What is an Accelerated Reply Mail - ARM
What is an Accelerated Reply Mail - ARM
This is a postal service used for expediting mail delivery from the originating post to the addressee. Reply mail from caller's customers is captured on equipment designed to recognize the unique zip code +4, which is sorted to be picked up immediately by the caller or delivered to the caller's nearest postal office.
ARM Details
Business mail uses accelerated reply mail, especially for expediting the receipt of orders and payments. Due to differences in location for different clients, the mailer writes a specific reply for each client's geographical cluster.
The postal service then routes the mails through the posts nearest the customer rather than the marketer and delivers them using the fastest means possible. This saves a day or two, and messages get to the recipient quickly and safely.
The ARM method addresses the mail to the ARM facility nearest the customer rather than the one nearest to the sender. ARM is expensive due to the value provided, meaning it is only practical for companies that can afford it. It's economical for mail pieces that exceed more than 250 pieces daily or business payments exceeding $150 each.
For example, a New York City marketer with clients in Boston and Philadelphia would write to each of those cities separately and mail them using ARM service. Then the agents in those locations would collect the payments or replies and mail them back.
Such mail does not have to go through the usual path. Suppose the postal facility can deliver it in another way. In that case, they will reroute the mail to reach its destination sooner rather than recipients having to wait for it to be delivered normally. Doing this saves time, and business can continue normally.
Accelerated reply mail is a service that helps companies send mail directly to their customers in a quick way instead of having mail delivered through normal means. Mail processing is hastened through the postal facility and then routed to the nearest postal facility near the customer to be collected quickly. Agents in the customers' zone then collect the replies and mail them back to the company in the same hastened manner, enabling business transactions to be closed on time.
ARM is a genius service that has positively impacted the economy and should be expanded to cover more ground and made even cheaper to accommodate small business organizations. Modern businesses should adopt ARM to have an edge in the industry.
Example of ARM
A company XYZ wants to send invoices to its 2000 customers all over the country. The company denotes the locations of all customers and clusters the group into few specific geographic zones. Then a separate reply is written for every customer and mailed to their location using the ARM service. The mail reaches its recipient in a day, and they can send payments quickly as requested.
This could include large manufacturing companies, electricity companies, or water companies. The bill is sent to your specific location so that you can pay and send it back.
Purpose of ARM
Accelerated reply mail helps you reach your clients faster than traditional mail delivery. You can personalize messages to your clients; in turn, the clients can pay quickly and go on to other businesses rather than wait for three days to get traditional mail.
Large companies may benefit from this scheme due to economies of scale and speed of payments. They can get all their invoices sent for only a relatively small cost yet quickly collect large amounts in payments. This means they get good cashflows in time, which positively affects business operations and grows the business.
History of ARM
Accelerated reply mail is a service brought about by the need for large companies to mail lots of mail to their many customers asking for payments for the services delivered. Due to the sensitive nature of payments, this mail had to be delivered and replied to as quickly as possible, and not spend time in the delivery path. Hence the invention of accelerated mail service.
Now companies just need to tailor replies to each geographical location of customers and send the mail. The postal office then hastens the processing of such mail and makes sure they're delivered in the fastest way possible.
Though expensive, it saves the company a lot of labor of mailing and monitoring each specific customer. Also, economies of scale help companies pay relatively cheaply compared to what it would cost them to do the job themselves.
Significance of ARM
Faster delivery of business mail ensures higher business performance and efficiency since payments are made on time, providing companies with revenue to perform other essential business activities.
Order processing in organizations is also reduced, thus enabling efficient cash management. While unsuitable for small businesses, large organizations benefit from such services since the service cost is lower than mailing thousands of orders and waiting for them to be delivered and replied through the usual means.
Accelerated reply mail helps companies issue large masses of emails without the burden of delivering and monitoring them. They can get on to other businesses while the postal facility deals with the handling of mails.
Economies of scale make this service cheap for large organizations such as multinational and national companies. They can reach customers all over the country without worrying about the growing costs of operations.
This service is also advantageous to the clients since they can now make their payments much more efficiently to the service providing company. They do not have to travel long distances to the company to pay; they just mail back the payments and get done with it. ARM is a truly revolutionary service, especially in areas where internet penetration is low or transport is a problem.