"We’re a company that keeps its promises."
Doug Brady
Vice President, Operations
Direct Mail is in Doug’s blood. He began working his way through college with a part time job with a printing company. Not too long after he went full time and never looked back. Once he had the experience, he founded and ran his own printing company, Northstar Direct, in New Hampshire and they partnered with a lettershop to provide end-to-end solutions for their clients.
Family matters brought him back to Illinois to take care of the family farm a few years later. He loved coming home and being a “gentleman farmer”. But he couldn’t get direct mail out of his system. He missed the deadlines, the challenges the demands. When his wife saw an ad for a print buyer in the local paper, he landed on Strategic Marketing and Mailing’s doorstep with a resume and close to 20 years' experience.
He didn’t get the print-buying job. Instead, they created a position for him and he quickly moved up to Vice President, Operations. Now he’s responsible for production, transportation and logistics, postal affairs, scheduling, print acquisition and estimating.
What’s the secret to success when your plate is that full? "Surrounding yourself with great people, "Doug says. "With great people, high tech equipment and training, we’ve managed to improve our efficiency, our productivity and the quality of our workdays, as well," Doug adds.
He's even had his production operators factory-trained and certified to maintain and repair their own equipment. Now they "take ownership" of their equipment. "It's their baby. We have better maintenance, less cost, less down time, and higher efficiency. We keep our rhythm going."
Strategic gives people the power and the tools to do what needs to be done. And to do the right thing.
What makes us so different? "We’re a company that keeps its promises. We do what we say we're going to do. And we solve problems."
