MEMO TO MAILERS

UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
VOLUME 36 NUMBER 7
AUGUST 2001

WHAT'S INSIDE
2 Record Performance
3 Keeping Posted
4 USPS and Microsoft
5 NPF Registration Form
7 Three in a row
8 Make plans for Denver

It's mail communicating
Talking mail? Not exactly, but close. New tracking technology is allowing the mail to communicate when and where it is in the postal mailstream - and that's key to the success of the Postal Service's information platform.
Playing an important role in this effort is the Surface Air Support System (SASS), which will enable USPS to measure performance and verify accurate payments for all modes of transportation, including commercial air, highway and rail. It will be activated this month.
"We are transitioning into an environment where transportation carriers are required to scan mail at different hand-off points among their own carrier hubs as well as when mail is turned over to the Postal Service for final delivery," says Paul Vogel, vice president, Network Operations. "This data will provide the ability to pay contractors based on performance, making transportation suppliers more accountable for services they provide to the Postal Service."
Vogel says SASS will provide a method to exchange information with suppliers. It will relay mail assignment data to transportation carriers as well as use scan data to match mail assignments and reconcile payment information.
"We have intertwined our vision with the FedEx contract negotiations, making them the first supplier to fit the model," he says, referring to an air transportation agreement with FedEx Express to transport Express Mail, Priority Mail, some First-Class Mail and some international mail beginning this month. "FedEx will scan the dispatch and routing tags on each mail sack, tray or parcel and transmit this data back to us. SASS then will perform a 'match' routine in order to reconcile payment."

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Plan for the future
The Postal Service is shaping a transformation plan that will describe "our future direction and the pathway to reach our goals," says Postmaster General John E. Potter in a letter to Rep. Dan Burton, chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform.
The letter details plans to respond to recommendations made by the General Accounting Office (GAO). Speaking at a congressional hearing in April, Comptroller General David Walker said USPS should develop a comprehensive plan to identify actions needed to address the Postal Service's financial, operational and human capital challenges.
Potter said the Comprehensive Transformation Plan will include a range of options for both administrative and legislative changes. In addition to addressing the three themes highlighted by Walker, the plan must also address "fundamental legislative reform," says Potter. He says discussions of the plan with stakeholders will continue through this month, with a review of the results of these conversations presented to the Board of Governors in September. A draft plan will follow.
"The process of structural transformation of the Postal Service will be an ongoing, challenging task requiring regular communication and consensus building with all stakeholders," said Potter in his letter. "A transformation plan will need to propose an ongoing, evolving, common vision for the future of universal postal service for the benefit of all of America."

The information platform: What's it all about?
The information platform will make postal operations more efficient and the mail more visible as it moves through core processes: acceptance, processing, transportation and delivery.
It will be supported by four cornerstone initiatives that will allow the Postal Service to begin developing end-to-end data capabilities:

PostalOne!
A web-based exchange of mailing information provided by customers when placing their mail into the mailstream, PostalOne! gives postal management a heads up on the amount and type of mail entering the mailstream. It allows mailers to scan their mail and connect electronically to the Surface Air Management System (SAMS) for mail assignments, reducing origin handlings and improving transportation efficiency.

Processing Operations Information System
It collects and tracks mail inventory/workload and productivity data from each operation within a processing facility.

Surface Air Management System (SAMS)
It calculates the modes of transportation needed to meet mail delivery service standards. Many times, mail that is ordinarily flown by expensive air transportation can still meet service standards when transported by less costly ground transportation. The Surface Air Support System will support SAMS to utilize transportation assignment data for all mail transportation agreements and also will provide management reports to optimize the utilization of dedicated and commercial air transportation.

Delivery Operations Information System
It gives postmasters and delivery supervisors a clear picture of the amount and type of mail coming their way and is used as a tool to balance the workload among letter carriers and improve productivity.

