Memo to Mailers
- November 2002 (Text)
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
VOLUME 37 NUMBER 11
NOVEMBER 2002
WHAT'S INSIDE
ON TIME FOR AMERICA
FUTURE FOR FLATS
ALOHA PARDNER
GLOBAL PACKAGES
POSTAL NEWS BRIEFS
REPOSITIONABLE NOTES
POSTALONE! INFOCENTRAL
Making it easier for customers to do business with the United States Postal
Service is one of the prime elements of postal transformation. PostalOne! does
just that by enabling an electronic link between USPS and its business mailers,
allowing an exchange of information that benefits everyone involved with this
type of mail.
In many ways, PostalOne! is a new workflow management tool for the mailing industry.
It provides a one-stop shop for payment and other mailing information by offering
an electronic suite of services that dramatically impacts the mailing process.
By capitalizing on new technology, PostalOne! improves the overall customer
experience by automating and streamlining many of the cumbersome manual and
hardcopy documentation processes used in the business mail production cycle.
The system links the customer's mailing information with the Postal Service's
acceptance, verification and payment systems. This electronic linkage enables
the customer to gain access to a wealth of online information that customers
can use to better manage their business.
"The basic principle of PostalOne! is simple - we want to make it easier
for business mailers to do business with us," says Larry Goodman, manager,
Business Cutomer Support Systems. "Business customers are linked electronically
to internal postal operations, and the Postal Service is able to collect and
evaluate business mail data more effectively."
Business mail customers generate about 73 percent of the Postal Service's total
mail volume. The current information system, called PERMIT, was developed using
early 1980s technology. PostalOne! will replace this with a full electronic
suite of services to be developed over the next three years. Nationwide deployment
of PostalOne! is planned by May 2005. Dozens of current users include many of
the nation's largest business mailers.
"PostalOne! provides an integrated solution which yields production process
improvements, reduces staging time, provides enhanced information on mail assignments
and results in improved management of mail volume," says John Crider, manager
of postal affairs for Sprint, based in suburban Kansas City.
John Campanelli, president of R. R. Donnelley Logistics, which was awarded PostalOne!
certification in 2001, said, "We will now be able to better serve our customers
with the use of this system. We can electronically submit, track and review
bulk mailings, which increases efficiency and timely delivery."
PostalOne! provides a single, Web-based access point for mailing information.
It enables customers to electronically send detailed mailing data through the
industry's Mail.dat file standard. Customers using PostalOne! will no longer
have to fill out manual postage statements because they are automatically generated
by the PostalOne! system. They can download an estimated postage summary, view
individual postage statements within a mailing, see a running total of postage
statement activity and view the reconciliation of the information at the end
of the mailing job.
As an added benefit, the transportation-management function provides select
users the ability to assign surface and air transportation assignments and to
route mail right in the mailer's own plant. Customers can track their mailings
more accurately by knowing the detailed routing of their mailing jobs.
"PostalOne! is truly a customer-focused system," says Goodman. "It
acts as a gateway into the Postal Service for business mailers by providing
essential status information about their mail to help them better plan and manage
their program. In turn, it helps the Postal Service better identify, understand,
manage and serve its business mail customers."
For more information about PostalOne!, please visit www.uspspostalone.com or
call 800-522-9085.
Transformation: It's about making things happen.
RATES STEADY UNTIL
2006?
ACTION ON PENSION PLAN FUNDING IS KEY
Customers could see their postage rates hold steady until at least 2006 - two
years longer than previously expected - and the Postal Service could further
reduce its debt if Congress passes legislation changing how USPS funds its portion
of the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS).
A new financial analysis by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) shows that
postal payments have almost fully funded all future retirement obligations for
USPS employees and retirees enrolled in the CSRS.
Prior to this review, and based on current federal statutes, the Postal Service
maintains a deferred liability of $32 billion to reflect the retirement obligation
and makes annual payments budgeted to fund the liability over 30 years. The
new analysis shows the funding gap is only $5 billion.
Congress would have to approve a change in the USPS payment schedule for the
CSRS fund.
