Pitney Bowes
Encyclopedia
Pitney Bowes Inc. is a Stamford, Connecticut
-based manufacturer of software and hardware and a provider of services related to document
s, packaging, mail
ing, and shipping, collectively referred to as mailstream
. The company has approximately 36,000 employees worldwide. It is one of 87 existing firms that have been members of the S&P 500
since its creation in 1957.
Other major U.S. centers of operation include Danbury, Connecticut
, Shelton, Connecticut
, Troy, New York
, and Lanham, Maryland
.
patented his first "double-locking" hand-cranked postage-stamping machine, and, with patent attorney
Eugene A. Rummler, founded the Pitney Postal Machine Company. In 1908, English emigrant and founder of the Universal Stamping Machine Company Walter Bowes
began providing stamp-canceling machines to the United States Postal Service
. Bowes moved his operations to Stamford in 1917. A rapid increase in mail volume in 1919 made the Post Office more receptive to metered mail, and Pitney subsequently traveled to meet Bowes. On March 15, 1920, the United States House of Representatives
passed a bill authorizing mechanical stamps on First-Class Mail, and on April 23, 1920, the two companies merged to form the Pitney Bowes Postage Meter Company, with the goal of producing a machine that would combine Pitney's "double-locking" counter with Bowes's system for wrapping postage payment, postmarking and cancellation. The United States Post Office approved their postage meter
on August 25, 1920.
Between 1922 and 1923, the government collected $4,359,070 in postage from the first commercial installations of 400 meters. Pitney Bowes also began to sell their products internationally.
In 1938, Walter H. Wheeler, Jr. was named President and Chairman of the Board and would lead the company over the next three decades. In the 1940s, Wheeler boycotted a hotel when it refused to register one Black salesperson, championing a spirit of diversity
that still exists today, writing: "Pitney Bowes' worksites will reflect the communities in which we operate."
Pitney-Bowes received an Army-Navy ‘E’ Award
denoting excellence in production of crucially needed instruments of war on February 1, 1943 .
The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange
in 1950. The same year, the National Urban League
recognized Pitney Bowes for its leadership in providing job opportunities to African Americans.
Pitney Bowes was named to the S&P 500
at the time of its creation in 1957 and joined the Fortune 500
in 1962.
In 1968 Pitney Bowes acquired the Monarch Marking System Company, which would produce the first barcode
equipment for retail trade use. In 1976, the Pitney Bowes Credit Corporation was formed, providing customers with financing and payment solution
s. (Pitney Bowes would continue to grow this line of business, launching the Pitney Bowes Bank in 1996.)
In the 1980s, the firm expanded, offering copy machines and facsimile
machines, a suite of management services and entering new markets, such as Japan
.
In the 1990s, Pitney Bowes continued to innovate in the field of digital technologies and software, introducing the AddressRight address & barcode printer (1991), the first in-line weighing and metering system (1992), the first secure digital postage meter (1995), the first ink jet postage meter (1996) and the Digital Document Deliver (D3) platform (1998) which provides message management via hard copy, web, email and fax.
Between 2000 and 2007, Pitney Bowes invested $2.5 billion in 83 acquisitions, primarily in software and services businesses including MapInfo
, Group 1 Software, PSI Group and Imagitas. The company is known as an industry advocate, and has focused in recent years on advancing postal reform, the USPS Intelligent Mail barcode, transpromo and environmental sustainability.
portfolio includes more than 3,500 patents worldwidehttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1430042220080114 in areas such as ticketing, cellular phone payment, shipping
, laser printing, encryption
and mail production and processing. The Intellectual Property Owners (IPO) Association has consistently ranked Pitney Bowes in the top 200 companies receiving U.S. patents. Six of these patents are held by retired Executive Chairman Michael J. Critelli
.
2010: Portrait Software plc, Henley-on-Thames, England; provides "customer-centric solution
s that combine advanced customer analytics with inbound and outbound campaign management".
2007: MapInfo
, Troy, NY; provides location intelligence solution
s.
2007: Digital Cementhttp://www.digitalcement.com, Toronto, Canada; provides customer relationship management strategy and services.
2006: Print Inc., Bellevue, WA; provides print management solution
s.
2006: Advertising Audit Service (AAS) and PMH, MI; offers web-based tools for customized promotional mail and marketing collateral and designs and manages customer and channel performance solution
s.
2006: Ibis Consulting, Inc., RI; provides electronic discovery services and solution
s to law firms and corporate clients.
2006: Emtex Ltd., England; provides software and services that simplify document production and centrally manage multi-vendor and multi-site printer operations.
2005: Imagitashttp://www.imagitas.com, Waltham, MA; provides marketing services that use the mail to help companies connect with hard to reach consumers, including new movers through My Movehttp://www.mymove.com.
2005: Compulit Inc., MI; provides litigation support services to law firms and corporate clients.
2004: International Mail Express (IMEX), NY; consolidates letters and flat-sized mail headed to international addresses.
2004: Group 1 Software Inc., Lanham, MD; provides software that enhances mailing efficiency, data quality and customer communications.
