IoT Technology Digitally Connects Meters to the Pitney Bowes Commerce
Cloud for Automatic Updates, Enhanced Analytics and New Services
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 18, 2016--
Pitney
Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI), a global technology company that provides
innovative products and solutions to power commerce, today announced the
launch of the SmartLink
device, a digital technology solution that connects postage meters to
the Pitney
Bowes Commerce Cloud to streamline the client experience and
enable a new range of services. The SmartLink device leverages a secure
Internet of Things (IoT) platform to enable a host of online tools and
services, including automated postage rate updates, low postage alerts,
AutoInk technology, usage tracking and analytics, error notifications
and simple self-help tutorials, all with 24/7 online account management
features.
“Enhancing our analog mailing systems currently in use today with the
revolutionary digital solutions and applications in the Pitney Bowes
Commerce Cloud creates significant new value for our clients,” said Mark
Shearer, Executive Vice President and President, Pitney Bowes Global SMB
Solutions. “Our small and medium businesses clients are burdened by
growing complexity of mailing and shipping and look to Pitney Bowes to
help simplify and optimize their sending operations with valuable
digital services. With the SmartLink device, our clients will enjoy
having their meters always up to date, never out of ink and delivering
greater value every day.”
These digital services further simplify operations and allow clients to
easily modify account preferences from a centralized location online.
Meters connected with the SmartLink device will receive low ink
monitoring service and the ability to automate the process of purchasing
ink via the Pitney
Bowes AutoInk program. Usage analytics and automated ink
replenishment deliver greater savings and improve operations. New
proactive alerts and greater support services will also help ensure the
continuous operation of shipping and mailing workflows.
“As a small business, any savings we can take advantage of for office
supplies is great,” said Laura Interrant of Lotus Motorcars of Long
Island. “In addition, not having to remember when to reorder a supply
and having it done for you is even better.”
Pitney Bowes partnered with Electric Imp to develop the SmartLink
solution within the Pitney Bowes Commerce Cloud. The SmartLink solution
enables collection of real-time data from Pitney Bowes physical devices,
paving the way to valuable data analytics and digital services.
“SmartLink is a smart, real-world IoT use case, capturing
transformational business data and helping business customers avoid
down-time – all while maintaining network, data, device and application
security at high levels,” said Hugo Fiennes, CEO of Electric Imp.
“Partnering with the experts at Pitney Bowes has been a great
experience, and shows how our flexible platform can seamlessly integrate
at scale with existing machines in the field. The result is a secure,
cost-effective, real-time connection to next generation cloud services
that improve Pitney Bowes’ customer experiences and provide insights to
improve operations and future products for years to come.”
The SmartLink device is designed to work with Pitney Bowes low and mid
volume mailing systems, including the model K700 (Mailstation2), DM100i
and DM200L. New versions of these models will include the SmartLink
device. The rest of Pitney Bowes’ line of mailing systems offers digital
connectivity solutions, including the recently announced SendPro P
series of high volume mailing and shipping solutions.
For high-volume production mailers, Pitney Bowes introduced its Clarity
solutions suite, a new SaaS-based offering which leverages the
physical and digital technologies of the Industrial Internet to
integrate and organize data collected from sensors on production mail
machines in order to support real-time insight, predictive analytics and
prescriptive maintenance. Hosted on GE’s Predix platform, Clarity
solutions represent the first commercially available solution generated
by Pitney
Bowes’ collaboration with GE to bring the power of the Industrial
Internet to the production mail industry. Many of the same benefits are
now available to small and medium businesses through their SmartLink
connection.
For more information or to order SmartLink, please go to www.pitneybowes.com/us/shipping-and-mailing/smartlink.html.
About Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) is a global technology company offering
innovative products and solutions that enable commerce in the areas of
customer information management, location intelligence, customer
engagement, shipping and mailing, and global ecommerce. More than 1.5
million clients in approximately 100 countries around the world rely on
products, solutions and services from Pitney Bowes. For additional
information, visit Pitney Bowes at www.pitneybowes.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160718005709/en/
Source: Pitney Bowes Inc.
Pitney Bowes Inc.
Dan Burris, 203-449-7635
daniel.burris@pb.com