EXFC REPORT
Record performance continues
This is the 15th consecutive quarter that the Postal Service has achieved at least 93 percent on-time performance.
First-Class Mail service destined for next-day delivery met this standard 94 percent of the time, according to the results of a PricewaterhouseCoopers External First-Class (EXFC) Measurement System report. This was the 15th consecutive quarter (Postal Quarter III, Feb. 24 through May 18) that the Postal Service achieved at least 93 percent on-time performance.
PricewaterhouseCoopers measures service performance for overnight, two-day and three-day service standard areas to provide national, area office and performance cluster estimates of service performance. This data is compared with Postal Service delivery standards, and the results are presented to the public each postal quarter.
Nine performance clusters or postal districts achieved scores of 96 percent, including Albuquerque, NM; Big Sky; Capital; Erie, PA; Greater Michigan; Honolulu, HI; North Florida; Van Nuys, CA; and Western New York.
EXFC externally measures collection box to mailbox delivery performance, continuously testing a panel of 463 ZIP Code areas selected on the basis of geographic and volume density from which 90 percent of First-Class volume originates and 80 percent destinates. EXFC is not a system-wide measurement of all First-Class Mail performance.

Keeping Posted
News from and for Postal Customer Councils
www.national.pcc.usps.com
Welcome from PCCAC national co-chair
I believe in the power of PCCs
By Pat McGee, National Postal Co-Chair, Postal Customer Council Advisory Committee
I am pleased to be back working with the Postal Customer Council community because I believe in the power of PCCs. PCCs offer valuable opportunities to share information, discuss problems and network with people in businesses that use the mail to communicate and fulfill their customers' needs. They are grassroots organizations that promote dialogue between you - our customers - and USPS. And what's the result of that successful communication? Profitability! PCCs keep you updated on using the mail effectively and efficiently to bring value to your customers. You all know revenue minus expense equals profit. So, the better the PCC helps you increase your revenues or decrease your mailing costs, the rosier your future. Isn't that why you're all in business?
On behalf of the Postal Service, I want to let you know how pleased I am with the cooperative relationship we share with the members of the PCCs. Many postal managers rely on their PCCs for advice and insights concerning local mailing issues and can count on their support when making operational changes that impact the customer. Can that relationship get better? You bet! Can it be more responsive to the needs of all business mailers? There's always room to improve. My commitment to you is to provide you with the tools to make your PCC the best in the country. I will do all I can to fulfill my commitment to you. Thank you for your business and for making PCCs strong and vibrant organizations. Please let me know how I can best serve your needs in the future. You can find my address on the PCC website.

Upcoming PCC meetings
More PCCs are using the national site to announce their events. On the PCC website -www.national.pcc.usps.com - click on "Upcoming National/Local Events" and promote your upcoming meeting and/or avoid missing important meetings. The PCCs in Houston, Tampa, Central Florida and Oklahoma City have their yearly schedules posted. Other PCC meetings are posted as they are sent in. Bookmark the page and visit regularly so you don't miss the opportunity to improve your operation.

I'm in the mail business -what now?
By Clay Clark, PCCAC member, Rolls-Royce, Indianapolis, IN
When I started in the Mail Service business I thought First-Class Mail postage rates had stabilized at 5 cents. The Domestic Mail Manual was two pages front and back and mail managers only managed mail operations. The big challenge was ensuring that mail service employees banded mail "Local" and "Out of Town." Times have changed, and I have a few thoughts to share with individuals who are new or struggling in our constantly changing Mail Service Management industry. Here's my 8-step recipe for survival and success in your mail operation:
Join and become active in your local Postal Customer Council.
Subscribe to, and read, Memo to Mailers.
Develop a strong working relationship with your USPS account manager, sales specialist, postmaster or postal representative.
Develop a strong working relationship with your Business Service Network specialist and/or Postal Business Center.
Attend at least one National Postal Forum per year - put it in your next budget.
Become a champion networker - that's where you rapidly grow your knowledge and skill base. (PCC events are a natural for this.)
Purchase one or two large business card holders - believe it or not, they're more useful sometimes than reading the DMM.
Access the PCC website often at http://www.national.pcc.
usps.com.
See you at the next Postal Customer Council function!
Regards,
Clay

