APPENDIX W — Glossary 
Air Contract Data Collection System (ACDCS) – A network of equipment at airport mail facilities that 
collects information on weight, destination, and routing of air shipments. 
Air Contract Transportation Tag (ACT) – A printed barcoded tag that bears barcoded information for 
routing mail containers to be transported by contracted air carriers.
Board of Governors (BOG) – The group that directs the exercise of the powers of the Postal Service. Nine 
Governors are appointed by the President of the United States, with the advice and consent of the Senate. 
The remaining members are the postmaster general (appointed by the Governors) and the deputy postmaster 
general (appointed by the Governors and the postmaster general). The Board directs and controls the 
expenditures and reviews the practices and policies of the Postal Service.
Bound Printed Matter (BPM) – A subclass of Package Services that consists of permanently bound sheets 
of which at least 90 percent are printed with advertising, promotional, directory, or editorial matter (or a 
combination of such matter).
Breakthrough Productivity Initiative (BPI) – The Breakthrough Productivity Initiative, implemented in 
2000, is a comprehensive and integrated method for achieving productivity improvement by identifying 
causes for poor productivity, and providing diagnostic and corrective tools to support areas for 
improvement.
Bulk Mail Center (BMC) – A highly mechanized mail processing plant that distributes Standard Mail in 
piece and bulk form.
Carrier Sequence Bar Code Sorter (CSBCS) – An automated machine that sorts an individual carrier’s 
mail, allowing the mail to go directly from the automation equipment in delivery sequence to the carrier for 
delivery to postal customers. The CSBCS is a smaller BCS designed for delivery units with 10 or more 
routes.
Chief Executive Officer/Postmaster General – The official position title created during the 1991 postal 
reorganization that designates the highest ranking officer in the United States Postal Service.
CIOSS – Technology that links PARS mail with the appropriate forwarding order.
Collect on Delivery (C.O.D.) – A service for mailers who need to mail an article for which they have not 
received payment. The amount due the sender is collected from the addressee, and the Postal Service 
returns the amount due to the sender.
Commercial Receiving Agency (CMRA) – A private business that acts as the mail receiving agent for 
specific clients.
Contract Postal Unit (CPU) – A postal unit that is a subordinate unit within the service area of a main post 
office, e.g., stations, branches, and Community Post Offices (CPOs). A CPU is usually located in a store or 
place of business and is operated by a contractor who accepts mail from the public, sells postage and 
supplies, and provides selected special services (for example, postal money order or registered mail).
Delivery Sequenced Mail – Mail that is arranged by a mailer in delivery order for a particular carrier route. 
This mail requires no primary or secondary distribution. 
Delivery Unit – A post office, post office station, or post office branch that has mail delivery functions.
Destination Delivery Unit (DDU) rate – A rate available for Periodicals, Standard Mail, Parcel Post, and 
Bound Printed Matter that is properly prepared and entered by the mailer at the delivery unit that serves the 
delivery address on the mail.
Deutsche Post (DPWN) – Deutsche Post World Net is one of the largest logistics companies in the world. 
Deutsche Post World Net holds the majority stake in DHL International, the pioneer and market leader in 
the global express industry. DPWN offers worldwide mail, parcel, express, logistics services, eBusiness 
solutions and a broad range of financial services solutions for domestic and international customers.
DHL – DHL Worldwide Express is the world’s largest international air express network with service to 
more than 675,000 destinations in the world. On a yearly basis, DHL sends more than 140 million 
shipments to destinations throughout the world. DHL serves virtually every city in 228 countries around the 
world.
Domestic Mail Classification Schedule (DMCS) – The basic framework for classifying domestic mail 
categories (mail classes) and postal services and for setting postal rates and fees. It represents the 
recommendations of the Postal Rate Commission as adopted by the Postal Service Board of Governors, 
under the classification and rate-setting mechanism prescribed by the Postal Reorganization Act (39 
U.S.C.).
Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) – The Postal Service manual that contains the basic standards governing 
domestic mail services; descriptions of the mail classes and services and conditions governing their uses; 
and standards for rate eligibility and mail preparation. Domestic mail is classified by size, weight, content, 
service, and other factors.
European Union (EU) – The European Union is a union of fifteen independent states, founded on 
November 1, 1993, based on the European Communities and founded to enhance political, economic and 
social co-operation. It was formerly known as European Community (EC) or European Economic 
Community (EEC).
Executive and Administrative Schedule (EAS) – A salary structure that applies to most managerial and 
administrative Postal Service employees.