2004: Kilburn Office Automation Limited , acquired the mailing business division for a direct entry into the lucrative Indian Market. Pitney Bowes was advised by Nitin Banerjee and Nitesh Bhasin.
2003: DDD Company, MD; provides fulfillment services, secure mail process, messenger services, logistics support, and record and information management.
2002: PSI Group, Inc., Omaha, NE; provides pre-sort mail services.
2001: Danka Services International (DSI), London, England; provides imaging equipment, and related services, parts and supplies in approximately 30 countries.
2001: Secap SA, France; provides a range of mail processing and paper handling equipment for low- to mid-volume mailers.
2001: Bell & Howell’s International MMT, London, England; markets and services high-end mail processing, sorting and service-related products.
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
-based manufacturer of software and hardware and a provider of services related to document
Document
The term document has multiple meanings in ordinary language and in scholarship. WordNet 3.1. lists four meanings :* document, written document, papers...
s, packaging, mail
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
ing, and shipping, collectively referred to as mailstream
Mailstream
The term mailstream was coined in the late 20th century to recognize the emerging industry that combined business insight, customer engagement, document workflow and mail production....
. The company has approximately 36,000 employees worldwide. It is one of 87 existing firms that have been members of the S&P 500
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
since its creation in 1957.
Other major U.S. centers of operation include Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....
, Shelton, Connecticut
Shelton, Connecticut
Shelton is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 39,559 at the 2010 census.-Origins:Shelton was settled by the English as part of the town of Stratford, Connecticut, in 1639...
, Troy, New York
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
, and Lanham, Maryland
Lanham, Maryland
Lanham is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County in the State of Maryland in the United States of America. Because it is not formally incorporated, it has no official boundaries, but the United States Census Bureau has defined a census-designated place consisting of Lanham and the...
.
History
In 1902, Arthur PitneyArthur Pitney
Arthur H. Pitney was an American inventor best known as the father of the postage meter.Postage meters are used today by millions of businesses to imprint postage on envelopes and parcels...
patented his first "double-locking" hand-cranked postage-stamping machine, and, with patent attorney
Patent attorney
A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing an opposition...
Eugene A. Rummler, founded the Pitney Postal Machine Company. In 1908, English emigrant and founder of the Universal Stamping Machine Company Walter Bowes
Walter Bowes
Walter Bowes was an English-born industrialist and sportsman who came to fame in the United States as the co-founder of Pitney Bowes....
began providing stamp-canceling machines to the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
. Bowes moved his operations to Stamford in 1917. A rapid increase in mail volume in 1919 made the Post Office more receptive to metered mail, and Pitney subsequently traveled to meet Bowes. On March 15, 1920, the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
passed a bill authorizing mechanical stamps on First-Class Mail, and on April 23, 1920, the two companies merged to form the Pitney Bowes Postage Meter Company, with the goal of producing a machine that would combine Pitney's "double-locking" counter with Bowes's system for wrapping postage payment, postmarking and cancellation. The United States Post Office approved their postage meter
Postage meter
A postage meter is a mechanical device used to create and apply physical evidence of postage to mailed matter. Postage meters are regulated by a country's postal authority; for example, in the United States, the United States Postal Service specifies the rules for the creation, support, and use...
on August 25, 1920.
Between 1922 and 1923, the government collected $4,359,070 in postage from the first commercial installations of 400 meters. Pitney Bowes also began to sell their products internationally.
In 1938, Walter H. Wheeler, Jr. was named President and Chairman of the Board and would lead the company over the next three decades. In the 1940s, Wheeler boycotted a hotel when it refused to register one Black salesperson, championing a spirit of diversity
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
that still exists today, writing: "Pitney Bowes' worksites will reflect the communities in which we operate."
Pitney-Bowes received an Army-Navy ‘E’ Award
Army-Navy ‘E’ Award
The Army-Navy "E" Award was an honor presented to a company during World War II for excellence in production of war equipment. The award was also known as the Army-Navy Production Award. The award would consist of a pennant for the plant and emblems for all employees in the plant at the time the...
denoting excellence in production of crucially needed instruments of war on February 1, 1943 .
The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
in 1950. The same year, the National Urban League
National Urban League
The National Urban League , formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. It is the oldest and largest...
recognized Pitney Bowes for its leadership in providing job opportunities to African Americans.
Pitney Bowes was named to the S&P 500
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
at the time of its creation in 1957 and joined the Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
in 1962.
In 1968 Pitney Bowes acquired the Monarch Marking System Company, which would produce the first barcode
Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
equipment for retail trade use. In 1976, the Pitney Bowes Credit Corporation was formed, providing customers with financing and payment solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s. (Pitney Bowes would continue to grow this line of business, launching the Pitney Bowes Bank in 1996.)
In the 1980s, the firm expanded, offering copy machines and facsimile
Facsimile
A facsimile is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of reproduction by attempting to replicate the source as accurately as possible in terms of scale,...
machines, a suite of management services and entering new markets, such as Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
In the 1990s, Pitney Bowes continued to innovate in the field of digital technologies and software, introducing the AddressRight address & barcode printer (1991), the first in-line weighing and metering system (1992), the first secure digital postage meter (1995), the first ink jet postage meter (1996) and the Digital Document Deliver (D3) platform (1998) which provides message management via hard copy, web, email and fax.
