Custom Made Cartons by Parcel Room

Parcel Room finds faster way to ship inexpensively

PORTSMOUTH — When we look at technology and business, we often focus on the many
software companies that are creating new ways of dealing with global data collection
or the biotech industries that dot the area and produce the prerequisites for exciting
medical breakthroughs. But there is another side to business technology, which deals
with using computer-enhanced equipment to perform more quickly and accurately the
menial tasks necessary for the success of many small businesses in the region.

A perfect example involves the acquisition of a box-making machine by the Parcel Room,
which is located in the Marshalls Mall on Woodbury Avenue. That machine has not only
reduced costs for owner Jeff Ballantyne and his customers, but it has opened doors
to new functions that have enhanced Ballantyne's traditional packaging and shipping
business, while fulfilling the needs of many other regional businesses.

Opened in 1986 by Ballantyne's father, the Parcel Room was the first full-service
packaging and shipping store in the state. Now, thanks to the speed and increased
specialization the box-making machine has given the business, Ballantyne has expanded
his operation to include warehousing product for some of his customers and shipping it
on demand. "Purchasing the machine came out of the need to do custom boxes,"
Ballantyne said. With literally hundreds of shipping and packaging locations in its
coverage zone, the Ballantynes decided the niche for the Parcel Room was to handle
specialized needs, such as expensive paintings and heavy industrial equipment.
The cost and time it took to build a box in which to ship those items cut deeply into
both the quantity of pieces Ballantyne could package and ship and the profits
he could make.

Last September, Ballantyne found a small company based in Kansas City, Mo., called
T-Roc Equipment, which manufactures a computerized box-making machine in
several sizes. Ballantyne bought the smallest version to fit in his store, and it has
created big profit margins and new business. The Automatic Box Maker 60 has
tripled Ballantyne's box-making capacity and allowed him to make those boxes to
the specific size required by his customers. With all the parcel services basing their
rates on box size, that has substantially cut costs for many of Ballantyne's
regular customers. "The things it can make are amazing," the Parcel Room owner said.
"I have a local software manufacturer that uses specialized boxes to cut his shipping
costs. It now costs him about $45 to ship his software internationally, while it used to
cost him (using standard-size boxes) between $75 and $80."

Ballantyne now warehouses a quantity of the product and ships it on demand, making
it easy for his customer and creating a new business option for the Parcel Room.
Ballantyne has found a number of his regular customers are interested in this kind of
arrangement, and he is seeking to expand his business to accommodate the demand.

"We're negotiating with the landlord to lease the (former) School House Restaurant,"
Ballantyne said. "This shop is 1,400 square feet; the restaurant is about 2,500 square
feet with a basement."

Ballantyne has also gotten into the business of selling specially sized boxes in volume
to manufacturers. "We shipped a 500-box order to a Florida company, and when a
Connecticut company found out the shipping boxes they had were the wrong size,
we made and shipped them 300 boxes quickly enough for them to get their order
out on time," he said.

All this experience shipping specialty items gained the Parcel Room a reputation,
and eight years ago Ballantyne started a network of stores that package and ship
hard-to-handle items.  That led him to become a consultant who traveled around
the country teaching companies how to ship freight properly. All this comes back
to a combination of the purchase of the box-making machine and a customer
service attitude Ballantyne's father passed on to him.

"My father told me that it's much better to make $1 on a customer 10 times than $10 on a
customer one time," he said.