Posts Tagged "postal service"

Give Customers What They Really Want

on Jun 21, 2010 in Post Offices & Retail Network | 15 comments

The economy has changed dramatically over the last 12 months. The Postal Service’s financial situation has changed, as well as its target markets and the fortunes and requirements of its customers. If the Postal Service gathers appropriate data to fully understand customers’ needs and desires, and offers relevant solutions, customers are more likely to choose the Postal Service as their primary supplier of mail products and services.

Too Costly to Keep On Truckin?

on Jun 18, 2010 in Mail Processing & Transportation | 40 comments

The U.S. Postal Service’s current fleet of more than 219,000 vehicles includes approximately 146,000 delivery vehicles, most of which are long-life vehicles (LLVs). The first LLVs were produced in 1987, and they average about 10 miles per gallon. The vehicles are right-hand drive to accommodate drivers delivering numerous mailpieces to curbside mailboxes. These iconic right-hand drive delivery trucks are nearing the end of a 24-year life cycle and are costly to maintain.

Reducing the Number of Prices

on Jun 14, 2010 in Pricing & Rates | 11 comments

The Postal Service has more than 10,000 prices contained in a 1,800-page customer manual known as the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM). The DMM provides individual and commercial mailers with information about postal services and standards for both domestic and international mailings. The Price List, also known as Notice 123, contains domestic and international retail and commercial prices for all postal products and services. The list covers every price from mailing one First-Class Mail® letter to paying for a 100,000-piece mailing that has been presorted and transported closer to its final destination. If the mailer wants extra services such as Signature Confirmation, Collection on Delivery, or insurance, prices for these services are also provided.

Scaling Back Hours, Not Post Offices

on Jun 7, 2010 in Post Offices & Retail Network | 13 comments

A number of media news articles in the last year have examined reductions in Post Office retail hours around the country. They report that some Post Offices are cutting back or eliminating Saturday hours, opening late in the morning or closing earlier in the afternoon during the week.

Looking at the Bigger Picture

on Jun 1, 2010 in Strategy & Public Policy | 5 comments

Letter carriers pitch in to help Stamp Out Hunger!
Photo: National Association of Letter Carriers

In a time when everyone is examining the dollars and cents of the postal business, people have a tendency to overlook the bigger picture: the greater role of the Postal Service in modern society.

With that in mind, the Postal Regulatory Commission requested the Urban Institute to study the Postal Service. The focus was not a traditional look at the business but a study of the benefits of the Postal Service and its infrastructure to the American population.

The abstract and the final report, both of which were released last week, cites “…the postal system has had a civic as well as an economic mandate that legislators and regulators interpret with changing times and circumstances in mind. An independent agency of the executive branch, the USPS opens access to information for preserving democracy, fostering commerce, and promoting the general welfare. It’s a public good and a great equalizer insofar as it serves rich and poor, urban and rural, young and old, unhealthy and hale.”