Introduction

MSPs (still often called Lettershops or lettershop function) were once a backroom service for the direct mail industry that many people didn’t really understand and frankly were not mandated to any form of standards. In the last decade the role of the MSP has been raised to a new level where there is more data available and more focus placed upon the security and process of data. With the growth the direct mail industry has experienced everyone wants in on that growth and many organizations have taken on the role of MSP and many new ones have been created.

But not all MSPs are created equal and certainly all do not adhere to a set of standards because there is none. As advocates for the industry SMART DM and Cover-All commit a certain amount of our revenue and resources to overhead and processes that are intended to protect our clients, protect their clients and secure the longevity of the direct mail industry by being responsible and accountable.

Many MSPs make similar ongoing commitments both dollar and process wise. To protect your business and your clients’ business you should be reviewing the processes (see them in practice), security and documentation that your selected MSP has in place like those below. No longer is it acceptable to hold the perception that your MSP has never had a problem so these items are of little value, nor is the belief that one individual in an organization can accomplish all these safeguards

True security and process are not accomplished by a single individual, but are attained by structure and redundancy across an organization where these items are part of the corporate regimen and written policy so that if an individual is ill or away the policy still protects your data and the program.