MINUTES
MAILERS’ TECHNICAL
ADVISORY COMMITTEE (MTAC) MEETING
475 L'ENFANT PLAZA, SW,
Welcoming Remarks
Susan Plonkey, Chair, Postal
Joyce McGarvy, Chair, Industry
Ms. Plonkey called the meeting
to order and welcomed the MTAC members and guests. She announced a new Postal Co-Vice
Chair of the MTAC Leadership
Committee, Alice Vangorder, who will join the currently appointed Postal Co-Vice
Chair, Alixe Johnson.
Ms. Plonkey announced that the
plaque presented last November to MTAC by the Postmaster General and the
photograph of an
early MTAC meeting presented to
the Postmaster General and MTAC by founding member and former Industry Chair
Coleman Hoyt
have been hung in the new MTAC
Room at USPS Headquarters. It was
announced that additional photographs will be retrieved from
the archives to develop a visual history of
MTAC in this room. Members are welcome
to use the room during MTAC meetings.
MTAC will sponsor a booth at the
Pavilion at the National Postal Forum Orlando to enhance awareness of MTAC’s
mission and
accomplishments for those who
attend.
Ms. Plonkey announced that the
MTAC Charter has been revised. A new focus
area has been added, a Flats Sequencing System (FSS) track.
It is a temporary track and its first work
group has been established, sponsored by Jack Widener and Mike Winn (Industry)
and Rosa Fulton
and Tom Foti (Postal
Service).
Ms. Plonkey honored Richard
Strasser, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, who is retiring
in April. She commented that he
had consistently informed MTAC
of the financial condition of the Postal
Service and discussed issues and challenges of importance to the
industry.
She presented a letter of
appreciation and a plaque expressing MTAC’s gratitude for Mr. Strasser’s many
and significant contributions.
Industry Chair Joyce McGarvy
added her welcome to MTAC members and guests, and welcomed a new member
organization, the
International Mailers’ Advisory
Group (IMAG). New association executives
are Richard Miller of IMAG, Joe Pigg of American Bankers
Association, and Lizabeth Lyons
of Printing Industries of
Steve
Lopez Association for
Postal Commerce
John
Michell International
Mailers’ Advisory Group
Peter
Moore Continuity Shippers
Association
Bernie
Schraml IDEAlliance
Rich
Bobic Fulfillment
Management Association
Joseph
Abeyta Custom Publishing
Council
John
Carper National
Association of College and University Mail Services
Jeffrey
Crain American Bankers
Association
Ms. McGarvy noted that the
association presentations would continue as a regular part of the MTAC
agenda. Associations interested in
making presentations should
consider a brief comment on the importance of MTAC to the association’s
mission, how information and
technology about the industry is
used by the association, and a brief discussion of any recent studies or
research.
USPS Financial
Update
Richard J.
Strasser, Jr.
Chief Financial Officer & EVP
Please click here to view the
presentation
Mr. Strasser expressed
appreciation for MTAC’s recognition of his role with MTAC, adding that he had
considered it a privilege to work with MTAC
over the past years.
Turning to the financial report
for the first four months of the year (
affects how postage is
purchased, which results in an irregularity in sales for a short period of
time. Before the change (
customers tend to reduce
purchases of postage and, after the change, there is a spurt of buying as
customers replenish inventories. The
Postal
Service tries to adjust the
revenues over that time to reflect what would have been normal purchasing. The process returns to a normal trend
two to three months after the
price change.
He reported that for the first four
months of the fiscal year mail volume, revenue, expenses, and net income were
very close to the projections.
Actual revenue was about $24.95
billion (only -0.1% off plan), and expenses were $23.73 billion (about $8.0
million lower than plan and 4.0%
higher than the same period last
year – SPLY). Net income was $1.217
billion (only $15 million off plan).
There is an escrow allocation of $1.0 billion,
for the four month period, which
reduced the net surplus to $217 million.