As a result of this legislative action, USPS could increase the amount available
for debt reduction in fiscal year 2003 from $800 million to more than $3 billion,
and stabilize current postage rates to 2006. Previously, postal officials said
another general rate hike would be required in 2004.
Postmaster
General John E. Potter said that the administration had drafted a bill to modify
Postal Service funding requirements for CSRS. By extending the rate cycle, said
Potter, "customers will be able to focus on growing their use of the mail."
Potter cautioned, "No one should be lulled into a sense of complacency
that all is right with the nation's postal system. That's simply not true."
He says the nation "still faces a long-term challenge to continue postal
services to everyone, everywhere while financing the costs of our growing nationwide
delivery network."
Potter said he would maintain management's focus on providing excellent service,
increasing productivity, continuing smart cost-cutting activities and streamlining
postal operations through the use of existing technologies.
"I remain committed to the Postal Service's Transformation Plan, taking
$5 billion out of our operating expenses through 2006, over and above the savings
we expect to realize by implementing the legislative changes connected with
our CSRS funding," he said.
USPS DELIVERS ONTIME
FOR AMERICA
The Postal Service continues to achieve record-breaking delivery scores for
First-Class Mail in the nation's major metropolitan areas.
First-Class Mail was delivered on time an average of 94 percent of the time
during the last quarter of USPS's 2002 fiscal year. This is the second consecutive
quarter in which delivery of First-Class Mail has met this benchmark. In addition,
the last quarter of FY 2002 (May 18 through Sept. 6) was the 20th consecutive
quarter - five years - that First-Class Mail has met or exceeded a delivery
standard 93 percent, or more, of the time.First-Class Mail delivery performance
is measured externally and independently by Pricewaterhouse Coopers Consulting
using the External First-Class (EXFC) measurement system. EXFC externally measures
collection box to mailbox delivery performance. EXFC continuously tests 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.
Also, the most recent Gallup survey shows 93 percent of households nationwide
reported having a positive view of USPS. This is the fourth consecutive quarter
in which ratings of overall performance have reached 93 percent.
FUTURE FOR FLATS:
ONE PACKAGE FOR EACH DELIVERY POINT
The Postal Service has introduced an updated corporate flats plan, which includes
a long-term vision to create a system that will result in one package of letters
and flats for each delivery point.
"The Postal Service has been very successful in automating the distribution
of letter mail and this has allowed us to reduce processing costs while maintaining
affordable rates," says John Rapp, senior vice president, Operations. "To
meet the pledge of keeping mail service affordable for flats, the Postal Service
is committed to achieving the types of breakthrough productivity it achieved
with letter mail."
The Postal Service recognizes that flat mail, which includes Periodicals and
Standard Mail, is a valuable source of revenue, Rapp told the Mailers' Technical
Advisory Committee (MTAC). "However, because we did not apply technology
to flats at the same rate as letters, both processing and delivery costs have
steadily risen over the years," he says.
The Postal Service is committed to using technology to increase the number of
flats sorted by automation and pledges to work with its customers to improve
flats processing, according to Rapp. USPS is taking actions on a daily basis
to increase operational efficiency and reduce mail preparation costs, such as
standardization. He says that customers will continue to be involved in this
effort, but they also should expect potential changes to mailpiece design or
presorting and barcoding requirements.
The larger goal is to reduce the number of mailstreams that handle flats. "Our
plan is to reduce the current four mailstreams, first to two - automated and
manual - and then, hopefully, to one - Delivery Point Packaging (DPP) - if the
technology is available," says Rapp.
USPS will continue to work with MTAC members on flats issues, both near-term
and long-term.
In the near-term, one challenge was to find a method for mailers to package
and prepare flats that would allow USPS to feed the Automated Flat Sorting Machine
(AFSM) 100 in a more cost-effective and efficient manner. Largely due to the
AFSM 100s, which are now deployed nationwide, flats productivity in plants has
increased almost 78 percent between the end of FY 2000 and today.
The corporate flats plan, however, is a long-term effort. "DPP can't be
done overnight," says Rapp. "The concept needs to be evaluated to
determine feasibility, equipment costs and space requirements." And, perhaps
most important, USPS needs to identify any potential customer impacts, he says.
