WASHINGTON

The plan would keep the existing Post Office in place, but with modified retail window hours to match customer use. Access to the retail lobby and to PO Boxes would remain unchanged, and the town’s ZIP Code and community identity would be retained.

“Meeting the needs of postal customers is, and will always be, a top priority. We continue to balance that by better aligning service options with customer demand and reducing the cost to serve,” said Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe. “With that said, we’ve listened to our customers in rural America and we’ve heard them loud and clear – they want to keep their Post Office open. We believe today’s announcement will serve our customers’ needs and allow us to achieve real savings to help the Postal Service return to long-term financial stability.”

The new strategy would be implemented over a two-year, multi-phased approach and would not be completed until September 2014. Once implementation is completed, the Postal Service estimates savings of a half billion dollars annually.

“The Postal Service is committed to serving America’s communities and providing a responsible and fair approach for our employees and customers,” said Megan Brennan, Postal Service Chief Operating Officer. “The Post Offices in rural America will remain open unless a community has a strong preference for one of the other options. We will not close any of these rural Post Offices without having provided a viable solution.”

The Postal Service will provide an opportunity for the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to review this plan prior to making any changes. The Postal Service intends to file a request for an advisory opinion on the plan with the PRC later this month. Community meetings would then be conducted to review options in greater detail. Communities will be notified by mail of the date, time and location of these meetings.

This new option complements existing alternatives, which include:

1. Providing mail delivery service to residents and businesses in the affected community by either rural carrier or highway contract route;
2. Contracting with a local business to create a Village Post Office; and
3. Offering service from a nearby Post Office.

A voluntary early retirement incentive for the nation’s more than 21,000 non-executive postmasters was also announced.

Survey research conducted by the respected Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) in February, showed 54 percent of rural customers would prefer the new solution to maintain a local Post Office. Forty-six percent prefer one of the previously announced solutions (20% prefer Village Post Office, 15% prefer providing services at a nearby Post Office, 11% prefer expanded rural delivery). This strategy would enable a town to possibly have a Post Office with modified hours, as well as a Village Post Office.

The Postal Service has implemented a voluntary moratorium on all postal facility closings through May 15, 2012. No closings or changes to Post Office operations will occur until after that time.

In addition to maintaining a retail network of more than 31,000 Post Offices, the Postal Service also provides online access to postal products and services through usps.com and more than 70,000 alternate access locations. Nearly 40-percent of postal retail revenue comes from purchases on usps.com and through approved postal providers such as Wal-Mart, Staples, Office Depot, Walgreens, Sam’s Club, Costco, and many others.

A list of Post Offices affected by today’s announcement and additional details will be available after 4 p.m. ET today at http://about.usps.com/news/electronic-press-kits/our-future-network/welcome.htm

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Shippers and mailers are advised that:

• Lithium batteries must be removed from electronic devices to be shipped in international or overseas military mail before the package is submitted for mailing.
• Electronic equipment with non-removable lithium batteries may not be shipped using international or overseas military mail.
• USPS retail associates will begin asking Post Office customers whether lithium batteries are contained in any international shipments for which batteries or electronic equipment have been declared as contents on customs labels.

The new regulation will not apply to packages containing lithium batteries or electronic devices mailed within the U.S. on domestic commercial air or ground transportation.

Spring Meeting Announcement

Join us to learn more about the latest changes and what they mean to you! Register now for Spring postal customer meeting on Tuesday, April 5, 2011.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

?Time: 8:30 am – 11:30 am (breakfast buffet from 8:00 – 9:00 am)

Best Western, 300 Gateway Drive, Bethlehem, PA (Routes 512 & 22)

Only $25/person

> REGISTER NOW!

Speakers

• Kevin McAdams, CPA, USPS District Manager – Harrisburg
• Donna Christ, USPS Account Manager – Lehigh Valley

Program Highlights

• Competitive Pricing
• Priority and Express Mail – discounts you need to know about!
• Price Change Update
• USPS Topics – Legislative update, New Postmaster General, Local activities, USPS finances, 5-Day delivery
• Every Door Direct Mail

Today’s announcement, made following consultation with key industry leaders, means that mailers also may continue to use the POSTNET barcode for reply mail (such as Business Reply Mail (BRM), QBRM and Permit Reply Mail) and PLANET Code® for Confirm® Service.