Overall volume was about the
same as last year. First-Class Mail was
down 1.6%, but better than planned (down 2.4%), and there was a significant
increase in Priority Mail (up
7.5% versus a projection of 4.2%). The
increase in Standard Mail was disappointing, up 1.5% versus a projected
increase
of 4.7%; package volume was
similarly lower than expected, up 4.1% versus a planned 6.4%. Periodical volume was about the same as last
year,
slightly better than
expected. Although revenue for
First-Class Mail was down $109 million, it was offset by increases in Standard
Mail ($149 million)
and Priority Mail ($151
million).
There are now 145 million
delivery points (125 million households, 20 million
delivering fewer pieces per
delivery point and, compared to 2000, is receiving less revenue. Mr. Strasser explained that in the last ten
years, on average,
total factor productivity has
improved. However, the 0.1% improvement
in the first four months fell short of the annual plan of 0.9%.
During the discussion, Mr.
Strasser commented on a suggestion to offer mailers discounts during the
usually slow fourth quarter. He pointed
out that
it was considered in the past
but that it was not clear whether mailers would take advantage of the
opportunity. Also, if there was a
response, it might
create overtime expenses since
July-August is a significant vacation period for employees. Asked about the impact of fuel prices, Mr.
Strasser agreed
that, as with all businesses
heavily involved in transportation, fuel costs have been a burden. However, he indicated that the real burden
has been the
impact of increases in the Consumer Price
Index (CPI) and, in turn, on the increase in Cost of Living Allowances (COLAs)
included in our union contracts.
That expense is $900 million
more this year than in the previous year.
Network Status
Paul Vogel, VP
Network
Operations Management
Please click here to view the presentation
Mr. Vogel announced that the
national notification of the new network system is well under way, starting
with regular briefings of the Board of Governors,
the Congress and local
legislators and other interested groups.
He discussed some of the ramifications of the new network. First, there will be fewer
local and destinating processing centers
required. The Area Mail Processing
guidelines will continue to be used, a long and rational process that guides
consolidation of operations to
locations best suited to process specific types of mail. The consolidation is based on mail shape and
will result in fewer and
more efficient and effective
facilities.
Another part of the new network
will involve ramping up the regional distribution centers. That transition is rapid for some centers,
large facilities that have
already installed the heavy duty
equipment, like the APPS. For some older
facilities, some of which had equipment and internal structures installed
thirty
years ago, there will be
complete renovations, new physical structure and new equipment – a process that
is less costly than staring anew with a new facility.
Originating mail, which is
collected, cancelled and processed at most Postal Offices and other facilities,
is declining whereas destinating mail, the kind prepared
by MTAC members, is increasing. Therefore, facilities which primarily handle
originating mail are subject to partial or full consolidation. The process by which a
facility undergoes full
(closing) or partial (transfer of certain functions to another facility), is
Area Mail Processing (AMP), which is mainly an information gathering
and dissemination process. It is time-tested and effective, beginning
with a period of time for feasibility studies, a shorter time for review of the
reports and proposals
generated by Headquarters, the
Board of Governors and the Postal Rate Commission and other affected groups,
and a final period during which the actual transition
takes place. The process can take up to a year. Mr. Vogel stated that ten facilities had
completed or nearly completed the process.
An additional forty are now in
line for transition.
Mr. Vogel described another
program which will impact Regional Distribution Center Activations which will
enhance the surface transportation network.
The new
Area Distribution Centers (ADCs)
will mainly be in the middle of the country and will allow the Postal Service
to move a lot more mail out of the air and onto
ground transport, which is less
costly and more reliable.
Finally, Mr. Vogel discussed the
BMC modernization, which is driven by the fact that most of the current
facilities were built and equipped thirty years ago.
Although it is a major project to
convert and equip the old buildings, it is far more rational than building all
new facilities. Admittedly there will be
some operational
and personal dislocations, and
there will be some changes in the way mailers submit mail to some facilities.