Rapp says the Postal Service expects to have a DPP machine simulation available
for evaluation during FY 2005 or the next year. If the DPP option is not feasible,
USPS will pursue its second option - the Flats Sequencing System (FSS) which
will be designed to sequence flat mail using two passes.
As the Postal Service looks to the future, the corporate flats plan will serve
as the guiding principle, says Rapp, adding, "The savings potential of
implementing Delivery Point Packaging in one step is very significant."
SCANNING TAKES
FLIGHT
Beginning next spring, the Postal Service will require airlines to scan mail
they transport for USPS, using a technology called Surface Air Support System
(SASS). SASS allows USPS to accurately measure mail volumes and contractors'
on-time delivery performance.
"This technology will help the Postal Service ensure that America's postal
customers are getting the best value for their postage," explains Paul
Vogel, vice president, Network Operations Management, referring to the continued
construction of the Information Platform. "The platform leverages technology
used to collect, process and deliver mail to tell postal management when and
where the mail is so we can place the right resources in the right place at
the right time."
USPS is negotiating a new contract with commercial air carriers to reflect these
enhancements. The contract, scheduled to start May 2003, will include incentives
based on contractor pricing, performance measurements and adjustments to mail
assignments.
ALOHA PARDNER
Think of Colorado and the mind imagines majestic mountain peaks, world-class
skiing, sparkling snow-fed trout-filled streams and Hawaiian shirts.
Hawaiian shirts? Paradise is where you find it, according to Curielle Duffy,
small business purveyor of "Aloha wear" through online and catalog
sales - and delivered by Priority Mail.
"As you can imagine, selling Hawaiian shirts worldwide from rural western
Colorado requires determined creativity and the willingness to chase after technological
advantage (not to mention a healthy dose of chutzpah)!" says Duffy, who
describes her position as "Head Hula Girl" at Paradise on a Hanger,
based in Crawford, CO. Duffy and her husband, Steve, own the company, whose
website is www.hotshirts.com.
Smart entrepreneurs turn to USPS for business solutions, and those solutions
are no farther away than the post office. "Our local postmaster, Romaine
D. Round, has been a real partner in our business," says Duffy. "As
a problem solver and advocate, he has helped us to save money and always given
us the best advice on how to ship economically and meet our customers' needs.
If he doesn't know the answer to a question, he finds out for us as soon as
possible. And he always does it with a smile."
Duffy says USPS has always provided an outstanding service at a fair price,
and packaging and shipping materials have proven invaluable. And as Paradise
on a Hanger grows its business, revenue at this rural post office grows as well.
"Businesses such as Paradise on a Hanger represent a significant opportunity
for the Postal Service, and it's rewarding to learn that we're meeting their
needs," says Chief Marketing Officer Anita Bizzotto.
After all, paradise is a business that grows with the help of the United States
Postal Service.
SOLUTIONS FOR SMALL
BUSINESSES
Improve your package flow with USPS Shipping center
Improve your cash flow with USPS Online Payment Services
Priority Mail.
Express Mail. Parcel Post. Need delivery status information? Schedule a pickup?
Want USPS shipping information on your website? For your small or large business,
the Shipping center at www.usps.com is the one place for all your package shipping
solutions. USPS can help you quickly choose the right service to meet your needs.
And then, when it's time to manage your invoices, you can turn to USPS Online
Payment Service. You've trusted the Postal Service to deliver your payments
on time for years. Backed by the same level of security and reliability, USPS
Online Payment Services allows small businesses to:
Pay anyone electronically
that you currently pay by check
Schedule payments
from up to 10 check writing accounts
Transfer money
between accounts to better manage cash flow
Automatically
pay for bills with fixed amounts each month
Maintain an
audit trail with detailed payment history
Receive bills
online from leading merchants such as AT&T and Sprint PCS
Download payment
information into Microsoft Money and Quicken
And best of all,
payments are guaranteed to arrive on time as long as you schedule them in accordance
with the service terms and conditions.
Visit www.usps.com/paymentservices to see a demo or get more information. Check
out the free three-month trial offer to help you get started.
BOOKING AN OVERSEAS
TRIP
Many people have a favorite bookstore. For some, that bookstore happens to be
in Britain. WHSmith , one of the UK's largest booksellers, wanted to better
serve its growing American home shopping market and it turned to the United
States Postal Service for the solution.
