Memo to Mailers - November 2003 (Text)
UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
VOLUME 38 NUMBER 11
NOVEMBER 2003

WHAT'S INSIDE
PRIVACY A PRIORITY
MAILING ONLINE
POSTALONE!
KEEPING POSTED
POSTAL NEWS BRIEFS

HOLIDAY SHOPPING: BEHATTED, BOW-TIED AND BUNDLED
The cat is in the lobby. The Cat in the Hat, that is. And the Postal Service let him in to help show customers the way to easy, affordable solutions for holiday shipping needs, whether you're an individual mailing packages to friends and family or a small business facing the seasonal rush.

Look for displays and other information featuring characters from the Universal Studios movie, Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat, in Post Offices everywhere. And through Jan. 1, the Postal Service will provide Cat in the Hat postmarks on billions of letter mailpieces.

Taking a cue from the fast-food industry, USPS has changed the way it offers Priority Mail with value-added features on its menu boards at Post Offices. It's called "bundling" and it's as easy as one, two, three. The first bundled service offers Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation starting at $4.30. Bundle two offers insurance starting at $5.15. And bundle three combines Delivery Confirmation and insurance starting at $5.60.

Priority Mail offers delivery to every address in the United States, including Post Office boxes and military addresses. Prices without additional services start at $3.85, and Saturday and residential deliveries are offered at no extra cost.

"Our goal is to make is easy for customers to understand their options for shipping holiday packages," says USPS Chief Marketing Officer Anita Bizzotto. "We're simplifying the purchasing process for holiday-harried customers by bundling Priority Mail with the two most-asked-for value-added services - insurance and/or Delivery Confirmation."

To learn more about Priority Mail, log on to www.usps.com, keywords Priority Mail.
And USPS has another Dr. Seuss treat in store for customers beginning March 2, 2004, when the Theodor Seuss Geisel stamp becomes available. This stamp honoring the Pulitzer Prize-winning author - known aruond the world as Dr. Seuss - was unveiled last month in Geisel's hometown of Springfield, MA.

And while the Cat in the Hat is ready to welcome you at your local Post Office, you don't have to leave home to take advantage of USPS holiday mailing solutions. The online Shipping and Mailing

Holiday Guide offers helpful hints on delivery services and other online mailing solutions. Go to www.usps.com and look for the young girl holding the Priority Mail box with the bright red bow and then click on the Holiday Helpers icon. It's convenience with a click.

Holiday shipping at USPS - it's the Cat in the Hat's meow!

FYI
The Postal Service is making it easier for business customers who use postal tracking services to get information online. Instead of separate websites, this information is now available in one place - Mail Tracking and Reporting at http://mailtracking.usps.com.

This is the place to go for information and reports on all postal tracking services such as Confirm, Entry Information, Parcel Select Performance, Delivery Confirmation and Signature Confirmation.

The website also can be accessed from the Customer Gateway via the "National and Premier Accounts" link on USPS.com.

PRIVACY A PRIORITY
As new postal products are developed "they will include privacy policies that reflect our trusted brand," says Zoe Strickland, the Postal Service's chief privacy officer.
USPS is a trusted business that is working hard to develop the best and most up to date products and services to meet customer needs and "part of that equation includes best-in-class privacy policies," she says.

As an example, she cites Intelligent Mail, which features optional tracking services. "With these services, the mailer will have better and faster information about their
mailpieces as they move through the postal system." This can reduce their operating costs and improve customer service, she adds.

"As always, privacy is a core value of the Postal Service," says Strickland. "We have developed a sound privacy policy for Intelligent Mail which is in keeping with our trusted brand. It covers both the mail and the mailer. Mailers are identified only if they choose to register for a service."

When fully developed, Intelligent Mail will allow mailers to choose from a suite of services. An example is the Confirm service, which provides tracking of letters and flats for participating business customers.

She says that with Intelligent Mail, "we do not intend to require sender identification for every piece of mail. Mailer identification, which is voluntary, is needed for the Postal Service to provide information to the mailer as part of the service."

MAILING ONLINE - FAST, EASY, AFFORDABLE
Got a product to sell and have a staff of one - yourself? Or maybe your business is a bit larger, but you're looking for a way to save time and money in getting your message out to your customers. The Postal Service offers you services that let you mail right from your computer.

If you're looking for an easy way to create and send traditional hard copy mail, check out Mailing Online, one of the NetPost services available at www.usps.com.

NetPost services allow customers to create and send hard copy mail - letters, flyers, postcards, self-mailers, greeting cards, etc. - directly from their computers. Users simply upload a document and recipient address list, choose printing and mailing options, make a secure payment and USPS does the printing and mailing for them.

"Mailing Online provides real convenience for our customers, especially the small to medium size business mailer," said Jim Samaniego, manager of e-Commerce for the Postal Service. "Our customers have really embraced Mailing Online. Whether mailing one piece or 10,000, users can create and send their mailings online directly from their computers faster, easier and more affordably."