Business Service Network (BSN)
Susan Plonkey, VP Customer Service
Please click here to view the presentation
Ms. Plonkey discussed some positive
changes in the Business Service Network.
Even though the feedback from current customers is very positive, the
BSN’s
goal is to develop a far more
proactive relationship with customers, in which there is a real awareness of
the customer’s business processes and requirements.
The BSN’s mission remains the same,
to build strong customer relationships and provide valuable contributions to
the customer’s business efforts.
Structurally, the Area BSNs will be servicing customers with multiple
sites and more complex challenges. The
District BSN will continue to serve the local
customers. There is now a new Headquarters National
Improvement Team that will focus on identifying the root causes and solutions
for some of the more
persistent challenges, such as in
home delivery dates and equipment issues.
There is a plan to develop better
communications and relationships with our major customers to more easily and
rapidly discuss specific issues of concern to
mail service providers, the customers
that specialize in packages, retail,
finance, and those who are printers and publishers.
During discussion there was a
suggestion that developing a relationship with the national associations
representing the various specialties might be an effective
approach, and Ms. Plonkey agreed that
disseminating general information through associations was effective, but the
intent of the Team is to deal with more specific
issues that affect one or a few
customers.
Legislative Update
Thomas G. Day, SVP
Government Relations
Please click here to view
the presentation
Mr. Day reported that Senate
postal reform bill, S 662, was approved by unanimous consent. The “fair and equitable” language issue was
resolved
substituting “just and
reasonable.” The “just and reasonable”
terminology is drawn from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [FERC] and
is
the legal equivalent of “fair
and equitable”. The complaint process in
S. 662 includes all of Chapter 1 except 101c, select sections in
Chapter 4 (401, 403, 404,
404(a)) and Chapter 6 (601). The
transition rule allows a final rate case before implementation
There were three amendments
attached about which the Postal Service has no real concern – one that
addresses terms and qualifications for Board
members, one that provides for a
public hearing process related to consolidations, and one specific to the State
of
Concerning HR 22, however, the
Administration’s Statement of Administrative Policy (SAP) is of critical
concern, since it burdens the Postal Service
with the military retirement funding. Of less, although some concern, are
provisions that deal with pricing flexibility and a CPI rates cap. Currently,
the Postal Service leans toward
the Senate version, which amortizes payments over 40 years, which allows far
more financial planning and control;
the House version has escalating
payments. Both bills return the military
service obligation to the Treasury. The
Postal Service is concerned that,
during the negotiation process
to bring the bill together and to respond to the Administration’s SAP, that
obligation may remain with the Postal Service.
In that case, neither version,
even the 40-year amortization schedule would be acceptable.
The complaint process, in either
S 662 or HR 22 has serious implications.
The Postal Service maintains that regulators must be empowered in
matters
of rates and service. Currently the PRC sends its decisions to the
Board of Governors for approval; under the new law the regulator will have
final
authority (hear complaints,
adjudicate validity and determine remedy).
The Postal Service and Board of Governors acknowledge the revised
process
is acceptable for rates and
service complaints, but not the general powers of policy and
administration.
There are a number of issues of
concern to the Postal Service – administrative processes, contract negotiations
and performance, systems of accounts,
and issues related to leasing,
occupying and maintaining facilities.
But there are some valid issues that could be acceptable – changes to
rules and regulations
that affect mailers (amendments
to the DMM, for example). A proposed
compromise on complaint issues would allow complaints arising from
Sections 101(d), 102(5), 102(6),
401(2), 403(c), 404(c), 404a and 601.
Reasonable accommodation is expected on these issues during the final
negotiations.
Mr. Day explained that the next
step is resolution of differences in the two versions (complicated by the
Administration’s SAP), and especially the escrow
payments issues. Senate conferees have been selected, but the
House list is not yet public. The Postal
Service has already begun to meet both with
Members of Congress and their
staffs.
