SOLO Mailing Services is pleased to announce today the arrival of Amanda Shing who joins SOLO as a an Account Manager and replaces Lorna Steel who has moved on to pastures new after a period of some 5 years with SOLO.

Amanda has extensive project management experience working most recently with one of the largest largest UK water companies and is keen to transfer her skills into this new sector. Amanda's most recent role saw her gain experience with a wide range of environmental matters and we are keen for her to apply that knowledge and to influence behavioural change at SOLO.

The management are very excited by this change and look forward to Amanda becoming a key member of the team at SOLO. We are pleased to announce another succesful year of ISO9001 and ISO14001 accreditation.

Today SOLO was audited on its ISO9001 Quality procedures and its ISO14001 Environmental Management System. The auditors performed a thorough examination of our ISO procedures in every department and we passed the audits with zero non conformances and zero corrective actions.

Speaking after the audit Sue Owen commented "our ISO procedures are so well engrained in the business now that our staff simply follow them without even realilsing it. They self check and check each other's work and as a result our clients get a great result...." she went on, "We can all feel proud today of this achievement, it's nice to know that we have been recognised by independent auditors as a company who produce quality work with a green conscience. Without these accreditations we would be just another mailing house.... and SOLO is defintely NOT just another mailing house!"

For more information about ISO9001 and ISO14001 please contact Sue on 0118 941 0101 Royal Mail and Mailing Houses Join Forces to Shape Future of the Industry

Royal Mail yesterday announced the creation of a new Strategic Mailing Partnership™ to drive developments and shape the future of the mailing house industry.

Independently chaired by direct marketing industry stalwart and former Postwatch vice-chair Judith Donovan CBE, the new organisation reflects Royal Mail's desire to collaborate more closely with mailing houses and help develop products and services, drive forward modernisation and tackle issues affecting the industry.

The Strategic Mailing Partnership™ will be steered by a board featuring 12 executives from a cross-section of mailing houses working alongside Judith Donovan, as well as two Royal Mail representatives.

Mailing houses handle around 90 per cent of all Royal Mail bulk mailings and use its spectrum of products, including Presstream, Mailsort and Walksort.

Jim Bulmer, Head of Mailing House Development at Royal Mail, said: "We have listened to the mailing house industry's concerns and requirements for a long time now. They are a key partner for Royal Mail and we aim to improve dialogue through The Strategic Mailing Partnership™ to give them a voice in our operations and the development of our key products, while also helping them to shape the future of the mailing house industry.

Judith Donovan's appointment as independent chair is critical and she will be instrumental to us working closer with mailing houses to create positive changes to the future of mail as a medium."

Judith Donovan said: "The UK mailing house industry has come a long way since the early days of mass print production. Many now offer cutting-edge data, creative and print services, and distribution through channels including email, SMS and of course direct mail. I'm delighted Royal Mail asked me to chair The Strategic Mailing Partnership™ which will be crucial both to mailing houses and the UK's mail industry as a whole."

The initiative is being launched with a targeted direct mail drive to senior mailing house executives in a bid to encourage free membership. Those who sign up will receive a follow-up welcome pack including a statement of intent from the partnership.

The Strategic Mailing Partnership™ will also hold a series of events around the country as part of a newly constructed communications programme designed to create a sustainable, meaningful two-way dialogue. These will include regional roadshows, a national annual conference and other networking opportunities allowing attendees to share best practice.

While Royal Mail has invited inaugural members to sit on the board, all of them will face re-election in January 2011 in order to give the industry a say in its future profile. The full list of board members is:

•Judith Donovan CBE (Chair)
•Jim Bulmer, Head of Mailing House Development, Royal Mail
•Helen Poole, Mailing House Development Manager, Royal Mail
•Yolanda Noble, CEO, dsicmm
•Matthew Diamond, MD, Lorien Unique
•Miles Berry, MD, Prospect Mailing Services
•Gavin Boyd, MD, Mail International
•Chris Shorrock, MD, Codestorm
•Gary Hazlehurst, Technical Services Director, FCS Lasermail
•Lucy Edwards, deputy MD, Howard Hunt Group
•Jackie Peddie, MD, The Mailing House Group
•Paul Johnstone, Operations Director, RR Donnelly Global Document Solutions
•John Wells, Group Commercial Director, Communisis
•John Ellis, Group Sales Director, Sunline Direct
•James Portsmouth, MD, 4DM. SOLO is delighted to announce that they recently became one of the first Mailing and Fulfilment Houses to be accepted into the Royal Mail ‘Mailing House Scheme' – which replaces ‘QMP'.

In September SOLO staff underwent training with a team from Royal Mail and today learned that they had been among the first to be accredited under the The Royal Mail Mailing House Scheme (RMMHS).

This is a progressive and value based scheme which provides a positive return for both Mailing Houses and Royal Mail, by rewarding behaviours that drive up quality improvements in the mailing industry.

The aim of the Scheme is to encourage the adoption of standards that improve the quality of direct mail in the marketplace generally, to drive up operational efficiency and to encourage the growth of mail as a medium.

As Scheme members, staff at SOLO are required to meet certain performance criteria and must continuously show that they are improving the efficiency and effectiveness of direct mail across our industry.

The award is based on meeting strict quality criteria in many areas including:

◦Print and production
◦Mailing and fulfilment
◦Data control, security and management
◦Presentation of mail
◦Environmental awareness - including recycling and energy efficiency
◦Health and safety
◦Staff training
◦Customer Service