OPTIONS

1) Dedicated recovery sites—hotsites devoted to printing/mailing business continuity; subscriber fees paid for availability, space, equipment, and services of fully operational facilities maintained by independent providers

2) Excess capacity offerings—printing/mailing facilities offer operational resources and time beyond normal workload in order to accommodate disaster recovery

3) Reciprocal agreements—pacts made by companies having similar printing/mailing requirements and equipment to support each other with disaster recovery

WHY BUY?
Critical mail applications, including billing and customer service, must be recovered along with data to ensure that data will be put to use. Dedicated printing/mailing recov­ery sites offer high-tech equipment that’s ready to go when you’re ready to recover. Such sites also avoid potentially disruptive lead times of up to six months that are typi­cal when replacing specialized mail inserting equipment.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

1) If temporary relocation is not feasible, alternate site’s proximity to your primary facility should be a priority.

2) Up-to-date technology and specific equipment to replicate your environment

3) Expertise in print and mail finishing, as well as postal regulations

4) Well-documented, organized, accountable methodology

5) Local postal facility’s ability to absorb additional high volume of mail

6) Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in case of power outage at alternate site

7) Climate control and fire detection/suppression systems

8. High level of on-site security

9) Telecommunications support

10)  Storage space and systems to warehouse your firm’s printed stock on-site

11)  Transportation accessibility, proximity to food and lodging

12)  Vendor with sound internal business recovery plans

COST CONSIDERATIONS
A detailed cost analysis will often reveal hidden expenses. Then adding up costs, consider the following:

1) Set-up, programming fees

2) Monthly subscription fees

3) Testing fees

4) Usage costs

5) Cost per piece

6) Warehousing fees

BE PREPARED

In order to bid for your business, vendors will want to know:

1) Monthly print volume and number of statements rendered

2) Number of pages per envelope

3) Number of computer program applications and their sizes

4) Print format

5) Special printing/mailing requirements

6) Type and quantity of equipment currently used

7) Need for intelligent inserting equipment

8. Control codes for intelligent applications

9) Number of employees responsible for each function

10)  Experience processing first class transaction mail

11)  Business impact analysis for loss of printing/mailing operations

12)  Turn-around time required

KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK POTENTIAL VENDORS

1) How many customers are contracted at your site?

2) How many customers can you simultaneously support?

3) Who is the closest customer to my location that you currently serve or will accept?

4) Is recovery time assigned on a first-come, first-served basis?

5)  What is your level of experience? Industry qualifications?

6) Is your equipment reserved specifically for disaster recovery?

7) For what percentage of your business does disaster recovery account?

8. What is your disaster declaration procedure?

9) What percentage of my monthly volume must be processed at your location?

10) Are my employees permitted to operate your equipment?

KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK VENDOR REFERENCES

1)  How similar to my own are your company’s system and recovery needs?

2)  How long have you contracted with this provider?

3) Why was this vendor chosen? Others considered?

4)  What did the selection process entail?

5) Provider strengths, weaknesses?

6) Any experiences with site activation? Testing?

7) Is service consistent? Is there a liaison designated specifically for your company?

8. Has the vendor offered recovery planning services/support?

9) Are maintenance and test support adequate?

10)  Have costs exceeded original estimates?

BUYER BEWARE

1) Vendors that offer printing/mailing disaster recovery services as a sideline. These ven­dors wiul fit you in when regular schedule permits, while those dedicated to disaster recovery will process your work immediately.

2) Regional hazards – flooding, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc – and potentially hazardous industries in vicinity

3) Sites served by the same electrical power grid or communications center as your primary facility

4) Inadequate security. Forms containing sensitive information, such as credit cards and check blanks, must be protected.

5) Inadequate testing – anything less than four times per year

WHAT NEXT?

1) After pre-qualifying all vendor candidates, request a presentation at your facility.

2) Request written replies to follow-up questions not answered during vendor presentations.

3) Visit actual site(s) of vendor finalists. Include your disaster recovery or security spe­cialist to conduct site surveys and your production manager to inspect equipment and evaluate operations.

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