During discussion, Mr. Day
conceded that recent letters sent to the Hill stating both serious concern and
ultimately opposition to the pending legislation might
have caused some
consternation. However, the legislation is
critically important to the future of the Postal Service and it was important
that the USPS position
was clearly stated. The legislation has now passed both the House
and Senate. As the legislation moves
forward to Conference, the Postal Service will be
actively engaged to ensure that
both financial relief and meaningful reform are achieved in the final
legislation. Although the conference
process is not public,
the Postal Service will continue
to participate in the discussions and negotiations with the House and Senate
conference committees and with the Administration.
One Code/4-State Barcode
& Hand-Held Scanner Updates
Charles Bravo, SVP
Intelligent Mail & Address Quality (IMAQ)
Please click here to view the
presentation
Mr. Bravo described the progress
of OneCode (the 4-State Barcode). The
new code uniquely identifies the sender (with 6 digits), provides space for an
11-digit routing
code, and has 3 digits available
for a variety of services. The system
has already been deployed at non-PARS DBCs.
It is now being deployed at PARS DBCs.
In April the system should be
ready for Mail Processing Barcode Sorters (that have an appropriate camera
scanner) and for MERLIN. Finally, MASS
certification
is in place.
In the flats area, the AFSM 100
has been tested and about one-third are now installed. There is an April release for the UFSM 1000.
During the evaluation process,
22 mailers (soon to number almost 60) have tested the encoders. Test decks and stress decks have been run and
more than 10 million
move validation letters have
been sent, and the read rate is comparable to PostNet. Prudential and American Express are testing
the OneCode and early feedback has
been positive.
The early concern about the
height of the bars in the code has been resolved through testing that showed
that the shorter bars do not cause any degradation for letters.
For flats, since a different
camera system is used, tests are ongoing and results should be available soon.
The launch dates will be
announced at the National Postal Forum Orlando in April for OneCode Confirm
(6-digit customer ID, 9-digit service code) and One Code ACS,
which provides electronic alerts
for mail forwarded or returned. There
will also be a number of technical sessions at the Postal Forum. Flats deployment will probably
be in the fall and there is a
test planned for PostalOne! during the summer to evaluate seamless acceptance.
Mr. Bravo noted the benefits –
the single code that contains more data reduces space requirements on the mail
piece, and the 9-digit uniqueness provides far more
differentiation -- PlanetCode offers about a million unique
numbers, OneCode more than a billion.
The OneCode Address Correction
Service has been successfully tested for First-Class Mail only, and Standard
Mail may be added when PARS is fully deployed.
Mailers must decide whether to
start with First-Class or to wait for both mail classes, probably a matter of a
few months.
Concerning the IT
infrastructure, Mr. Bravo stated that about 200 facilities have high-speed
wiring for data transfer, and a total of 370 facilities are being
equipped.
Older servers are being updated
and the result has been a significant reduction in customer service calls (down
about one-third), and a general decrease in major
data-related problems.
Finally, the hand-held
intelligent mail barcode reader is going through an evaluation that looks
positive at this point, and it should be available sometime during the
summer. There is also a customer version with
simplified applications that should be available during calendar year 2007.
Association Presentation
Art Sackler, Executive Director
National Postal Policy Council
Please click here to view the presentation
Mr. Sackler stated that the members of the NPPC –mainly companies in banking and financial services, telecommunications, insurance and utilities – contribute an
estimated 20 billion mail pieces to the Postal Service mailstream each year, amounting to about $6 billion.
The Council supports a national postal system that provides quality service at a reasonable cost. Support for and cooperation with the Postal Service is an integral part
of the Council’s mission. Although members take advantage of all mail classes, the Council focuses its interest and efforts on First-Class Mail. As its name implies,
NPPC is concerned about policy issues, but appreciates the great importance of technical and operational issues, and the forum that MTAC provides. NPPC has
supported MTAC programs that impact First-Class mailers, and the system generally. Its representatives have participated in many MTAC work groups.
