FLAT-OUT STRATEGIC — USPS flats plan hinges on customer involvement

“Our Corporate Flat Strategy calls for bringing flat mail — newspapers, catalogs, magazines, and other periodicals — up to the same level of sophistication that letter mail processing provides today,” Operations Senior Vice President John Rapp said at a recent meeting of the Postal Service Board of Governors.

Presenting the near- and long-term strategies for processing flat mail, Rapp said USPS plans to “automate sorting down to the order that letter carriers deliver their routes.” Between 1993 and 2001, letter mail processing productivity increased 83 percent. Following deployment of 534 Automated Flat Sorting Machine 100s just two years ago, flat mail processing productivity jumped 78 percent.

To continue this success, Rapp said the Postal Service must find ways to increase customer involvement in developing rate incentives, mail preparation requirements, and communicating the importance of correct barcodes and readable addresses.

Rapp also outlined a delivery plan to sequence letters and flats into a system that provides one “package” of mail for each address. Two options are being explored.

One option hinges on the feasibility of a Delivery Point Packager R&D effort. Equipment should be available for testing in the next two to three years. If the R&D effort is successful, deployment could begin in 2007.

RECORD-BREAKING PERFORMANCE

The Postal Service turned in record-breaking performance for overnight first-Class Mail with a nationwide score of 95 percent during quarter 2. Board of Governors Chairman David Fineman called the service “remarkable in its own right,” but noted it also occurred “during one of the worst winters in recent memory.” The record performance also occurred as USPS was reporting that for the first time in its history, the number of addresses it delivers to in the U.S. passed the 140 million mark. The San Jose Performance Cluster led the nation with 97 percent, and 13 other PCs reached on-time delivery scores of 96 percent.

CSRS LEGISLATION MOVES AHEAD

Legislation to correct the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) fund overpayment has been voted out of the appropriate committees in both the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support. The votes bring USPS a step closer to stabilizing rates for customers.

In a statement released yesterday, USPS noted, “Full Congressional consideration and passage of this bill is important to any business that uses the mail.

“It will keep the Postal Service from overpaying into CSRS, thereby allowing postage rates to remain unchanged until 2006.”

Without it, said the statement, the price of postage would be needlessly inflated and put USPS’s financial future at risk. Postal ratepayers would ultimately be forced to overpay into CSRS by $78 billion.

Stable postage rates also would be a big boost to the bottom line of businesses that depend on the mail. And, more than 100 mailing industry representatives have voiced their support for this legislation.

POSTAL EMPLOYEES DELIVER ON UNOFFICAL MOTTO

Postal Services Chief Operating Officer Pat Donahoe applauded the tenacity of postal employees to deliver in spite of one of the harshest winters in recent memory.

“You are all familiar with, ‘Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,’” Donahoe explained, speaking before the Board of Governors during their monthly meeting, “That’s why our customers have unofficially given us that quote as our motto. It’s a reflection of how they see us. Over the last couple of months, we’ve had the chance to really put those words to the test. And as usual, our employees did a great job.” Donahoe said weather changes have hit hard everywhere since the beginning of the holiday season in early December. “There were floods in the southwest; tornados in the midwest; ice storms in the southeast, and, as you may have noticed, the recent snow on the east coast,” he said.

According to the National Weather Service, above average temperatures in the western U.S. and cooler temperatures in the east have placed January in the record books. It was the warmest January ever for Utah and Nevada, with Arizona, California, and Oregon experiencing their second-warmest January ever. For the eastern U.S., 28 states were much cooler than average.

PARTNERSHIP FOR PROGRESS — USPS, Hallmark join forces to offer customers added convenience

The Postal Service and Hallmark Gold Crown Stores are teaming up to serve their mutual customers better.

Hallmark stores sell cards and gifts. USPS sells stamps and mailing services. Customers can now do their shopping and shipping at the same location.

“USPS and Hallmark Gold Crown are highly respected brands that customers know and trust,” said USPS Chief Marketing Officer Anita Bizzotto. “This partnership is about expanding access, increasing customer convenience, and generating new revenue,” — important Transformation Plan strategies.

Selected Hallmark Gold Crown stores will offer postage stamps, special services, and package services. Customers can send First-Class Mail and Priority Mail cards, letters, and packages up to 20 pounds.

Special services offered include certified mail, insured mail, return receipt, Delivery Confirmation, and Signature Confirmation service. USPS employees collect mail from the stores each day.

The partnership began February 1 with 79 Hallmark Gold Crown stores offering USPS products and services. On March 1, 174 additional stores joined the fold. More stores will be offering services as the year goes on.

USPS WINS CRISIS MANAGEMENT AWARD

The Postal Service won PRWeek’s coveted Crisis Management Campaign of the Year 2003 award for successfully communicating during the anthrax crisis. PMG Jack Potter accepted the award at a ceremony in New York. “The challenge,” PRWeek said, “was to restore confidence and trust” in USPS. “The campaign,” PRWeek said, “was a resounding success.”