Express Mailฎ – A mail class that provides expedited delivery service for mailable matter subject to certain 
standards. It is available in five basic domestic service offerings (Custom Designed Service, Next Day 
Service, Second Day Service, and Military Service). Express Mail International Service is available 
between the United States and most foreign countries.
Firm Holdouts – Distribution process strategy to isolate firms receiving large volumes of mail.
Flat – The general term for flat-size mail, so called because the large mail is sorted without bending it so 
that the mail remains flat.
Fraud Complaint System (FCS) – An automated system comprised of complaints received by the Postal 
Inspection Service alleging mail fraud.
Global Priority Mailฎ (GPM) – An expedited international service for the shipment of documents, 
correspondence, and merchandise, featuring a 4-business-day delivery standard to selected countries in 
Europe, the Pacific Rim, and Canada. 
House Resolution (H.R.) 22 – The Postal Modernization Act of 1999 originally introduced on June 25, 
1996. The legislation, sponsored by Congressman John M. McHugh, R-NY, was designed to modernize and 
reform the nation’s postal laws for the first time since 1970. The bill was not reported from Committee in 
2001, and a new version is expected to be introduced in 2002. 
Initial Public Offering (IPO) – The first stock sold by a company in going public. IPOs are a standard 
feature of runaway bull markets, since there is proven demand for stock and it makes sense to sell shares 
when they are likely to bring the highest prices.
Labor Distribution Code (LDC) – A two-digit code designing personnel costs for specific activities at all 
postal organizations and installations.
Letter – According to the Private Express Statutes, a message directed to a specific person or an address 
and recorded in or on a tangible object.
Letter-Size Mail – A mail processing category of mail pieces, including cards, that do not exceed any of 
the dimensions for letter-size mail (that is, 11-1/2 inches long, 6-1/8 inches high, 1/4-inch thick).
Library Mail – A subclass of Package Services for items sent to or from or exchanged between academic 
institutions, public libraries, museums, and other authorized organizations. Books, sound recordings, 
academic theses, and certain other items may be mailed at the Library Mail rate if properly marked.
Local Management Improvement Initiatives (LMI) – A budgeting plan, developed at the local level, to 
align planned cost reductions with the operating plan to ensure breakthrough productivities are attained.
Mail Transport Equipment (MTE) – Containers used for mail processing or transportation within or 
between facilities by the Postal Service, its customers, or contractors. These include general purpose mail 
containers, tray carts, bulk mail center containers, platform trucks/trailers, hampers, special purpose 
containers, in-plant and surface trays, pallets, sacks, and pouches.
Mail Transport Equipment Service Center (MTESC) – A field installation designated to receive, store, 
ship, examine, sort, pack, and condemn mailbags. It also issues, stores, and ships locks for mailbag 
equipment.
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) – The National Labor Relations Board is an independent 
federal agency created by Congress in 1935 to administer the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law 
governing relations between unions and employers in the private sector. The statute guarantees the right of 
employees to organize and to bargain collectively with their employers or to refrain from all such activity. 
Generally applying to all employers involved in interstate commerce—other than airlines, railroads, 
agriculture, and government—the Act implements the national labor policy of assuring free choice and 
encouraging collective bargaining as a means of maintaining industrial peace. Through the years, Congress 
has amended the Act and the Board and courts have developed a body of law drawn from the statute.
Network Integration and Alignment (NIA) model – The output of the Network Integration and 
Alignment process will produce a set of network optimization and simulation models that will enable the 
Postal Service to analyze a variety of network alternatives that address the complexities and uncertainties of 
the operating environment. These models will also determine which facilities remain viable and necessary 
within a future infrastructure and what distribution and transportation roles may be performed by those 
facilities that remain as parts of an optimal, fully integrated network.
Optical Character Reader (OCR) – An automated mail sorting machine that interprets the address 
information on a letter-size mail piece and sprays the corresponding ZIP Code information onto the piece as 
a barcode. The OCR consists of a mail feed unit, transport, unit, stackers modules, computer with a control 
system, video monitor, and printer.
Parcel Postฎ – A subclass of Package Services with rates based generally on weight and zone.
Parcel Sorting Machine (PSM) – A large machine with an input station controlled by a computer that 
sorts and discharges parcels from transport trays to primary and secondary positions.
Postal Career Executive Service (PCES) – A staffing category that develops and maintains a group of 
employees for key management positions. There are two levels in PCES: Level I includes district, area, and 
Headquarters executives, and Level II consists of Postal Service officers, including vice presidents.
