Case Study A Cost Comparison Tool for Users of an Internet-based Postage Services Provider Challenges Stamps.com has a partnership with USPS for its Internet-based postage services. This means that Stamps.com registers a sale only when consumers select USPS as their shipping provider. In the current, highly competitive shipping business, Stamps.com cannot afford to lose out on customers who choose other shipping companies. Stamps.com had to prove to customers that USPS offers a better deal than its main competitor - UPS. The only way to do this was to give consumers the option of doing a price comparison whenever they are going to ship any package or letter.
Background Stamps.com is the leading provider of Internet-based postage services. The company gives users the ability to buy and print USPS-approved postage directly from the user’s computer. It serves nearly 500,000 customers who have so far printed over $3 billion worth of postage using Stamps.com. Photostamps, a popular Stamps.com service, is a patented product from Stamps.com that allows users to create stamps based on their own photos or by choosing a licensed image. Stamps.com is a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ.
NET BASED MAILING SERVICES
COST COMPARISON TOOL Solutions Softweb Solutions created an application for Stamps.com called “Eagle Eye” that works as a cost comparison tool. It runs side-by-side with UPS WorldShip. WorldShip is a freight costs calculator created by UPS for its customers. When the user inputs data into UPS WorldShip to print a shipping label, Eagle Eye will automatically use that data to compare both the UPS and applicable USPS shipping rates and display the potential cost savings. Eagle Eye does this by matching the data entered in WorldShip with the USPS shipping rate database. If the data is changed in WorldShip, Eagle Eye will automatically make adjustments to reflect the resulting changes in USPS rates. The Eagle Eye window is present right next to the UPS WorldShip software.
SHIPPING RATES CALCULATOR
PRINTING SHIPPING LABELS
The main menu of the app has the following categories: O
Buy Postage
O
History
O
Refunds
O
Savings
O
Settings
O
Help
The application also has additional options such as the ability to send certified mail, generate a return receipt, buy USPS insurance, buy registered mail and choose the collect on delivery option. Users can even request a postage refund through the application.
SAVINGS REPORT
Case Study Business Benefits O O O O O
Stamps.com is able to attract more customers using this comparison tool The company can lure UPS customers to its services with this application Filing for refund claims is easier now for customers of Stamps.com Users can easily print USPS shipping labels directly through the Eagle Eye interface Eagle Eye makes tracking easy with its “Savings Report� feature that stores all information
Summary Stamps.com, the leading Internet-based postage services provider, has a partnership with USPS based on which it offers its customers shipping services. To show to its customers that USPS offers the best shipping rates, Stamps.com needed an application that would display an accurate comparison of USPS and UPS rates. Softweb Solutions created the application Eagle Eye for Stamps.com which successfully fulfilled this mission.
Contact Information
Softweb Solutions
Technologies Used O O O O O
Architecture: MVP Design Pattern Language: C# .Net Desktop Service: USPS Service Integration Operating System: Windows Languages Support: English
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www.softwebsolutions.com