The challenge was to reduce the seven to 10 days it took for book shipments
from WHSmith Online, a business unit of WHSmith Retail Ltd., to reach its U.S.
customers. The company also wanted to provide these customers with a way to
check on the status of their shipment and allow verification of delivery.
Stuart Rivett, operations director of WHSmith Online, approached Mailroom Services
director Mike Johnson, who suggested that WHSmith Online try USPS's Priority
Mail service with Signature Confirmation. The company had previously been using
a non-trackable mail service.
"One thing that customers like about this new system is its simplicity,"
says Rivett. WHSmith Online uses its information technology to drive the shipping
system. The firm created both a postal manifest and a customs manifest at the
same time. The information is electronically transmitted to the U.S. Customs
broker and USPS as the plane leaves England.
In the United States, the bulk mail entry units in Los Angeles and New York
are ready for the shipments when they arrive. With this type of close coordination,
the books are often in the USPS system the same day they leave England.
"We now have greater control and visibility over our deliveries and we're
able to give our customers enhanced service," says Rivett.
For more infomation about services from Europe to the United States, please
contact USPS's Global Package Services group at 703-292-3626.
A POST OFFICE TRANSFORMATION
The Postal Service announced it will transfer ownership of its historic Farley
Post Office building in New York City to the Pennsylvania Station Redevelopment
Corp., which plans to transform the national historic landmark into a major
transportation terminal.
The change in ownership will be transparent to postal customers, since the retail
lobby and other services will be retained.
"We are proud to be part of Manhattan's revitalization," says Postmaster
General and native New Yorker, John E. Potter, "but we are not going anywhere.
We will continue to serve our customers at this building as we have since 1912."
Following routine environmental reviews, the parties intend to enter into a
formal contract of sale.
Ownership of the building is expected to be transferred to the Pennsylvania
Station Redevelopment Corp., which is a subsidiary of the Empire State Development
Corp., within one year. Terms of the sale were not disclosed pending finalization
of agreements.
The building's famous front facade bears the inscription: "Neither snow
nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion
of their appointed rounds."
USPS will continue to occupy about 250,000 square feet of the 1.5 million square-foot
building, which covers two full city blocks. Retail lobby and other services
will be retained, including Express Mail, mail delivery, truck platforms and
a stamp depository. Administrative offices for the New York District will also
be headquartered there.
All mail processing operations will be relocated to the Morgan Processing and
Distribution Center. All other administrative functions now in the Farley
Building will be moved to the Church Street Processing and Distribution Center.
THE EARLY BIRD
CATCHES THE INFO ONLINE
Package customers taking advantage of "early-bird" Parcel Select Destination
Delivery Unit acceptance hours can now find postal facility drop-ship locations
online at www.usps.com.
"Parcel Select mailers asked and we responded," says Chief Operating
Officer Pat Donahoe. "They wanted early-bird hours, and we wanted their
business, so we opened at five in the morning. Many of the packages dropped
during our early-bird hours will be delivered the same day, with the rest the
next day."
Donahoe said the Web listing is an enhancement to an initiative announced in
September that opened the doors of more than 1,000 of the nation's largest postal
facilities to Parcel Select customers well before sunrise.
Parcel Select service allows high-volume shippers to earn discounts by bypassing
processing operations to enter parcels into the
mailstream as close as possible to the delivery post office. Early-bird hours
benefit the mailers because they allow the mail to be introduced into the system
earlier in the process.
Customers can get the listing of drop-ship locations at www.usps.com by clicking
"Destination Delivery Unit" to download Excel spreadsheets.
Package customers taking advantage of "early-bird" Parcel Select Destination
Delivery Unit acceptance hours can now find postal facility drop-ship locations
online at www.usps.com.
FYI
The latest edition of The Postal Service Guide to U.S. Stamps is now available
at post offices and through 800-STAMP-24 and The Postal Store at www.usps.com.
The price is $18.95. The guide contains nearly 600 pages of pictures, descriptions
and values for U.S. stamps dating back to 1847.