Postal Inspection Service – The federal law enforcement agency of the Postal Service that investigates 
criminal acts against the mails and misuse of the postal system; protects mail, postal funds, and postal 
property.
Postal Rate Commission (PRC) – An independent federal agency that makes recommendations on Postal 
Service requests for changes in postal rates and classifications. The five commissioners are nominated by 
the President and approved by the U.S. Senate.
Postal Reorganization Act (PRA) – Title 39 of the United States Code, which created the United States 
Postal Service on August 12, 1970 from the Post Office Department, moving postal operations from a 
cabinet-level agency to a self-sustaining, independent establishment of the federal government.
Priority Mailฎ – First-Class Mail that weighs more than 13 ounces and, at the mailer’s option, any other 
mail matter weighing 13 ounces or less. Priority Mail provides expedited delivery. Any mailable matter may 
be sent as Priority Mail. 
Processing and Distribution Center/Facility (P&DC/F) – A central mail facility that processes and 
dispatches part or all of both incoming mail and outgoing mail for a designated service area. It also provides 
instructions on the preparation of collection mail, dispatch schedules, and sorting plan requirements to 
mailers. The facility is usually a sectional center facility or a general mail facility, but it can also be a 
dedicated mail processing facility without a station or branch.
Remote Encoding Center (REC) – A Postal Service unit that uses advanced technology to assign barcodes 
to hand-addressed mailpieces physically located at a general mail facility. After the mailpiece image is 
displayed on a computer terminal, an operator, who is at the center, keys in the ZIP Code and the street 
address in order to match this information with that in a database. This allows for the imprinting of the 
barcode and automated mail processing at the general mail facility.
Retail Facility – A postal unit (a post office and its subordinate units as well as military post offices) that 
sells postage stamps and provides other postal retail services to customers. The subordinate units are within 
the service area of a main post office and include post office stations, post office branches, contract postal 
units, and nonpersonnel units.
Single-Piece Rate – A postage rate available for individual pieces of Express Mail, First-Class Mail, 
Priority Mail, and Packaged Services. It is not available for Periodicals except under the rate category of 
basic. This type of rate contrasts with rates available for bulk mail and presorted mail.
Small Parcel Bundle Sorter (SPBS) – A modular machine that sorts small parcels and packages or 
bundles of letters and flats to 100 specific bins for either delivery or processing.
Standard Mail – A class of mail consisting of mailable matter that is not required to be mailed as First-
Class Mail or is not mailed as Periodicals.
Station & Branches – Multiple retail and or delivery units within a post office.
Total Factor Productivity (TFP) – Total Factor Productivity is a measure of efficiency. It is calculated at 
the national level only. The Postal Service uses Total Factor Productivity (TFP) internally to measure the 
changes in the relationship between outputs and the inputs expended in producing those outputs. The Postal 
Service’s main outputs are mail volumes and servicing an expanding delivery network. TFP weights 
different types of mail volumes to account for variations in workload content due to factors such as size 
(e.g., letter vs. parcel), weight, preparation (e.g., prebarcoding and presorting), and mode of transportation 
(e.g., air vs. highway). Inputs include all labor, capital and materials inputs, such as mechanized and 
automated equipment, facilities, transportation, and other nonpersonnel costs. By tracking outputs and 
resource usage, TFP provides a measure by which current performance can be compared to prior periods. 
Tray – A container used to transport multiple pieces of mail.
Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA) – Mail that the Postal Service cannot deliver as addressed and must 
forward to the addressee, return to the sender, or send to a mail recovery center.
United Parcel Service (UPS) – United Parcel Service (UPS), headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is the 
world’s number one package delivery company and the third largest private company in the United States.
Universal Postal Union (UPU) – An international postal organization that is a specialized agency of the 
United Nations. Its 189 member countries form a single postal territory for the reciprocal exchange of letter-
post items. Its Convention establishes the common rules applicable to the international postal service and 
the provisions governing letter-post services.
Universal Service Obligation (USO) – Postal policy set forth in Title 39, Section 101 of the Postal 
Reorganization Act of 1970 that the United States Postal Service shall have as its basic function the 
obligation to provide postal services to bind the nation together through personal, educational, literary, and 
business correspondence of the people. It shall provide prompt, reliable, and efficient services to all patrons 
in all areas and shall render postal services to all communities. The costs of establishing and maintaining the 
Postal Service shall not be apportioned to impair the overall value of such service to the people.
