Pitney Bowes Is This Restructuring?

Pitney Bowes (PBI) announced guidance and promised better results. The transformation initiatives are designed to be the guide posts to future performance. When you read the initiatives closely you cannot help but taste the flavour of First Year Biz School.

Given that they expect substantial changes from these initiatives, it only signals to investors how far this company may have to go before it becomes economically efficient. The board and management may be deluding themselves with buzz words. How will they deliver? Here are the initiatives they are claiming to be implementing.


These initiatives, which the company expects to complete over the next two years include:

1. Implementation of enterprise-wide systems and common platforms to improve and streamline corporate-wide processes;
2. Enhanced use of technology to enable the company’s customers to more easily interact with Pitney Bowes when and how they choose;
3. Expansion of the company’s agile workforce strategy to be closer to its customers and rationalize its worldwide facilities requirements;
4. Utilization of enhanced procurement processes; and,
5. An increase in shared services across business units, including an increase in outsourcing relationships.