2023 Innovator: United Direct Solutions Responds to Change Through Innovation

Editor's note: In today's printing industry, the concept of innovation is wide in definition, but rather narrow in its goal. Leading companies grasp many tools to define themselves, increase profitability, and differentiate themselves. They utilize new technologies, systems integration, novel human resources practices, diversification, exemplary customer services, and so much more.

The six companies included in the 2023 class of Printing Impressions’ Innovators of the Year were nominated by printing industry experts and consultants who identified them as notables. The business tactics and philosophies they employ may provide some inspiration to take your company to similar, greater heights.

The summary of United Direct Solutions that follows shares what makes this company innovative, interesting, and exceptional. The insight it presents may provide the inspiration you need to take your company to a new level, or in a new direction.

If there is one lesson today’s printing business owners share, it is that staying relevant and competitive in today’s environment requires constant adjustment. Whether it is the incremental improvement of efforts to maximize efficiency, or the wide-reaching effects of a rebrand, the challenge is to do it well, do it effectively, and come out of the exercise stronger than before. Such has been the odyssey of United Direct Solutions, a Louisville, Kentucky-based direct mail printing and mailing service provider with a 41-year history.

United Direct Solutions was nominated as one of Printing Impressions “2023 Innovators of the Year” by Marco Boer, vice president of I.T. Strategies, an industry consultancy focused on digital printing technologies. About the company, Boer says, “They’ve figured out how to measure things to be able to spot inefficiencies and improve them in a cultural way that makes their staff a part of the improvement process.”

The company’s primary focus is handling consequential, critical communications for its clients, that primarily operate within healthcare, financial services, government, utilities, nonprofits, and higher education.

Casey Hendrick, COO, who has been with the company for 15 years, says the company, which regularly deals with highly regulated, highly sensitive data for its customers, prides itself on being HITRUST CSF certified. This includes ensuring its employees are data security trained. The company is SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 9001:2015 certified, and must also comply with HIPAA requirements. “These areas are always evolving,” he says. “We work to stay ahead of the game.”

Boer says that United Direct Solutions has successfully — and proactively — also stepped forward to be able to track data that fulfills Wayfair Act compliance. “That has really shaken up a lot of direct mail companies,” according to Boer. “It’s a balancing act, and they are able to walk the fine line between managing data and protecting privacy. They provide brands with some degree of confidence that they’re in good hands.”

Undertaking a Rebrand

While United Direct Solutions is a 41-year-old company, it has only operated under its current moniker since June of 2023. Previously, the company was known as United Mail. But that name, points out Dayna Neumann, CSMO, no longer reflected a business that had moved into different areas and changed radically. “The word ‘mail’ is still an incredibly important part of what we do,” she notes, “but it was getting in the way.” Further, Google was mistaking the company for USPS.

Neumann describes the company's new name as strategic. "United" carries through the company's previous identity, while "Direct" implies mail, but also direct communication from clients to their customers. “Solutions” is the product — the services provided to customers, and the stewardship of their budgets. Neumann explains, “One of our approaches to achieving this is by implementing omnichannel campaigns that allow for budget adjustments during ongoing campaigns, ensuring we consistently reach the right people and deliver optimal results for our clients.”

About the rebranding, Hendrick says it is a sign that the company is evolving. The previous name no longer fit: “The word ‘mail’ kind of pigeon-holed us. We do so much more than that.” Asked whether he saw the rebrand as possessing an element of risk, he says no. “Growth is through the roof ... it felt right ... and it was perfect timing.”

From a sales and marketing perspective, Neumann says the rebrand has been successful in “changing the sales narrative.” As a company, United Direct Solutions needs to understand where customers are going and match that to meet them where they are. “There has been a shift into using client need as the catalyst for the organization,” she says, adding that it has allowed United Direct Solutions to have better, more client-informed conversations about the solutions they offer. She points out one additional result of the rebrand is that prospects coming via the Internet are better informed.

Moving with Technology

According to Hendrick, the company’s odyssey into production inkjet printing began in 2017 with its purchase of a Canon varioPRINT i300 sheetfed inkjet press from Canon Solutions America. “We were spending a ton of money purchasing shells,” he says, “and, with the i300, we were able to become a white paper factory.” The advantages of this approach include more than cost savings. It also eliminated the need to manage and keep an inventory of shells on hand, and allowed clients to make changes to designs or wording up until the last minute. “We were giving time back to them, and it was really successful for us,” he says.

The company has invested aggressively to meet productivity and quick-turnaround demands for its printing and mailing services.
| Credit: United Direct Solutions

In response to a growing need by customers for self-mailer postcards, which were initially outsourced, the company acquired a varioPRINT iX series sheetfed inkjet press. “We went from having a few postcards and mailers to having a lot,” Hendrick recalls. “That press has been running six days a week, 24 hours a day, for the past year.” He adds that, due to the varioPRINT iX installation, the company can be more competitive, take on larger jobs, and complete larger letter runs in the same amount of time it took for shorter runs. “That’s what’s been driving our growth,” he adds.

The new technologies have also helped from a sales perspective. Neumann notes they have enabled the company to say “yes” to much larger projects, and to become better partners to them. “It’s very exciting to know that for the larger Fortune 50 companies we have relationships with — we can be that one-stop solution.”

Benefits of Process Improvement

To improve its processes to squeeze out the inefficiencies, United Direct Solutions pursues an approach it calls “Issues Tracking” that gets employees involved in identifying issues and their remedies. “It starts with a cross-functional team,” Hendrick explains, “made up of a person from each department.” The company keeps track of issues, whether lost time, rework, client complaints, or something else. “It has gotten very granular. We track issues so we can establish trends.” Teams are then assigned to address trends identified. Data is collected. ISO procedures are followed. Solutions are established. Employees are trained. An additional effort, called “Above and Beyond,” incentivizes employees to speak up about problems or inefficiencies they encounter.

About this approach, Boer comments, “While many companies seek to improve their processes, top-down approaches tend to build ‘antibodies’ among staff. United Direct Solutions works collaboratively with its customers and staff to identify inefficiencies, and then tasks its staff with identifying solutions. They give employees “skin in the game.”

When asked what makes United Direct Solutions an innovative company, Neumann says it’s that it puts the customer at the center of decision making, with the overarching goal of making the customer experience easier and more effective. For Hendrick, the answer begins with data: how it is handled, how the right information is utilized, and how it helps clients grow their businesses. “We’re innovating to fit the needs of our customers,” he says, “and all customers are different.”

And what makes the company successful? Neumann says it’s because client-focused decisions have helped the company stay, “a couple of steps ahead of where our clients are supposed to be.” “We’re also not afraid of risk,” she adds. With just three important words, Hendrick points out, “It’s the people.” He thinks every person on staff truly understands the company’s vision. “We live and die by our core values. As long as we put our team first, we can put our clients first.”