Mailing Online also has big plans for its fourth year. Customers can look forward to some exciting enhancements to the service in early 2004 that will increase printing and mailing options. Mailing Online is adopting the latest technology to provide more features for customers. New features and options will include the ability to incorporate company logos in return addresses, a new oversized 6x9 postcard, and the ability to accept a variety of graphic elements. And that's only the beginning.

Mailing Online, and all the NetPost services, are available at www.usps.com/netpost.

But you're not restricted to just letters or flats. If you're looking for an easy way to ship packages from your home or office, give Click-N-Ship a try.

Click-N-Ship service allows you to print postage-paid shipping labels online with your home or office computer and your mail carrier will pick up your packages with the rest of your mail (provided each package is under the 70 pound weight limit that applies to all mail). You can also drop your packages off at the local Post Office or deposit them in a collection box. It's up to you.

For more information, go to www.usps.com/clicknship.

Stay tuned for more ways to leverage the power of the mail - coming soon to a PC near you!

MERCHANDISE RETURNS MADE SIMPLE
If you're a cataloger or online shipper, here's a merchandise returns program custom tailored for you. Parcel Return Services, launched as a two-year pilot, offers merchants a cost-effective way to retrieve items their customers decide to return. The service provides added convenience to customers through a specially designed, prepaid return label that shippers can place in the original packages, mail to customers or make available to their customers to download via the Internet.

Merchants, or their parcel consolidators, who have been approved as participants for the Parcel Return Services pilot, can choose to pick up returned merchandise at a Post Office delivery unit or bulk mail center that serves the original customer. As a result, the Postal Service reduces costs for processing and transporting parcels back to the mailer's warehouse. Participants benefit from lower rates that result from these savings to the Postal Service. Customers need only place the preprinted label on the package they wish to return, give it to a letter carrier, drop it in a collection box or bring it to the Post Office.

"The new Parcel Return Services will streamline the mail process for everyone," says Jim Cochrane, manager of Package Services. "This service will help catalogers and retailers manage their returns inventory. It can also be useful in routing returned merchandise to an alternate destination of the merchant's choosing."

Parcel Return Services has new rates available for general merchandise and book returns. The price for parcels picked up at the Post Office nearest the customer is $2 per parcel. Prices for pieces picked up at the bulk mail center depend on the weight of the piece and the distance traveled. By picking up the parcels at the bulk mail center, merchants can save 24 cents to $1.51 per parcel off existing rates.

This program will give the Postal Service an opportunity to gauge market demand for Parcel Return Services. During the first year of the program, the Postal Service will have a limit of 20 prequalified participants. That number can grow to 30 in the second year. For more information about Parcel Return Services, your local postmaster can direct you to a USPS account representative.

POSTAL ONE! EASE OF ePOSTAGE STATEMENTS
There's been tremendous growth in the use of ePostage statements by business customers participating in the pre-deployment phase of PostalOne!, the system that allows the electronic exchange of information between mailers and USPS business mail acceptance units.

"We are thrilled with the strong growth in usage customers have shown during this pre-deployment stage," says Larry Goodman, IT manager, Marketing Portfolio. "It means our customers and the mailing industry see the tremendous value and potential in the development of the PostalOne! system."

PostalOne! takes advantage of the latest advances in technology and the power of the Internet to bring a new era of convenience to our business mailing customers. As its development continues, it will give business customers greater electronic payment and account management capabilities.

Goodman says the early pilot customers, including Arandell, Perry Judd's, Quad Graphics, Quebecor World, RR Donnelley and others, have been an integral part of the development story of the PostalOne! initiative.

"In many respects, this is an example of our joint efforts with customers to bring a new mailing experience to the mailing industry as we jointly explore new opportunities for continued growth and mutual success," says Chief Technology Officer Robert Otto. "After further deployment in mid-2004, all business customers will be able to enroll and begin experiencing the PostalOne! difference."

For more information about PostalOne!, go to www.usps.com/postalone.

SENDING MAIL TO US TROOPS
The Postal Service, in cooperation with the Department of Defense, is reminding Americans to mail early when sending holiday cards and packages to troops deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom and elsewhere overseas.

The Postal Service also is reminding Americans to do the right thing. Patriotic acts of support by some well-intentioned individuals and groups risk creating bottlenecks in the military's mail stream, delaying delivery to service members.

Shortly after 9/11 and the anthrax attacks, the Defense Department suspended Operation Dear Abby and other mail addresses as "Any Service Member," "Any Soldier," "Any Marine, Sailor," etc., due to concerns relating to mail being introduced into the mail system from unknown sources. These programs remain suspended, yet many individuals have circumvented this prohibition by mailing bulk quantities of cards, letters and care packages addressed to individual service members.

The Defense Department requests that Americans extend their support through activities listed at these websites: www.defendamerica.mil under the "Support Our Troops" section, www.operationuplink.org, or by calling the Military Postal Service Agency's toll-free number 800-810-6098 to identify other programs.

For military mail guidelines and recommended mailing dates, go to www.usps.com/holiday/dates.htm.

CALIFORNIA TO CALIFORNIA VIA NEW YORK
How did a First-Class Mail barcoded mailing that was mailed from Sacramento, CA, addressed to Sacramento, CA, arrive seven to 10 days late?

