CDMS Signs Full Outsourcing Deal With Shop Direct

CDMS, the Merseyside (UK) marketing services company, has concluded a managed service outsourcing agreement with the Shop Direct Group.

CDMS, the Merseyside (UK) marketing services company, has concluded a managed service outsourcing agreement with the Shop Direct Group.

The deal fro the home shopping business increases its print and mail operation size, said CDMS, which said that, according to statistics from the Direct Mail Information Service, it now manages and processes seven per cent of the UK's consumer direct mail.

CDMS will be taking over full operational, managerial and financial control of the former Shop Direct Group's mailing operations based in Worcester.

The deal is said to introduce new economies of scale and skills and capabilities that allow the Shop Direct Group to improve efficiency, whilst taking advantage of also improvding its mailing capabilities and flexibility.

Under the agreement, full staff transfer has been effected.

The Worcester operation alone prints over 300 million A4 pages and mails 100 million items every year, utilising six IBM 4000 printers and 10 Pitney Bowes Vitesse inserter systems.

Martyn Viquerat, CDMS's document services director, said: "This agreement, which followed substantial negotiations, marks a very significant step forward for CDMS.

As a top-10 mailer in the UK (in terms of volume) we are confident in our technical capacity and capabilities.

Our long-term corporate stability helps us to attract clients where we are acting as a truly strategic outsource partner.

We can now provide an even better service whilst also offering improved economies to the Shop Direct Group and other clients, in marketing campaign output and secure transactional mailing, such as bills, statements and regulatory correspondence." Graham Ibbetson, the head of Shop Direct Group Print and Publications, added: "It makes absolute financial and operational sense for us to outsource our print and mail requirements to a recognised leader in the field such as CDMS.

All our applications are subject to rigorously tight service level agreements (SLAs) and standards, which CDMS is consistently delivering throughout its client base.

The agreement allows us to focus on our core retail activities, confident in the knowledge that print and mail is being managed by one of the most expert, customer-focused teams in the country.".

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