POSTAL NEWS BRIEFS
A YEAR AND 900,000 CHANGES LATER
The Postal Service has processed more than 900,000 Internet Change-of-Address
(ICOA) requests since November 2001 when the electronic form became available
at www.usps.com, resulting in an estimated cost savings of $765,000.
USPS processes 40 million address changes each year. While the traditional PS
Form 3575, Change of Address Order, is still available at all post offices,
ICOA requests greatly reduce USPS costs by automating many of the manual processes
associated with the paper form.
ICOA requests also improve address quality by standardizing the old and new
addresses with ZIP+4 Codes as customers enter their address information online
at the MoversGuide Online website at www.usps.com.
The ICOA initiative is the result of a strategic alliance between Imagitas and
USPS's Office of Address Management.
USPS AWARDS BANK
CONTRACT
The Postal Service signed agreements with Union Bank of
California to provide depository services for 2,059 post offices in California
with annual deposits of approximately $6 billion.
This contract is part of the Postal Service's overall treasury management strategy
to ensure efficiency in its cash management, helping Americans get the best
value for the postage they pay. As part of this strategy, USPS has reduced the
number of banks it uses for cash management from more than 5,000 to less than
30 during the past five years.
"The Postal Service sought a provider based on a best-value award process
that could maximize cash availability, minimize deposit account balances and
increase the efficiency of information flows between the bank and the Postal
Service," according to USPS Vice President and Treasurer Robert Pedersen.
WORKSHARE DISCOUNT
The Postal Service has filed a case with the Postal Rate
Commission to provide mailers of small circulation periodicals a way to achieve
worksharing discounts enjoyed by large mailers.
The case seeks a two-year experimental mail classification for co-palletization
dropship discounts for Periodicals. The discounts are designed to provide an
additional incentive for publishers, printers and consolidators to combine different
publications or print runs on pallets, avoiding the need for sacks - a benefit
to mailers and USPS.
One objective of the Postal Service's Transformation Plan is the use of service
enhancements, ease of use and pricing incentives to add customer value to its
products and services.
NEW OFFICE HELPER
These Holiday Snowmen are available in linerless, self-adhesive coils of 100
stamps.
A newly developed dispenser makes Tape Stamps even more convenient than ever.
ENVIRONMENTALLY
AND FISCALLY FRIENDLY
The Postal Service has rolled out the nation's largest fleet of electric vehicles
(EVs) - nearly 400 of them - in Los Angeles.
The gas-saving, battery-powered, environmentally friendly EVs were purchased
through a unique money-saving partnership with the state of California, Mobile
Source Air Pollution Reduction Committee and Los Angeles Department of Water
and Power.
The EVs generate no exhaust and are quiet. They don't waste energy while idling,
making them ideally suited to mail carriers' stop-and-go routine.
It's estimated that gasoline-powered cars in Los Angeles waste roughly 72 million
gallons of fuel each year sitting in traffic.
EVs can be driven 50 miles before recharging and can accelerate from zero to
50 miles-per-hour in 12.5 seconds, similar to gasoline-powered counterparts.
Volume 37 Number
11
Ilze Sella, Editorial Services
Frank Papandrea, Art Director
David Ostroff, Designer
Alan Valsi, Purchasing Specialist
John E. Potter, Postmaster General and CEO
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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STICK WITH SUCCESS
Note this: You can enhance your direct mail and increase response rates with
Repositionable Notes (RPNs).
Halfway through a one-year pilot program, 20 USPS customers have tried RPNs
and more than 1.4 million mailpieces have been processed successfully. Participants
in the pilot test - including publishers, financial institutions and non-profit
groups - report getting a lift in their response rates from using these notes.
A key feature of RPNs is their sticking power. Put a note on the outside of
a mailpiece with a phone number or Internet address and the recipient can remove
the note and put it somewhere handy - on a computer, refrigerator or phone.
The pilot test, continuing through February 2003, allows customers to affix
RPNs to the outside of barcoded, ZIP+4, automation-compatible letter and postcard-size
First-Class Mail and Standard Mail pieces. For more information, contact: Manager,
Product Management - Letters, 1735 N. Lynn Street, Arlington, VA 22209-6043,
or e-mail repnotes@usps.com.