Unfortunately, it had a 12345-6789 barcode applied. This is a unique ZIP Code in Schenectady, NY. The Schenectady Post Office gets an abundance of barcoded mail that doesn't belong there. The Post Office is forced to obliterate the barcode and redirect the mail, causing significant service delays and unnecessary handling.

Presort software is often programmed to apply test barcodes of 12345-6789. When the test barcode option is not disabled, a 12345-6789 barcode is applied to the entire mailing, regardless of what the address is.

The Postal Service is asking for your cooperation. If your software produces a test barcode of 12345-6789, please make sure that once tested, it is then disabled. If you're a presort software programmer, please reprogram the test barcode to 98765-4321.

Thanks!

KEEPING POSTED
A NEW LOOK ... AND A MORE VALUABLE TOOL
Get ready for the debut of a newly designed National Postal Customer Council (PCC) website, scheduled for launch next month. The address is the same - www.usps.com/nationalpcc - but there will be a new look and easier navigation. And as the site evolves, it will be rich in content that will serve as a useful resource for PCCs. A monthly national PCC newsletter will be posted to the site that will provide messages from postal executives, best practices for PCCs to emulate, postal products and services that will help businesses grow, and much more!

"The purpose of the redesigned website is to provide local PCCs with more useful and valuable information to help businesses become more profitable and to continue to strengthen the partnership between the Postal Service and its valued customers," says Customer Events Manager Marty Emery.

This is only the beginning. Your postal headquarters PCC team is aggressively developing and gathering new content for the site. Also, we soon will be conducting a national PCC survey to get your feedback. It's all coming your way very soon.

HOLIDAY HELPERS
T his holiday season, let the Postal Service help guide you through your mailing options with A Customers Guide to Mailing (DMM 100), a retail tool, and A Guide to Mailing for Businesses and Organizations (DMM 200-A), a tool for small businesses.

A Customer's Guide to Mailing uses charts, illustration, tips and real-life examples to explain USPS products and services.

A Guide to Mailing for Businesses and Organizations provides small- to medium-size volume mailers with mailing options, rules and regulations. Some mailers are keeping the guide next to their phonebooks for quick reference: How do we set up a reply account? How do I fill out a postage statement? How much are the mailing fees? Answers to questions like these and many more are found in the DMM 200-A.

Both of these easy-to-read guides are available online at www.usps.com. Also, customers who order stamps or other merchandise online from The Postal Store will receive a copy of the DMM 100 with their order.

POSTAL NEWS BRIEFS
NEW BUSINESS MODEL NEEDED, SAYS POTTER
Transformation is moving forward, but the Postal Service needs a new business model to meet the challenges of the 21st century, said Postmaster General John E.
Potter in testimony Nov. 5 before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

Potter was commenting on recommendations made by the President's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service. Many of them, said Potter, were "consistent with strategies that we are already pursuing as part of our transformation efforts."

USPS agrees with the commission's recommendation that a new business model is needed, said Potter. The current model "is becoming increasingly disconnected from today's reality. It is outdated and inflexible," he said.

To read Potter's testimony, go to www.usps.com/communications/news/speeches. The commission's report is available at www.treas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/usps.

USPS DELIVERS HIGHEST SCORE EVER
It's the Postal Service's highest combination score ever - a 95 percent on-time overnight delivery coupled with a 94 percent positive customer satisfaction perception.

The most recent customer satisfaction survey shows 94 percent of households nationwide reported having a positive view of the Postal Service - the highest score ever. Also, overnight First-Class Mail maintained the milestone score of 95 percent on-time overnight delivery service performance during the period between May 17 and Sept. 5, 2003. This is the sixth consecutive quarter First-Class Mail delivery hit the 94 percent and above benchmark, and the third consecutive quarter at 95. Both are independently measured.

External First-Class (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 Mail volume originates and 80 percent destinates. EXFC is not a system-wide measurement of all First-Class Mail performance.

NEW USPS VICE PRESIDENT
Postmaster General John E. Potter announced the selection of Henry Pankey to the new position of vice president, Emergency Preparedness. Pankey has served as vice president for Delivery and Retail since September 2001. William Galligan, currently Connecticut district manager, will serve as acting vice president, Delivery and Retail.

In his new role, Pankey will be responsible for development, implementation and coordination of emergency preparedness plans to protect Postal Service employees, customers, operations and mail security during disasters and national emergencies. Pankey also will serve as USPS representative to the Office of Homeland Security.

ONCE-A-YEAR NATIONAL POSTAL FORUM
The Postal Service is moving to a once-a-year National Postal Forum (NPF) in order to strengthen and enhance the content of programming offered to customers and those in the mailing industry.

This means the Spring 2004 NPF - scheduled for May in Seattle, WA - will be canceled so organizational planning can focus on developing new program content and workshops that provide more value, to more people, in a more efficient way. The next NPF will occur in September 2004 in Washington, DC.

Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President Anita Bizzotto said, "This change is an outgrowth of the Transformation Plan, where we envision a continuous search for new and better ways to conduct business and to make events, such as the NPF, more meaningful for customers."

Volume 38 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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