Why join the Mail Consolidators Association?

2009-07-29T11:58:36Z

The major benefits of joining the MCA are:

It is a forum to share information with your peers.
It gives you the opportunity to benchmark against your competitors.
You benefit from the collective power of MCA members in negotiations with postal operators
Including the MCA logo in your advertising etc highlights your commitment to quality to your customers.
A listing within the MCA member directory is a great promotional tool.
You will be involved in cross promotional activity with other industry organisations such as the DMA and PPA.
You will have access to the delivery performance statistics supplied by the postal operators exclusively to the MCA.
Membership fees are excellent value for money

What are we doing to raise the awareness of the MCA?

The MCA is appointing a Business Development consultant who will be tasked with managing PR activity focusing on trade publications, and developing joint initiatives with other trade bodies i.e. Postcomm, Periodical Publishers Association, Direct Marketing Association etc.

We have recently launched this website which has been developed to be search engine friendly so people searching for mail consolidators online will be taken to the member directory on this website.

We also aim to place targeted adverts within relevant press articles and websites promoting the benefits of using MCA member mail consolidators.

The aims and objectives for which the MCA is established are as follows, to:

The MCA acts as a forum for information share and joint initiatives to enable it’s membership to work together to secure and develop the future of the mail consolidation industry. In meeting the following aims and objectives the MCA seeks to encourage growth and profitability of the industry.

a) promote best practice by, and maintain standards of, its members;
b) develop the industry for the benefit of its members and their customers;
c) promote equality in the industry between private and public postal & parcel suppliers;
d) inform and educate the market of the benefits of consolidated distribution services; and
e) protect, promote and further the interests of its members.

Membership Code of Conduct Summary

All MCA members agree to:

Ensure the integrity of the customers mail at all times
Maintain Client confidentiality
Operate robust auditable processing systems
Provide accurate service and routing information
Provide accurate information on service delivery aims

(Download Membership Code of Conduct Declaration Form)

Joining Information

The MCA welcomes new applicants from within the mailing industry. Membership of the MCA is open
to all companies that consolidate mail on behalf of customers and satisfy the membership criteria.

A new applicant must:

Be an incorporated body
Have operated as a consolidator for at least 2 years (except a subsidiary of a mailing company having operated for more than 4 years)
Have at least 2 directors of which no director or manager has been ruled ineligible to act as a director within the past 5 years.
Have more than 10 corporate customers

Applications must be accompanied by a:

Copy of the audited or trading accounts, as the case maybe, for the past 2 years and list of Directors and shareholders (including beneficial shareholders)
Statement disclosing all associated companies (as defined under the Companies Code)
Signed copy of the current MCA Code of Practice (by no less than 2 directors)
Payment of the non-refundable application fee (currently £50). The application fee is deducted from the successful applicant’s first year’s subscription (currently £200.00).
Applicants should allow at least 12 weeks for consideration. The MCA may request supplemental information and a site visit prior to approving (or rejecting) any application.

The following is a list of the criterion that will be checked by MCA Members prior to introducing all new postal and distribution suppliers.

Supplier will have provided written confirmation of services provided including delivery areas covered, expected delivery performance and pricing structure.
Supplier will have provided a minimum of at least 2 existing user references and these will have been verified prior to use.
A full site visit of all new service providers will have been undertaken to confirm delivery network, operational processes and staffing levels.
Trading and Credit references will be obtained to confirm suitability.
Service testing will have taken place prior to the full introduction of any new service.