Industry stalwart and former Postwatch vice-chairwoman Judith Donovan CBE has been appointed as independent chair to the organisation – the formation of which reflects Royal Mail's desire to collaborate more closely with mailing houses.

Donovan said she was "delighted" to have been asked to chair the SMP, which she believes will be "crucial both to mailing houses and the UK's mail industry as a whole".

James Portsmouth, managing director of 4DM and one of the 15-strong inaugural board members of the organisation, added that the Strategic Mailing Partnership (SMP) would give "a voice to the industry".

"It's been spearheaded by Royal Mail to give a collective voice to mailing houses in regards to the future of the mailing industry," he said. "We're already building key relationships with the likes of Postcomm and the aim is to get buy-in from the DTI and obviously from as much of the mailing industry as possible."

Fellow board member Lucy Edwards, assistant managing director of Howard Hunt Group, added: "It's great to have direct influence at a very senior level at Royal Mail, because it allows the industry to give feedback on what's painful, what's great, and where they can do more. That's a real plus, regardless of whether you use downstream access or Royal Mail."

The SMP has been launched with a targeted mailing, produced through the Royal Mail's print management partnership with St Ives, sent to around 280 DM companies throughout the UK.

Portsmouth said that it was crucial to the success of the SMP to gain support from the industry and urged mailing houses to participate in what it is hoped will become a champion for the sector.

"We want to engage as many companies as possible to help improve working practices and bring greater efficiency to the sector," he said. "The SMP will be an open forum that gives DM a voice to provide feedback to the market. The Royal Mail can see that the industry is being threatened, volumes are declining, and there is a growing threat from electronic communications. We need to get together and stick up for our industry."

Edwards added: "We all want to have DM working as a medium and we can galvanise this group to come with ideas to ensure DM survives. The sector gets a bit of a bad press - yes, volumes are down, but it is still really valued as a medium and we need to make sure that DM continues to promote itself and offer a good ROI."

Other board members include Dsicmm chief executive Yolanda Noble, Lorien Unique managing director Matthew Diamond and Communisis group commercial director John Wells. All inaugural board members were invited to sit on the board by Royal Mail, however, they will face re-election in January 2011 in order to give the industry a say in its future profile.

The SMP plans to hold a series of events around the country in order to establish a sustainable, meaningful two-way dialogue. These will include regional roadshows, a national annual conference and other networking opportunities allowing attendees to share best practice.

Strategic Mailing Partnership board:

Judith Donovan CBE (Chair)
Jim Bulmer, Head of Mailing House Development, Royal Mail
Helen Poole, Mailing House Development Manager, Royal Mail
Yolanda Noble, CEO, dsicm
Matthew Diamond, MD, Lorien Unique
Miles Berry, MD, Prospect Mailing Services
Gavin Boyd, MD, Mail International
Chris Shorrock, MD, Codestorm
Gary Hazlehurst, Technical Services Director, FCS Lasermail
Lucy Edwards, deputy MD, Howard Hunt Group
Jackie Peddie, MD, The Mailing House Group
Paul Johnstone, Operations Director, RR Donnelley Global Document Solutions
John Wells, Group Commercial Director, Communisis
John Ellis, Group Sales Director, Sunline Direct
James Portsmouth, MD, 4DM