The place to 'b' for small businesses
Talk about a dream team. USPS - the trusted, bricks and mortar provider of universal mailing and shipping services - has teamed with Microsoft - the recognized leader in PC software technology - to enhance its services for small businesses.
This partnership with Microsoft is part of a major USPS initiative to develop a comprehensive set of "Tools to Help Small Businesses," including web-based solutions.
Currently, small businesses can take advantage of five co-branded services from Microsoft bCentral through the USPS "Tools to Help Small Businesses" website, which provides easy access to the range of valuable USPS services. The co-branded bCentral services extend the "tool set," enabling companies to create and manage a web presence for sales, marketing and lead tracking, as well as use a web-based financial management application.
Over the next several months, USPS will be integrating the bCentral services into larger web-based solutions to help users manage and interact with their customers. The solutions will focus on four key aspects of customer management and interaction:
acquiring new customers,
delivering products and services to new and existing customers,
strengthening on-going relationships with customers, to improve retention, and
supporting key customer-oriented business processes.
The offering will consist of bundled online and offline services, enhanced with highly targeted advice. Solutions will address the needs of small businesses, recognizing that those needs often differ by industry sector and a company's life cycle stage.
Small businesses interested in finding practical solutions to increase efficiency and enable continued growth will be the prime beneficiaries of USPS web-based solutions. These web solutions will make it easier for small businesses to grow through online and offline marketing and selling activities, manage critical business processes, and operate more efficiently. They will also enable businesses to enjoy large business capabilities at small business prices: access to bulk mail rates with full pre-sort and automation discounts, easy-to-use templates for creating a web presence and online advertising, selling and performance tracking, just to name a few.
"By offering Microsoft bCentral services to our current customers, we're providing a broader selection of services to small businesses, which will deliver some very leading-edge technologies, enabling them to conduct core business functions across the Internet, saving time and money," says Steve Kearney, senior vice president, Corporate and Business Development for USPS.
Check out this effort at www.usps.com: click on "Net Solutions for Businesses" or "Tools to Help Small Businesses" to find the link to Microsoft bCentral.

Global Kudos
"We are honored by the recognition the Confirm program has received from the World Mail Awards."
John Ward
vice president, Core Business Marketing

When it comes to innovation in the global mail industry, the best is brought to you by the U.S. Postal Service, honored with a World Mail Award for Innovation for its Confirm® program.
The award, presented to USPS at the World Mail and Express Conference in London, is sponsored by Pitney Bowes and is given for new ideas or initiatives that deliver value to mail users through new services or making existing services easier to use.
The Confirm system provides mailers with data collected by mail processing equipment on their incoming and outgoing mail pieces using PLANET Code™ technology. The PLANET Code allows storage of additional information on the mailpiece that is used to track the piece through the system. The encoded data is captured when the mailpiece passes through mail sorting equipment such as barcode sorters. The data then is transmitted to the customer's computer system or to the Confirm website. Confirm information also is used by Postal Service operations for performance tracking to monitor and improve performance.
"We are honored by the recognition the Confirm program has received from the World Mail Awards," says John Ward, vice president, Core Business Marketing. "Our team has worked very hard to make Confirm a useful tool for mailers and to enhance the value of the mail by providing a meaningful performance measurement."
Nearly 600 mailers already participate in the program.

POSTAL NEWS BRIEFS

It's called cost avoidance
It might make a spicy headline, but reports that the Postal Service is up to its knees in $1.4 billion in waste, fraud and abuse are not just misleading - they're inaccurate.
The USPS Office of Inspector General identified that figure as potential savings and cost avoidances over a multi-year period.
It wasn't waste. It wasn't fraud. It wasn't abuse. But it was a catchier headline than "cost avoidance."