The Council informs its members of outcomes developed by MTAC, such as impending service standard changes, EXFC scores, and has worked with the MTAC work
groups concerned with Business Mail Measurement Systems. Currently, NPPC is actively supporting MTAC’s goal of standardizing reporting of performance
measures (WG 94), the goal of reducing UAA mail by 50%, the project to improve surface visibility to track containers, and Work Group 100’s efforts to create a
seamless acceptance process for the MLOCR environment.
NPPC sends regular reports to its members about MTAC activities, forwards material and Internet links to help members stay current with developing situations, and
prepares formal reports on specific issues of interest to the membership as a whole.
Since about 20% of First-Class Mail comes from NPPC members, the Council undertakes studies that relate to that mail class. Two recent studies concern the impact
of future rate increases that will be exacerbated if members begin to turn to online forms of billing and remittance, and savings for mailers via postal reform. Since releasing
escrow and returning military pension obligations to the Treasury, along with rate caps should result in a potential 10-year savings of hundreds of millions of dollars for the
largest mailers, the Council supports postal reform. Without both these changes, the credit card industry alone may reduce mail volume by 1.5 billion pieces a year or
more.
Mr. Sackler expressed appreciation for the opportunity to meet with and discuss these important issues with the MTAC members present.
Association Presentation
James Franklin, Executive Director
Red Tag News Publications Assn.
Please click here to view the presentation
Mr. Franklin began by explaining the Red Tag symbol, which was created by the Post Office Department about forty years ago to identify time-sensitive periodicals.
These publications had news content of immediate value to subscribers. They were usually mailed on Friday and Saturday for delivery on Monday.
The Red Tag News Publication Association is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1971 with the sole purpose of supporting the timely delivery of periodicals.
To that end, Red Tag supports an active interchange of ideas among its members at its quarterly roundtables and at the National Postal Forum. There is a
monthly newsletter and important information is sent to members immediately. The Association offers consulting to members on individual issues, testifies on
legislation, and has been involved with MTAC for many years. An important function of Red Tag is delivery monitoring.
Currently Red Tag members consist of 64 publications, (over 800 million mail pieces annually) serving 20 million readers, with an additional 100 million mail pieces
involving billing and renewals. Members range from the largest publications that mail millions of issues each week, to very small publishers with circulations of
thousands. There are two dailies, 44 weeklies, 4 biweeklies, four monthlies and 4 semimonthlies. There are deliveries to homes and businesses, some paid,
some free.
In 1971 there was no delivery monitoring system, but by 1974 Red Tag began a system using a postcard survey which was manually compiled into a report issued
about 60 days after the end of each month. The system transitioned to a telephone survey and now is conducted online using the Internet. There are over a thousand
monitors
covering most of the zip codes in the
The data is analyzed against the current USPS standards broken down by individual monitors (zip codes), entry point and area of entry, and by destination. The individual
publication reports, which are very detailed, are for the benefit of the members and are not generally released to the public. However, there are also consolidated reports
that are prepared and available to the Postal Service and for anyone interested. The data is presented by percent of time by entry point and time by destination zip code
and district, and as delivery points by entry point and destination zip code and district.
Mr. Franklin discussed a number of the reports and indicated more information is available on the Red Tag web site (www.redtag.org).
In
the future, in response to member needs, new reports will be developed, more
monitors will be recruited to try to provide 100% coverage of the
monitor system will be expanded, and the Association will continue to promote awareness of time-value publications.
Service Update
Paul Vogel, VP Network Operations
Management
Please click here to view the presentation
Mr. Vogel discussed the Christmas mail experience, noting that volume was up 3.8% (207 million pieces more than SPLY), cancellations were up .6% (3.4 billion) and
Express/Priority Mail was up 3.8% (36.5 million). Additional good news was the decrease in work hours required to get the mail out, and more mail was moved from air
to ground, a more economical venue. Interestingly, package volume during the week after Christmas was exceptionally high.
