USPS News & Events

PRAISING MERLIN
It’s magical, says printing industry publication

MERLIN™, the Mail Evaluation Readability Lookup INstrument, gets high praise from a printing industry leader. “I’m confident that MERLIN will actually work miracles and be as magical as its name,” says John Favat, founder and editorial director of Binding, Finishing & Distribution magazine.

MERLIN is an automated tool for business mail acceptance. USPS “is one of the best values you can have in business,” says Favat. “And with the installation of MERLIN, we should see an increase in efficiency and an increase in speed and accuracy of delivery for all pieces placed in the postal system,” he adds.

Favat notes that USPS offers customers training at the National Center for Employee Development in Norman, OK. They’ll learn about the use of MERLIN in the administration, acceptance, and verification of First-Class Mail, Standard Mail, and Periodicals mailings.

For information on MERLIN and the training courses, go to www.usps.com/merlin.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T
USPS #1 in new survey

USPS was the #1 ranked transportation company in online customer responsiveness, according to a recent survey by the Customer Respect Group (CRG).

CRG — an international research and consulting firm — looked at more than 1,000 websites in detail and determined “25 attributes that combine to create the entire online experience.” The attributes were grouped together and measured as indicators of principles, attitude, transparency, simplicity, and responsiveness. USPS scored 8.8 out of 10.

The average score for the transportation sector was 5.6. FedEx ranked second (8.5), UPS 10th (7.0), and Airborne 11th (6.1).

ATTENTION-GRABBING
Repositionable notes stick with customers

Repositionable notes (RPNs) worked wonders for Medical Management Institute (MMI), says DMNews. MMI doubled response rates using RPNs — those sticky notes on the outside of envelopes — and now the company is planning to double its mail volume, said the article.

“Seeing this new medium as a chance to increase response, the Medical Management Institute jumped in with both feet,” MMI Marketing Manager Bobby Keene is quoted as saying. MMI sells annual publications and manuals for physicians, said DMNews.

The RPN contained the company’s telephone number and Web address for easy ordering. By using RPNs, the company extended the “shelf life” of the direct mail piece, said Keene in the article. Many MMI direct mail customers “liked that they could stick it somewhere” for easy reference, he said.

RPNs allowed MMI to cut its mailing costs, too. Instead of using a four-color direct mail piece, the company switched to black-and-white First-Class letters using RPNs, saving about $12,000, said DMNews.

This year MMI expects to double its mail volume, contacting customers four times instead of twice, according to the article. RPNs are an example of the Transformation Plan in action. By transforming the outside of the envelope, they make the mail more useful and valuable to our customers. And that’s good for mail volume growth and our bottom line.

Additional information can be found at www.usps.com/repositionablenotes/successstories.htm

WORLD’S LARGEST DELIVERY COMPANY
USPS ranked highest by Fortune magazine

The Postal Service™ is once again the highest ranked delivery company on Fortune’s Global 500 list of the world’s largest corporations. With $66.46 billion in revenue last fiscal year, the Postal Service moved up two spots from 29th to 27th on the list.

Where do our competitors rank? Deutsche Post comes in at 88th with revenues of $40 billion, UPS 120th with $31 billion, and FedEx 217th with $20 billion.

Wal-Mart retained its number one ranking as the world’s largest corporation, with more than $246 billion in revenue. The retail giant also is the world’s largest employer, according to Fortune, with 1.3 million employees.

On Fortune’s biggest employers list, USPS ranks number 4. China National Petroleum is second and China’s Sinopec, a petroleum and chemical company, third. Also, on this list UPS ranks 13th and Deutsche Post 17th.

NEW RETURN SERVICE COMING
Discounts will be available for merchandise return items

A new Return Service is available for Parcel Select and Bound Printed Matter beginning October 19. The price for parcels picked up at the Post Office nearest the consumer is $2. Prices for pieces picked up at the bulk mail center are higher, depending on the item’s weight and distance traveled.

“We feel that the new services complement our outbound services and help streamline the mail handling process for everyone,” said Package Services Manager Jim Cochrane.

To take advantage of the discounts, merchants will have to pick up the returned parcels at a designated postal facility, rather than have the Postal Service deliver the returns to the merchant. The merchant will pay the postage, which makes the new service particularly consumer friendly, said Cochrane.

The Postal Service Board of Governors approved the new offering at its September meeting.