GSA honors federal mail best practices
GSA's Second Annual Federal Mail Best Practices Awards recognize federal employees who implement innovative policies and practices in mail communication.
The Federal Mail Manager of the Year Award was presented to Theodore Boyd, official mail manager for the Department of State's Diplomatic Pouch and Mail Division. He worked with USPS to create a system that allowed the State Department to sort mail faster.
Tied for the Federal Mail Center Excellence award were the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Delivering from South Asia
There's a new option for shipping from seven South Asian countries to the United States, thanks to the partnership between the Postal Service and Overnite Express Ltd. of New Delhi. The countries are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Overnite Express - through its US Smart Sewa product name - will prepare shipments, transport them to the United States, clear them through commercial customs and then enter the packages into the Postal Service's domestic mail delivery network as Priority Mail.

Keeping consumers informed
Want the best consumer information on the web? Go to www.usps.com. The Postal Service's consumer information web pages were honored by the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators as the best in the federal government.
"Our goal is to provide our customers with the information they need as quickly as possible," says USPS Vice President and Consumer Advocate Francia Smith. "We view these pages as being integral to helping us meet that challenge."
The usps.com consumer information web pages include answers to customers' frequently asked questions (FAQs), a consumer feedback link and information on postal products and services.

Potter makes appointments
Postmaster General John E. Potter announced the selection of Pat Donahoe, senior vice president, Operations, as acting chief operating officer and executive vice president. He succeeds Dave Solomon, who returned to his regular position as vice president, Area Operations, New York Metro.
John Rapp, vice president, Delivery, was named acting senior vice president, Operations.
Al Iniguez was named vice president, Area Operations, Pacific Area.

KEEPING OUR FOCUS…at the NPF
Meet Postmaster General John E. Potter and his management team. Hear from the Mailing Industry Task Force. And there are more reasons to attend. Don't miss it!

NATIONAL POSTAL FORUM DENVER OCT. 14-17
SUNDAY, OCT. 14
USPS and Postal Customer Council (PCC) leaders host a new program on how to make your PCC more effective. There will also be an orientation session for first-time attendees.

MONDAY, OCT. 15
FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP
PMG John E. Potter outlines his priorities and plans for the Postal Service. His message is clear - our success depends on our ability to "Keep our Focus" on developing people, controlling costs, improving service performance, growing USPS and the mailing industry and pursuing postal reform.
Deputy PMG John Nolan and Mike Critelli, CEO, Pitney Bowes, present the recommendations of the Mailing Industry Task Force to PMG Potter and the mailing community.
USPS officers and mailing industry executives detail initiatives that can benefit your business at six Business Builder Sessions.

TUESDAY, OCT. 16
FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY
PMG, DPMG, COO and mailing industry executives discuss Adding Value to Hard Copy Mail with Technology. Hear how technology currently available can help manage costs, improve service and grow your business. Their discussion will cover:
addressing improvement,
flats processing,
Confirm, and
Delivery Confirmation.
USPS officers and mailing industry executives discuss new e-opportunities and detail how you can use today's technology to mail faster, better and smarter at four Business Builder Sessions.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 17
FOCUS ON SERVICE
In new Industry Exchange Sessions, USPS vice presidents, Area Operations, and industry representatives discuss how they will work cooperatively to improve service. Sessions focus on:
opportunities to grow First-Class Mail,
automation of periodical mail,
improving consistency and predictability of standard mail service, and
improving merchandise return service.
NPF ends with a closing general session.

THROUGHOUT THE FORUM
Over 90 Business Sessions on Winning New Business - Getting and Keeping Customers; Mail Center Operations; Managing Mail Preparation and Fulfillment; and Distribution and Fulfillment.
Attend sessions and earn the USPS Mail Center Manager Professional Certificate of Attendance.
Learn how to apply to participate in the new USPS Mail Center Certification Program.

Look for registration form inside this edition of memo to mailers.

Volume 36 Number 7
Ilze Sella
Editorial Services
Frank Papandrea
Art Director
Frank Schultz-DePalo
Designer
Jim Fisher
Printing Specialist
John E. Potter
Postmaster General and CEO
Deborah K. Willhite
Senior Vice President,
Government Relations and Public Policy
Azeezaly S. Jaffer
Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications
memo to mailers is published by U.S. Postal Service Public Affairs and Communications.
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memo to mailers
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