Postal Service Recognizes IWCO Direct at 2008 National Postal Forum

Representative of IWCO Direct receiving award

ANAHEIM, CA — The U.S. Postal Service today recognized IWCO Direct, Little Falls, MN with its Corporate Business Achievement Award for the company’s commitment to a successful business partnership with the Postal Service. At each National Postal Forum, a select group of Postal customers is acknowledged and recognized for their contributions to the continued success of the mailing industry.

The Corporate Business Achievement Award, one of three “best in class” awards presented annually at the Forum, recognizes IWCO Direct’s business partnership with the U.S. Postal Service and commitment to using postal products and services to strengthen and grow its business.

IWCO Direct has demonstrated a firm commitment to Postal Services’ Intelligent Mail vision by being among the first to test complex commingled One Pass Finalization mail.dat files and streamlined process of mail acceptance and induction.

IWCO Direct is among the first to partner with the Postal Service to test a new process for One Pass Finalization electronic documentation, seamless acceptance and verification of mail. The pilot mailings are prepared with unique Intelligent Mail barcodes, unique Intelligent Mail Trays barcodes, and unique Intelligent Mail Container barcodes. IWCO submits electronic documentation which contains information about Intelligent Mail barcodes applied to mailpieces, trays and sacks and containers. The documentation describes how mailpieces are linked to handling units, and how mailpieces and handling units are linked to containers. In this pilot, the data within the electronic documentation is compared against the physical scans of the Intelligent Mail barcodes affixed to mailpieces, trays, and containers to improve mail verification activities.

The partnership of IWCO Direct and the Postal Service has successfully demonstrated the viability of the Postal Services’ vision of Intelligent Mail, seamless acceptance and end-to end visibility.

“I congratulate IWCO Direct for having recognized the vital importance of innovation, teamwork, communications and customer satisfaction using the mail,” said Susan Plonkey, vice president, customer service.

The National Postal Forum is the mailing industry’s premier trade show and event. More than 7,000 industry professionals attend the four-day conference that features 140 workshops and special sessions, four symposiums and 13 professional certificate programs.

For more information on the 2008 National Postal Forum, visit www.npf.org.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.