Value of mail promoted at National PCC Day

Mail matters to American consumers and businesses. Finding ways to make mail more valuable is the goal of the USPS. That was the message Postmaster General Jack Potter delivered to over 14,000 Postal Customer Council (PCC) members in a closed circuit TV broadcast during National PCC Day.

From leveraging cutting edge technology to keeping rate increases at or below inflation the USPS is working to continually improve. “We want to continue working with you on building strong and positive relationships,” Potter said. Potter pointed out that the USPS is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation, six days a week. They service 146 million homes and businesses and operate without any tax dollars. One of the mailing industry’s biggest challenges is the Do-Not-Mail legislation that has been proposed in 15 states. It has been estimated that if all advertising mail were blocked, the cost of a First Class stamp would increase to over $5 and many local postal offices would close.

The USPS is promoting a range of business practices that will keep mail welcomed. They are working with mailers to clean up databases, use more personalization and print with recycled papers.

Many of the 200 PCCs across the country provided educational sessions for their members during PCC Day. The Milwaukee and Madison PCCs presented five sessions that outlined new postal services and mailpiece quality. Here are some of the takeaway points to consider.

• New Intelligent Mail Barcodes are here – You’ve seen them on flats (9x12 envelopes and catalogs) and will start seeing them on all mail in the next year. These are the barcodes that have ragged bars on top and bottom of the code. They are wider and taller and carry much more data. The Intelligent barcode will identify the sender, the mailpiece, the product or special services as well as the Zip Codes for sorting and routing. They will enable mailers to track their mail.
• Reducing Undeliverable As Addressed (UAA) mail – Over 10 billion pieces of UAA are mailed every year. The cost to forward, return or recycle, costs the USPS $1.7 billion annually. The goal is to reduce UAA to 5% of all mail.
• Move Update requirements will be implemented by 2009 – Some method of approved address correction will be required on First Class and Standard Class mail every 95 days.
• More efficient mail handling is a necessity – The USPS provides delivery to 146 million homes and addresses six days a week. They add two million new delivery addresses every year. Their workforce has been reduced by 30%. They must improve efficiency through automation and technology to maintain services.