2200 high-speed, fully variable, four-color inkjet printer in a continuous environment with MICR technology. The site currently houses two such printers, which have the capacity to produce more than 30 million digitally produced pieces per month.
The Swedesboro location is also home to Direct Group’s proprietary Postal Optimizer solution, a combination of technology and in-house expertise that reduces postage and logistics expenses by strategically combining mail for maximum density and allowing for the staging and delivery of mail in a coordinated sequence.