Mr. Vogel discussed the processing operations in the Katrina-affected area. The New Orleans ADC has been affected such that the Florida Panhandle mail will go through
Montgomery
(AL), the
in
Concerning service issues, there have been a number of problems related to weather outside that area, and some related to equipment maintenance and transition.
However, there are only a few areas now that are affected and the problems are being individually and aggressively addressed.
Seamless Acceptance and Induction:
Seamless Acceptance
for MLOCR Environment (New WG # 100)
Jay
Gillotte/Pritha Mehra
Please click
here to view the presentation
Mr. Gillotte stated the new work group’s mission, to
automate acceptance, verification, induction and payment of Business Mail. The work group will identify gaps in
PostalOne! that interfere with the transition to electronic
documentation. It will also look at web
services and Mail.dat, identify gaps in current acceptance/verification,
and define a seamless acceptance process that will work for
both in-house and third party MLOCR environments for First-Class Mail (looking
at key differences between the two),
and finally identify any obstacles in the USPS
communications process that would inhibit timely feedback of verification and
performance information for the mailer.
A pilot test is being conducted at two mailers sites namely
Prudential in
and payment information.
Each was provided Mail.dat software and a connection to PostalOne! Prudential has successfully transmitted
Mail.dat files and PSI will begin transmitting
in March.
Next steps include continuing the pilot and automating
mail.dat transmission procedures from the pilot sites. The Postal Service will upgrade PostalOne! to
generate postage
statements (paid and due) from MLOCR Mail.dat files. When that is operational, the test can be
considered fully successful.
Other enhancements will include evaluation of the
Dashboard, improved report formats, improved postage statement processing and a
value-added automated refund process.
Streamline
Acceptance/Verification of Periodicals (New WG # 99)
Scott
Lorenz/Pritha Mehra
Please
click here to view the presentation
Mr. Lorenz explained that the work group is looking for an
end-to-end electronic workflow (using Mail.dat) that connects with PostalOne! and
creates postage statements.
The process begins with the decision to use Mail.dat for
verification and payment, finalizing bookweight (capture the weight, record it
and report it for postage calculation),
and determining the advertising percentage. Finally it is electronically marked “ready to
pay” and the DMU finalizes postage. The
postage statement should be available
at the issue level and the segment level.
Capturing bookweight is the main focus of the work group
for the present. Considerations include
standardizing the use of special fields and whether the mail piece component
is the appropriate starting point, working out to the
MPU. The work group is looking at two
different types of postal books. One
might be a postal book where equivalent weight
is the only factor; another might be weight plus ad
percent. Finally there will be
consideration of weight tolerance when the weight calculated by the mailer is
different from the
weight determined by the DDU. The work group knows that the Mail.dat
committee must be involved in the process, because there are now not enough
fields in the 5.2 version.
Mr. Lorenz briefly discussed benefits – PostalOne! will
automatically consolidate postage statements, which supports the end-to-end
goal, and the postage statement detail would
be available. The
postage is credited to the correct finance number and CAPS account, and when
the audit bureau approves that process, there would be access to data by any
authorized individual or organization.
Streamlining
Verification (WG # 93)
Debbie Cooper and
Robert Galaher
Please click here to view the presentation
Mr. Galaher stated that the mission is to streamline the business mail verification, acceptance, and induction processes. The work group established in May 2005 and is on
schedule to meet its projected completion time of March 2006. There were three subgroups formed – the vision team, the barcode team and the concept design and test team.
The vision team and the barcode team have completed work and submitted reports to the concept design and test team. The design and test team developed a conceptual design,
implemented software and business process changes, and have been testing the automated drop shipment scheduling and mail induction process. The team will finish analyzing
the test results in March and provide a report to the work group chairpersons in early April.