The relaxing of requirements beyond the planned May POSTNET retirement timeframe allows for an easier transition to the full use of the IMb while continuing to receive automation discounts. 

The value of the IMb is a proven technological advantage with more than 41 billion pieces of IMb-enabled mail processed by the USPS. As more Industry leaders continue to embrace the IMb, the Postal Service is committed to enhancing the benefits of Intelligent Mail Services.

Topics

• Exigency Price Changes
• Mail Acceptance to Delivery
• Mail Piece Design
• Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb)

Keynote Speaker

• David Robinson, Director of Address Quality, Pitney Bowes Postal Relations

Alternative Addressing Format Options
We revised 507.1.0 and 602.3.0 to permit the use of certificates of mailing, Confirm service, Delivery Confirmation, and special handling extra services when using an alternative address format.

Contents of Periodicals Mail
We revised 707.3.0 to incorporate “content” changes to the standards governing pages, supplements, products and product samples, and mailpiece design.

New Endorsement for Returned Mailpieces
We revised Exhibit 507.1.4.1 to add a new endorsement, “Returned to Sender, Item Contains Nonmailable Contents,” for mailpieces that are returned due to contents that are nonmailable.

Commercial Flats Clarification
We revised 301.1.0 to update commercial flats text with minor editorial updates, and to rearrange the DMM reference text for better flow.

Clarification of Standards for Parcel Select
We revised 453.3.0 to remove standards for loyalty and growth rebates. We also revised 602.1.5.3 to note that all Parcel Select pieces must have a return address.

Delivery Address Visibility in Window Envelopes
We revised 202.2.1 and 302.2.1 to add a reference to current standards that require the delivery address to be completely visible within a window envelope, when used.

New Font Size Option for Optional Endorsement Lines
We revised 708.7.2 to provide a new font size option for mailers applying an optional endorsement line (OEL) to their mailpieces that do not bear a traditional Address Change Service (ACS) participant code.

Confirmation Services to the Northern Mariana Islands—ZIP Code 96952
We revised 503.9.2.4 and 503.10.2.3 to eliminate the Northern Mariana Islands (ZIP Code 96952) from the tables of ineligible ZIP Codes to receive Delivery Confirmation and Signature Confirmation services.

Our next scheduled DMM update is October 4.

WASHINGTON — On the eve of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the U.S. Postal Service unveiled its green newsroom, a one-stop shop for all its environmental information. Replete with photos of its energy-saving vehicles and facilities, green products and services, and a time-lapse video of the construction of New York’s largest green roof, the Postal Service’s green newsroom is its newest, most informative site to visit on Earth Day.

“At the Postal Service’s green newsroom, every day is Earth Day,” said Sam Pulcrano, vice president, Sustainability. “Our history of environmental efforts goes back more than 100 years and Earth Day is a perfect opportunity to tell Americans about the Postal Service’s planet-friendly initiatives.”

According to Pulcrano, the USPS green newsroom is a robust source of sustainability news and answers key green questions including:

• How big is the Postal Service’s carbon footprint?
• How is the Postal Service decreasing its carbon emissions?
• How many hundreds of millions of dollars in energy costs has the Postal Service saved since 2007?
• How many hundreds of thousands of tons of waste did the Postal Service recycle in 2008? (Hint – enough to fill America’s tallest building.)
• How are expired or unwanted pharmaceuticals safely discarded with the Postal Service’s help without harming the environment?

Visitors to the green newsroom can learn about the Postal Service’s first test of electric vehicles in 1899, when it found that mail could be delivered in less than half the time taken by horse-drawn wagons. They also can find out how many billions of miles were traveled last year to deliver America’s mail, and how many millions of gallons of alternative fuel were purchased by the Postal Service in 2009.