Voice of the Employee (VOE) – An assessment of Postal Service employee issues that will strengthen the 
company, shape the business future, and improve employees’ roles in its success.
Video Coding System (VCS)– An image of an individual mailpiece is captured for coding when software 
cannot decipher the proper sort.
ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) Code – Established in 1963, the system of 5-digit codes that identifies the 
individual post office or metropolitan area delivery station associated with an address. The first three digits 
identify the delivery area of a sectional center facility or a major-city post office serving the delivery 
address area. The next two (the fourth and fifth) digits identify the delivery area of an associate post office, 
post office branch, or post office station. All post offices are assigned at least one unique 5-digit code. ZIP 
+ 4 is an enhanced code consisting of the 5-digit ZIP Code and four additional digits that identify a specific 
range of delivery addresses. 
Acronyms 
Below is a list of some of the acronyms in this Transformation Plan.
Advanced Leadership Program – (ALP) 
Area Mail Processing – (AMP)
Automated Flat Sorting Machine – (AFSM 100)
Automated Package Processing Systems – (APPS)
Automated Postal Center – (APC)
Automated Postal Printers – (APP)
Automatic Tray Handling System – (ATHS)
Barcode Reader – (BCR)
Business Management Guide – (BMG)
Collection Box Units – (CBU)
Complement Accounting System – (CAS)
Complement Information System– (COINS)
Complement Planning, Tracking and Management – (CPTM)
Computerized Forwarding System (CFS)
Crisis Management Team – (CMT)
Customer Satisfaction Measurement – (CSM)
Delivery Barcode Sorters – (DBCS)
Delivery Office Information System – (DOIS)
Delivery Performance Achievement and Recognition System – (DPARS) 
Delivery Point Package – (DPP)
Delivery Point Sequence – (DPS)
Destination Bulk Mail Center – (DBMC)
Destination Delivery Unit – (DDU)
Distribution and Routing – (D&R)
Electronic Data Exchange – (EDI)
Employee Assistance Program – (EAP)
Employee Stock Ownership Plan – (ESOP)
Equal Employment Opportunity – (EEO)
Executive Administrative Schedule – (EAS)
Federal Employees’ Compensation Act – (FECA)
Flats Remote Encoding System – (FRES)
Flat Sorting Machine – (FSM)
Freedom of Information Act – (FOIA)
Function 1 Plant Performance Achievement System – (F1PAS) 
Global Express GuaranteedTM – (GXG)
Global Express MailTM – (GEM)
Global Marketing Solutions – (GMS)
Government Fiscal Year – (GFY)
Hazardous Materials Program – (HAZMAT)
Highway Contract Support System – (HCSS)
Jobs Information Monitoring System – (JIMS)
Leaderships Excellence At the Desktop – (LEAD)
Low Cost Tray Sorter – (LCTS)
Managed Service Points – (MSP)
Management Intern – (MI)
Mobile Data Collection Device – (MDCD)
National Air & Surface System – (NASS)
Negotiated Service Agreements – (NSA)
Neighborhood Delivery Collection Box Unit – (NDCBU)
Office of Consumer Advocate – (OCA)
Parcel Sorting Machine – (PSM)
Pieces Per Hour – ( PPH)
Point of Service – (POS)
Point of Service One – (POS1)
Postal Automated Redirection System – (PARS)
Postal Fiscal Year – (PFY)
Prequalified Wholesaler Program – (PWP)
Priority End-to-End – (PETE) 
Prior Year Losses – (PYL)
Product Tracking System – (PTS)
Professional Specialist Intern – (PSI)
Remote Bar Code Sorting – (RBCS)
Remote Encoding Centers – (REC)
Request for Proposal – (RFP)
Same Period Last Year – (SPLY)
Segmented Inventory Accountability – (SIA)
Segway Human Transporter – (Segway HT)
Semi-Automatic Tray Take-Away Mechanism – (SATTAM)
Singulate, Scan, Induction Unit – (SSIU)
Surface Air Management System – (SAMS)
Surface Air Support System – (SASS)
Threat Assessment Teams – (TAT)
Transportation Contract Support System – (TCSS)
Transportation Optimization Planning and Scheduling – (TOPS)
Tray Management Systems – (TMS)
Universal Tray System – (UTS)
Web Executive Information System – (WEBEIS)
  This glossary provides a selected list of terms found in the Transformation Plan. A more extensive list of postal terms 
can be found at www.usps.com/cpim/ftp/pubs/32html/.

United States Postal Service Transformation Plan

April 2002 | Appendix W–1