LVPCC spring meeting to be held on April 26, 2012
22 Mar 2012 | No Comments | posted by admin | in Event
The Lehigh Valley PCC will hold its spring meeting on Thursday, April 26, 2012 from 8:00 am – 11:30 am at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.
Join members of the greater Lehigh Valley mailing community to learn more about important updates and news with the US Postal Service.
Our featured speaker will be David Robinson, Director of Address Quality from Pitney Bowes, Postal Relations.
You may register and pay online or download a registration form and pay by mail. The cost is only $25.00/person, which includes a breakfast buffet. All registrations must be received by April 12, 2012.
An update from Consumer & Industry Affairs Vice President Susan M. LaChance
24 Feb 2012 | No Comments | posted by admin | in News
Last September, the Postal Service proposed changes relating to service standards and network operations, and made a commitment to you, our PCC members and customers, to maintain open communications on these proposed changes.
In keeping with that commitment, the results of the Area Mail Processing (AMP) facility studies announced last September are now available at http://usps.com/ourfuturenetwork.
This website provides information on the decision made in each study, including whether each facility will be closed or consolidated, remain open, or have its study placed on hold. For those facilities facing a change, the name of the “gaining site”— the facility where mail processing operations will be relocated — also is included.
Implementation of any consolidation or closure, however, is contingent upon the outcome of proposed revisions to existing service standards. In addition, no network changes will be implemented prior to May 15 of this year, in keeping with a moratorium on closing or consolidating postal facilities intended to give Congress and the Administration the opportunity to enact an alternative plan.
I would like to make it clear to you, our valued customers, that there will be no changes at this time to retail services and business mail acceptance located at any of the facilities involved in these studies.
Our commitment to you is:
- No immediate changes to business acceptance locations or hours of operation
- Deliberate timing of operational moves to limit customer impact
- Continuation of Destination Sectional Center Facility (DSCF) discounts at affected Bulk Mail Entry Units (BMEUs).
- Expanded Drop Shipment Appointments will be available
- Continual communications
Many of you have asked about the impact of these actions on BMEUs. Again, there will be no changes to BMEU hours or locations. Should a BMEU need to be relocated in the future, all customers would receive 120 days notice of the intended move, and any new location would be in close proximity to the original.
In addition, DSCF discounts will continue to be available for mailings entered at BMEUs that remain in impacted facilities. Mailers will be encouraged to align their preparation and entry to the new network. However, they will continue to receive drop-ship entry discounts for mail entered at impacted facilities based on 3-digit ZIP Codes currently allowed.
There will be no major consolidations during the fall mailing season, nor during the election mailing period, and Facility Access and Shipment Tracking (FAST) appointments will be expanded to support shifting volumes across the network.
We know how important it will be for you, our customers, to have detailed site-specific information. In the very near future, our District Managers across the country will be inviting commercial mailers to meetings where they will share more detailed information and answer site-specific questions.
All of us at the Postal Service value your business and your support. Over the coming months, we will continue to keep you informed, and work closely with you to ensure a smooth transition.
Susan M. LaChance
Vice President
Consumer & Industry Affairs
Lehigh Valley PCC achieves Gold Level Award in USPS Premier PCC Recognition Program
24 Sep 2011 | No Comments | posted by admin | in Event
The Lehigh Valley PCC held its celebration of National PCC Day on Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at the USPS Lehigh Valley Processing & Distribution Center.
Nearly 50 people from across our mailing community were in attendance, including our featured guest: Linda Malone, Senior Plant Manager (Harrisburg, PA) and a surprise visitor – “Flat Mail Stanley” from the Tampa PCC.
The presentation started with a preview of two new US Postal Service videos – “A Glimpse Into Marketing and Sales” and “Welcome to USPS.com”.
In his National PCC Day address, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe described the Postal Service’s new reality. He says USPS has reduced its annual costs by more than $12 billion and its workforce by 110,000 career employees over the past four years. “But we must do significantly more to return to profitability,” he said.
Donahoe says the Postal Service must reduce its annual costs by $20 billion by 2015, “and we do not currently have the flexibility in our business model to achieve these cost reductions.”
Donahoe praised postal employees for their hard work to bring about cost savings while also achieving record levels of service. He stated the Postal Service’s financial losses are due largely to an overly restrictive business model and should not be interpreted as an indictment of the value of mail.
The Postal Service has prepared a comprehensive package of proposals for Congressional consideration that would allow it to operate more like a business. The proposals would relieve USPS of large financial mandates and give it the authority to transition to a national five-day per week delivery schedule.
“Short-term solutions will not help the Postal Service or this industry,” said Donahoe. “We need long-term, comprehensive legislation and our expectation is that Congress will pass comprehensive legislation by the end of this calendar year.”
On the 50th anniversary of the PCC, Donahoe pledged to work together with PCC partners to make the mailing industry stronger, more compelling and more profitable.
Source: PCC Insider
Following the live webcast, Linda Malone, Senior Plant Manager (Harrisburg, PA), presented the Lehigh Valley PCC with a Gold Level Award in the USPS Premier PCC Recognition Program.
[Left: Brian Stewart – Plant Manager (Lehigh Valley), Linda Malone, Senior Plant Manager (Harrisburg, PA), and Bill Raven – LVPCC industry co-chair]
[Right: Bill Raven – LVPCC industry co-chair, Anita Rutt-Guerriere – USPS Customer Relations, and "Flat Mail Stanley"]
If you would like more information on the “Proposal for Network and Service Standard Changes”, please click on the link: http://about.usps.com/news/facility-studies/welcome.htm
» Download the answers to LVPCC’s “Generation X/Y Test Your Knowledge” lunchtime game from National PCC Day