The business functions being tested enable mailers to electronically schedule drop shipment appointments via the PostalOne! system, submit their postage payments and have
electronic 8125 information automatically processed and transmitted to USPS facility platform scan devices where the information is used during the induction process. The
electronic 8125 was developed and tested, and a series of reports (appointment / job level and container detail) implemented. Issues identified and being worked are --barcode
readability problems (label obstructions, reader problems, label placement), scan device and network issues, and business process issues (i.e. data standardization, unscheduled arrivals, etc…).
The January release added features where the postage statement entry discounts are validated against where the drop shipment is planned and dropped for entry.
Currently the testing has included three mailer participants and testing has occurred at three postal processing facilities. The test team plans to expand the amount of participants
and test sites beginning in March. The concept design and test team will identify business process gaps, or technical limitations that may affect deployment of these business functions.
Though the concept design and test team will complete its analysis and findings in March, it is anticipated that pilot testing will continue under another business group.
Service Measurement and
Improvement:
Service
Performance Reporting Process Standardization (WG # 94)
Jim Hess
Please click here to view the
presentation
Jim Hess commented
that the work group’s main goal is to develop service performance
reporting process standardization. At a
two-day meeting held in August 2005, thirty
industry
representatives discussed several questions:
What data do you
have that measures service performance?
They arrived at three areas of data – segmentation of
data at the district or 3-digit level; source
of data (which was
seeding programs, Confirm, and direct contact with customers); and the
frequency of data collection.
The second question
was how valid and/or representative is your service measurement process. The factors that affect this question were
statistical validity, seeding
versus regular
mailings, frequency and determination of start and stop the clock.
The third question
was how do you share your service results with the Postal Service, and what has
been your experience in sharing results?
And the fourth question was
what issues do you
have relative to service reporting effectiveness?
Discussion about
these questions resulted in a number of contributions and suggestions. The participants felt that there was no consistent
source for tracking data, and no
consistency in
reporting data. The mailers felt that
the Postal Service should have a standardized mailing system for all classes of
mail, and they are frustrated when they
provide data that
is not fully accepted as valid. Finally
Confirm Certification is an issue (start the clock and EMD/uniqueness issues).
Mr. Hess stated
that the next step is to convene a meeting on March 2 to develop an agenda that
will allow the work group to create and deliver a final report before the end
of June (a delay of one month from the original plan to report out in May). That meeting will involve participants from the Postal Service and industry.
Welcome/Messages
Don
Harle , Vice Chair, Industry
Alixe Johnson,
Vice Chair, Postal
Don Harle called
the meeting to order and announced that a new focus area had been temporarily
established to focus on the new Flats Sequencing System
Flats
Sequencing System
Flats Sequencing System (FSS) - New MTAC
Area of Focus
Jack Widener/Mike Winn & Rosa
Fulton/Tom Foti
Please click here to view the presentation
Mr. Winn described the overall
mission of the new (and temporary) Flats Sequencing System Focus Area. A preliminary look at the MTAC membership and
the profile of the
industry revealed a very broad
range regarding interests in various aspects of flat mail. The mission of the focus area is to identify
those stakeholders, encourage them to
participate, encourage input on
key issues, and work to design a system that offers quality service at the
lowest combined cost.
Mr. Widener mentioned some of
the key areas of interest already identified – mail piece design, mail
preparation and containerization, transportation and mail entry, address
quality and accuracy, and
address placement. Flats will ultimately
be sorted by carrier walk sequence and may pose a number of issues for
mailers. The work group will
be the venue to address those
issues. One overarching objective will
be to effectively communicate relevant information related to the Flats
Sequencing System (FSS) to all
interested MTAC members.
Tom Foti noted that, in early
discussions, it was clear that address placement would be a key and early issue
to resolve. Therefore the first work
group will focus on address
label placement. The work group leaders are Marc McCrery and
James West
Ms. Fulton added that the FSS
equipment is now installed and undergoing tests at
been approved and should be
available in the Capitol Metro Area soon.
