Monthly Archive for February, 2010

The Dilemma of the 5 Day Postal Work Week

Published on February 17, 2010 in Intelligent Mail. 6 Comments

Over the past months we have heard a fair amount of buzz about the USPS moving to a 5 day work week to their continued  efforts in cost cutting.   As a marketer, I have to admit not loving the idea – particularly with the new tracking that IMB can now provide – the business to consumer model of planning campaigns to  hit homes about a certain sale, promotion, event….on the week-end – providing a certain optimal driver.  However, I am sure that is not what comes to the minds of those focused on the bottom line – driven to see the color black sometime before retirement. 

Over the past few days I read an article featured in DMNews titled ‘ Despite Budget, USPS CFO Backs 5 Day Week’.    Evidently in Obama’s 2011 budget report it makes mention of the traditional six day delivery week, and according to the Postal Service’s CFO – this appears to be nothing more than ‘routine language’.   http://www.dmnews.com/despite-budget-usps-cfo-backs-5-day-week/article/163693/ 

Capitol Hill appear to be thinking differently and continues to suggest taking alternative action to cut overhead and costs  – and many in Congress feel this may well end up impacting the USPS even more negatively as key consumer marketeers are driven to explore alternative marketing methods to support integrated week-end campaigns. …   And the general public view on never having to hold the barking dogs back as the postal carrier climbs the porch to deliver the Saturday post.

John Potter, Postmaster General, continues to keep an open mind to the alternatives and while determined not to increase postal rates – balances the impact of rate increases – to that of a shorter delivery week.  Given these two options, a rate increase may end up driving postal volumes towards a continued downhill spiral – but are they really at the core of it all?  OK Mr. Potter, I realize email marketing, online bill payment  and social media have all taken their toll on mail volumes – but how many of us delete promo based emails immediately as that appear, and while I may be a ‘fan’ of various retailers on Facebook – can this ever take the place of a personalized direct mail piece?  More and more marketers are moving back to basics – direct mail may never be utilized for the mass mailings of yesteryear – but First class and standard class mailings with postal discouunts are a pretty good runner up for revenue….and yes, while the USPS may never see the volumes prior to the internet – there is still plenty of us pulling for you to succeed and allocating on-going budget for direct mail.

I would love to hear any perspectives  from our major mailers – do you have any strong thoughts for or against the reduced delivery week?….and if the alternative is higher postage…then it may be that there is little choice.  By the way, I am planning on attending Friday’s USPS web conference discussing the 5 Day Delivery Week with an open mind…and will provide an update about that next week for those of you unable to attend.

PostalOne! System Now Restored

Published on February 10, 2010 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

The PostalOne! System, which has been down since 5:50 p,m. EST, Friday, February 5, is now up and running. Mailers can now submit electronic mailing information, and both mailers and acceptance sites are able to access mailing reports, balance, fees and transaction information. Mailers also will start receiving Full-Service feedback, such as address correction information. Upon restoration of the PostalOne! System, acceptance sites are following the procedures below to process postage statements:  For mailers who normally submit hardcopy postage statements, acceptance employees will enter the hardcopy statements presented during the outage.  For mailers who normally submit postage statements via Postal Wizard, acceptance employees will compare the hardcopy postage statements submitted during the outage to the Postal Wizard statements that appear on the dashboard to finalize those that do appear. If a hardcopy statement was submitted during the outage and does not appear on the dashboard, acceptance employees will enter the hardcopy statement that was provided.  Mailers who intended to send mailing information electronically (using Mail.dat or Mail.XML) during the outage, should submit their electronic mailing information upon system restoration for the mailings presented during the outage period. Acceptance employees will compare the hardcopy statements that were provided during the outage to the electronic statements appearing on the dashboard to ensure all mailings are presented and will finalize the electronic statements. Mailers are encouraged to work with USPS acceptance employees to verify that all jobs submitted for the outage period ─ Friday, February 5 through Tuesday, February 9 ─ appear correctly on the PostalOne! dashboard.  The Mailing Date will reflect the actual date of mailing and will not be changed to the date the mailing was processed in the PostalOne! system. CAPS – The CAPs website is now available. CAPS Debit Account customers, need to verify with their bank whether or not they have a filter on their bank account and if the debit filter threshold is sufficient to cover mailings presented through the outage period. There is a possibility that mailing transactions or Business Reply Mail (BRM ) invoice postings may exceed the bank threshold once acceptance sites start entering postage statements and/or invoices. The debit threshold filter could cause the debit to be returned (i.e. debit bounce). CAPS Trust Account customers need to ensure that their CAPS accounts have sufficient funds on deposit for all postage statements presented and all hard-copy BRM or Postage Due invoices they have received during this outage. Local Trust Accounts – All deposits made through retail units to local trust accounts should now display in the PostalOne! System. Customers are encouraged to verify their account balance in PostalOne! reflects deposits made during the outage. FAST Update – FAST Web Services functionality has been restored. FAST Mailer Rating was temporarily deactivated, as of 5 p.m. EST Friday, February 5, through 11:59 p.m. EST, Wednesday, February 10, to accommodate the outage. Mailer rating will resume on Thursday, February 11. eVS Update – eVS manifests received via the Product Tracking System during the outage are now being loaded into the PostalOne! System for payment and reconciliation. For questions or concerns, feel free to contact your local Business Mail acceptance personnel or the PostalOne! Helpdesk at: 800-522-9085

The following instructions are provided for continuation of operations during the PostalOne! system outage that began Feb. 5.

