DYMO Endicia

Soldiers' Angels

“May no soldier go unloved.”

Soldiers' Angels logo Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-led non-profit organization providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and their families.

Founded by the mother of two American soldiers, Soldiers’ Angels has more than 225,000 Angel volunteers worldwide who assist veterans, wounded and deployed personnel and their families in a variety of unique and effective ways.

The Situation.   One of Soldiers’ Angels’ most appreciated services is providing care packages to deployed service members, as well as first response packs for wounded soldiers at Combat Support Hospitals in Iraq and Afghanistan and major military hospitals in Germany. Most of these packages are assembled and distributed from the Soldiers’ Angels main shipping/receiving facility in San Antonio, Texas.

Packing the Boxes

Typically, the San Antonio facility ships 500 to 2,000 care packages a week with the help of one full-time employee and a handful of community and military volunteers. However, in the weeks leading up to Christmas, care package orders escalate to almost 18,750 orders a week for an estimated total of 75,000 packages during the holiday season.

According to spokesperson Eric Rice, the demand for packages typically exceeds the supply because packages mailed to an Army Post Office / Fleet Post Office (APO / FPO) address have to first be delivered to a Post Office™ to receive the required round date stamp.

“We really wanted to ship directly from the warehouse especially during the holiday season because we would be able to get more packages delivered sooner,” Rice explained. “So we approached the Post Office for help, and they suggested we work with DYMO Endicia.”

The DYMO Endicia Solution  After meeting with Soldiers’ Angels representatives, DYMO™ Endicia® quickly developed an enhancement to its software-based system. The new feature created a combined shipping, postage and customs declaration label that included an electronic round date stamp needed for APO / FPO shipments. Using the new feature would allow a postal carrier to pick up shipments directly from the shipper, eliminating the need for a trip to the Post Office.

Soldiers’ Angels eagerly became a beta user of the new feature. Once DYMO Endicia software was installed, Soldiers’ Angels began printing its own labels and shipping straight from its San Antonio facility.

Immediately, Rice and his colleagues experienced significant positive changes to their process.

The Results.   By shipping directly from its warehouse, Soldiers’ Angels and its volunteers were able to increase its care package shipments more than fivefold, dispatching nearly 1,000 packages a day.

“By saving so much time, we were able to send out more packages faster than ever with more accuracy,” Rice explained. “With everything automated, our productivity has really increased, and we can be much more efficient with our volunteers’ time.”

Special Thanks to Soldiers Angels from the troops

He added that the DYMO Endicia feature is saving Soldiers’ Angels money too since they are less reliant on third-party contractors during heavy volume shipping times.

“DYMO Endicia is simple and cost-effective,” said Rice. “It’s really helping us accomplish our mission.”

Based on the success of the Soldiers’ Angels trial, DYMO™ Endicia® has rolled out the electronic round date stamp option to all users of its Premium, Professional and Platinum services.

To learn more about Soldiers' Angels, visit www.soldiersangels.com.