Between 2000 and 2007, Pitney Bowes invested $2.5 billion in 83 acquisitions, primarily in software and services businesses including MapInfo
MapInfo
MapInfo Corporation, initially incorporated as Navigational Technologies Incorporated, was a leading Location Intelligence and GIS company, headquartered in North Greenbush, New York. It was acquired on April 19, 2007 by Pitney Bowes, and on January 28, 2009, the name of division of Pitney Bowes it...
, Group 1 Software, PSI Group and Imagitas. The company is known as an industry advocate, and has focused in recent years on advancing postal reform, the USPS Intelligent Mail barcode, transpromo and environmental sustainability.
Research and technology
Pitney Bowes intellectual propertyIntellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
portfolio includes more than 3,500 patents worldwidehttp://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1430042220080114 in areas such as ticketing, cellular phone payment, shipping
Shipping
Shipping has multiple meanings. It can be a physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo, by land, air, and sea. It also can describe the movement of objects by ship.Land or "ground" shipping can be by train or by truck...
, laser printing, encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
and mail production and processing. The Intellectual Property Owners (IPO) Association has consistently ranked Pitney Bowes in the top 200 companies receiving U.S. patents. Six of these patents are held by retired Executive Chairman Michael J. Critelli
Michael J. Critelli
Michael J. Critelli is the CEO of Dossia and former Executive Chairman of Pitney Bowes. Critelli retired from Pitney Bowes in December, 2008, and was names Dossia CEO in 2011. He went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Harvard Law School for Graduate School...
.
Significant acquisitions
Since 2000, Pitney Bowes has invested $2.5 billion in 83 acquisitions, primarily in software and services businesses.2010: Portrait Software plc, Henley-on-Thames, England; provides "customer-centric solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s that combine advanced customer analytics with inbound and outbound campaign management".
2007: MapInfo
MapInfo
MapInfo Corporation, initially incorporated as Navigational Technologies Incorporated, was a leading Location Intelligence and GIS company, headquartered in North Greenbush, New York. It was acquired on April 19, 2007 by Pitney Bowes, and on January 28, 2009, the name of division of Pitney Bowes it...
, Troy, NY; provides location intelligence solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s.
2007: Digital Cementhttp://www.digitalcement.com, Toronto, Canada; provides customer relationship management strategy and services.
2006: Print Inc., Bellevue, WA; provides print management solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s.
2006: Advertising Audit Service (AAS) and PMH, MI; offers web-based tools for customized promotional mail and marketing collateral and designs and manages customer and channel performance solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s.
2006: Ibis Consulting, Inc., RI; provides electronic discovery services and solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s to law firms and corporate clients.
2006: Emtex Ltd., England; provides software and services that simplify document production and centrally manage multi-vendor and multi-site printer operations.
2005: Imagitashttp://www.imagitas.com, Waltham, MA; provides marketing services that use the mail to help companies connect with hard to reach consumers, including new movers through My Movehttp://www.mymove.com.
2005: Compulit Inc., MI; provides litigation support services to law firms and corporate clients.
2004: International Mail Express (IMEX), NY; consolidates letters and flat-sized mail headed to international addresses.
2004: Group 1 Software Inc., Lanham, MD; provides software that enhances mailing efficiency, data quality and customer communications.
2004: Kilburn Office Automation Limited , acquired the mailing business division for a direct entry into the lucrative Indian Market. Pitney Bowes was advised by Nitin Banerjee and Nitesh Bhasin.
2003: DDD Company, MD; provides fulfillment services, secure mail process, messenger services, logistics support, and record and information management.
2002: PSI Group, Inc., Omaha, NE; provides pre-sort mail services.
2001: Danka Services International (DSI), London, England; provides imaging equipment, and related services, parts and supplies in approximately 30 countries.
2001: Secap SA, France; provides a range of mail processing and paper handling equipment for low- to mid-volume mailers.
2001: Bell & Howell’s International MMT, London, England; markets and services high-end mail processing, sorting and service-related products.
Awards and recognition
- “Global Outsourcing 100” – IAOP; Pitney Bowes Management Services (2008)
- “#1 Transportation Management System” – ARC Advisory Group (2008)
- “Leadership Award” -- Institute for Health and Productivity Management (2007)
- “Behavioral Health Awards” – National Business Group (2007)
- “WasteWise Hall of Fame” – US Environmental Protection Agency (2007)
- “40 Best Companies for Diversity” – Black Enterprise Magazine (2007)
- “One of World’s Most Ethical Companies” – Ethisphere Magazine (2007)
- “100 Best Corporate Citizens” – CRO Magazine (2007)
Further reading
- http://www.mikecritelli.comOpen Mike Blog of Michael J. CritelliMichael J. CritelliMichael J. Critelli is the CEO of Dossia and former Executive Chairman of Pitney Bowes. Critelli retired from Pitney Bowes in December, 2008, and was names Dossia CEO in 2011. He went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Harvard Law School for Graduate School...
, Pitney Bowes Executive Chairman]