Viewers of the site can expand their green knowledge and Earth Day conversation with interesting facts including: how many tens of thousands of alternative fuel-capable vehicles are in the Postal Service’s fleet; where the Postal Service uses mules to deliver mail; and which mail delivery vehicle has zero emissions, and costs only 2 cents per mile to operate.

“We hope America visits the new green newsroom, and usps.com/green, to learn more about the Postal Service’s commitment to the environment,” Pulcrano said.

The Postal Service has won more than 75 environmental awards, including 40 White House Closing the Circle,

10 Environmental Protection Agency WasteWise Partner of the Year, Climate Action Champion, Direct Marketing Association Green Echo, and the Postal Technology International Environmental Achievement of the Year, 2009.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

WASHINGTON — Eighty-one percent of consumers will buy a product after they receive a free sample, and most prefer to sample products at home, according to the Opinion Research Corp. This is the idea behind the marketing strategy of a samples co-op box that the U.S. Postal Service plans to market test early next month.

The “Samples Showcase,” to be distributed nationally on a limited basis as well as in larger quantities to consumers in Charlotte, NC, and Pittsburgh, is a box of assorted beauty, health and snack food items from multiple consumer packaged goods companies. The boxes will be branded with the Postal Service logo and include the tagline, “A selection of free product samples.”

Another strategy behind the pilot test is making sure that direct mail is the sampling method of choice. The co-op box concept, which allows candy bars to be marketed with skin lotions, for example, is expected to make direct mail sampling more attractive because it allows multiple manufacturers to share in the marketing and postage costs of the program.

“Consumer packaged goods companies are always looking for new ways to build brand awareness for their products,” said Robert F. Bernstock, president, Mailing and Shipping Services. “One method they often turn to is providing trial-size samples to consumers. A large and growing industry, product sampling offers the Postal Service the potential for millions of dollars of added revenue.”

The Postal Service will conduct research to determine the cost-effectiveness of the program and the value it provides to manufacturers and consumers.

“Mail is the only medium that really enables marketers to do this,” said Bernstock. “It provides access to people’s homes, and it can be tracked to determine if the samples actually convert to sales.”

Earlier this month, Postmaster General John E. Potter outlined an aggressive plan of action that included cost cutting, increased productivity, and an array of legislative and regulatory changes necessary to maintain a viable Postal Service for decades to come. Potter also indicated the Postal Service will avail itself of opportunities under current law to increase revenue and enhance customer service.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

For an image of the Sample Showcase, click here

• Incentive period: July 1 to Sept. 30, 2010.
• Products: All Standard Mail letters and flats. 
• Control months: June and October. 
• Rebate amount: 30% off applicable rate above baseline. 
• Baseline: Same Period Last Year (SPLY) + 5% (i.e. 105% of what you actually mailed in the July to Sept. 2009 period) 
• Control: Downward adjustment if June or October volume is below baseline (prevents shifting of volume into incentive period) 
• Qualification: Customers must have mailed more than 350,000 Standard Mail pieces in the baseline period of July 1 to Sept. 30, 2009. This covers about 3,525 customers, or 67% of Standard Mailers.

Mail service providers (the printers and preparers that physically execute mail and give it to the USPS) are not eligible to aggregate volume on behalf of their customers.

We have thousands of suppliers who bring drop shipments to our facilities, additionally bringing non-postal forms, such as bills of lading, and request a USPS® signature. These non-postal forms are not uniform in content or appearance. It is critical that PS Form 8125 be used as the only documentation evidencing receipt of mail by the Postal Service™ for destination entry drop shipments. It is the only form for destination entry mailings familiar to all mailers and every business mail entry facility.

To maintain nationwide consistency, USPS policy is to accept PS Form 8125 as the only form that postal employees may sign to acknowledge receipt of destination entry shipments. If mailers require a signed receipt, they may submit a second copy of the PS Form 8125, which will be signed by the USPS employee and returned to the driver after the drop shipment has been received. For mailers who use electronic processes such as eVS® where hard copy forms are not required, a separate process will be established.

 As postal employees continue to implement standardized business mail acceptance processes, we appreciate the support of the mailing community. It’s important that mailers and the Postal Service continue to work together and support consistency nationwide.