Published on February 8, 2010 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment Tags: .

PostalOne! Contingency Plan for Feb. 5, 2010 Outage – External Customers

The following instructions are provided for continuation of operations during the PostalOne! system outage that began Feb. 5.

The PostalOne! system is not expected to be operational until end of day, Feb. 9. The PostalOne! system is not available for either internal or external user access. Internal users will not be able to access electronic documentation or enter postage statements. External users are not able to submit electronic information or access any reporting information including Full Service ACS. Although the FAST system is operational, external users will need to use the online FAST application to schedule appointments.

Communications:
USPS Headquarters Business Mail Acceptance will continue to provide field communication and updates to both Business Mail Acceptance and external customers through various distribution channels to include:
Internal – email address lists for Area Marketing Managers, Area Customer Service Program Analysts, Mgrs. Business Mail Entry and the BMA Newsletter, and P & C Weekly.
External – Customer Relations, PostalOne! User Group, MTAC, PostalOne! Help Desk customer list, and DMM Advisory.

This contingency plans applies to ALL sites using the PostalOne! system for Business Mail, including BMEUs, DMUs, and Post Offices. Mailings will be accepted with as little impact to the mailer as possible.

Acceptance Process:

Maintain a site log of all hardcopy statements for mailings being submitted during the outage.

Hard Copy Postage Statements
• Acceptance personnel will inquire with each mailer to ensure they have adequate funds on deposit to cover mailing(s) or refer to printed balance report if available. Sites should record checks on a manual log and forward to retail operations for posting in POS.
• Hard copy postage statements for mailings accepted during an outage will be completed, logged and retained in a secure location for posting when the system is restored to service.

Postal Wizard
• Postal Wizard users will be required to submit hard copy postage statements. These hardcopy postage statements will be completed, logged and retained in a secure location for posting when the system is restored to service.
• Acceptance units will handle statements according to instructions for hard copy statements.
• If a Postal Wizard user arrives at acceptance and has previously submitted a statement in Postal Wizard, assist mailer in completion of hard copy statement.

eDoc Submission – Mail.dat / Mail.XML
• Mailers will be required to submit hardcopy postage statements and a qualification summary report for each of their mailings. Mailers will need to provide hardcopy postage statement(s) and qualification summary reports for the previous day’s mailings, the current day and subsequent days mailing(s) if necessary.
• A mailer may provide a mailing log and other supporting documentation in hardcopy or via access to electronic viewer if available for Postal clerks. Clerks should only request documentation that is necessary for verification or other required function. It is not necessary for the mailer to submit hard copy of all documentation if it is not needed for verification.
• The hardcopy statements will be completed, logged and retained in a secure location and will be used to validate against eDoc submitted when the system is restored.

Special Postage Payment Systems
• Mailers who have an authorized DSMS agreement may provide a mailing log by day in lieu of hardcopy postage statements. This log must include at a minimum the elements: Job ID#, permit, total pieces, and total postage. The clerk needs to annotate the date of mailing for each line item on the log.
• Mailers that have special postage payment system agreements (SPPS) in place will follow the contingency plans identified in the SPPS agreement.

System Restoration (What are you going to do when PostalOne! is restored):

Ensure that all statements are processed as soon as possible after system is restored.

Hard Copy Postage Statements
• Ensure that all normally submitted hardcopy statements are entered into the system and processed as soon as possible after system is restored. Compare system hardcopy entries to site log to determine all statements have been entered.

Postal Wizard
• When the system is restored, before entering the hardcopy of statements from mailers that normally used Postal Wizard, acceptance unit must compare statement to statements that are on the PostalOne! dashboard. If statement was previously submitted through Postal Wizard prior to system outage and is on dashboard, process electronic statement from dashboard. Compare Postal Wizard entries to site log to determine all statements have been entered. Those statements that do not appear on the dashboard must be entered manually.

eDoc Submission – Mail.dat / Mail.XML
• When the PostalOne! system is restored, notify mailers to submit eDoc and the clerk will process the mailings using the electronic statement and documentation to compare to the mailings listed on the log to ensure that statements are submitted for any mailing accepted.
• If mailer had submitted eDoc prior to the system outage use the documentation on the dashboard to match to the log and process statements accordingly. Compare eDoc submission to site log to determine all statements have been entered.