Address Location for FSS (WG # 101)
Marc McCrery and James West
Mr.
McCrery commented that the Flat Sequencing System is equipment that has
specific requirements for sequencing of flats for carriers, and there may need
to be some
changes
in the way mail is designed and prepared.
Work Group # 101 has been formed to look at the issue of address
placement and to analyze the way that these changes
will
impact mailers. MTAC members who have an
interest in flats are invited to participate.
It is hoped that all interests will be represented on the work group,
and there is
a
specific need for some representation from financial mailers and letter
shops. Mr. West emphasized the
importance of developing a work group that represents the broad
range
of participants in flats mailing.
Automated Package
Processing System (APPS)
Scott Bombaugh,
Mgr.
Material Handling
USPS Engineering
Please click
here to view the presentation
Mr. Bombaugh described the APPS,
a modular system that can be configured in a number of different ways – closed
or open loop, single and dual induction, and automated
singulation. The single induction volume is 5,500 pieces
per hour, double is 9,500 per hour. The
equipment can handle a wide variety of shapes, although there are challenges
related to frictional
characteristics of packages and bundles, and the mechanical singulation process
sometimes causes bundle breakage. There
is also a challenge with
image – optical interpretation
of the address label. The equipment must
read the label through the materials used to hold the bundle together
(shrinkwrap and banding) and
must be able to read the
additional information that mailers add, such as endorsements. The equipment is able to read various sides
of a package in line, and handle sizes
from 3” x 3.5” for those
packages letter thin up to 15” x 18” x 25” and weights up to 25 pounds.
Phase I deployment is expected
to extend through August 2006, with 74 machines at 64 sites (55 are currently
in operation). The reader is optical
character recognition and
the current successful read rate
is 80%. The objective is to get a clear
view of the label and other data – the kind of view that the human can see and
interpret. If that fails,
the mail piece is sent to a
video code environment and a human tries to interpret the address. Failing that the piece is rejected. Therefore, mailers need to make sure that
the polywrap is clear, that
seams do not obstruct the address and that banding does not interfere with the
optical scan. In simple terms, if a
human eye can read the entire
address, so can the APPS. To that end, a DMM change becomes effective
on April 30 that reads: “address must be visible and readable to the naked eye”.
Mr. Bombaugh said that the next
challenge is bundle integrity. The
equipment is designed to accept a wide variety of shapes and sizes, but the
singulation process that sorts
all the various sizes involves the
mixed mail moving through a series of separations, some of which may cause
bundles to tumble. If the bundle is not
secure, it may come
apart in that process.
Mr. McCrery mentioned the
ongoing eMIR program (Electronic Mail Improvement Report), noting that since
the program was begun there have been improvements – decreases
in strapping and poor polywrap
mishaps, and there have been reports from the field that the situation is
improving.
He announced a new approach to
evaluating bundle integrity, a joint effort with major printers and the Postal
Service to design and develop a measurement for bundle integrity.
The objective is to identify the
best methods to create a secure bundle.
Finally, Mr. Bombaugh announced a study to identify the problems related
to the APPS equipment design
and mainly the singulation
process, because of the tumbling and consequent bundle breakage. He was confident that the equipment could be
adapted to handle the process more
effectively.
During discussion, asked about
penalties and the subjective nature of the criteria, Mr. McCrery stated that a
few exceptions in a mailing would probably not present an obstacle to
moving the mail forward. The situation would be handled the same as
any other regulation. He suggested that
the criteria of being able to read the address with normal vision was
probably not that subjective and
that there should be agreement on almost every piece. There was a suggestion that a real issue is
the rate difference if the mail is rejected and has
to be processed at a higher
rate. Pritha Mehra commented that
specific procedures related to bundle integrity will be released in the near
future, but mailers can rely on policies that
limit the imposition of
additional postage and an increase in tolerance. Although there will be a penalty for failure
to comply with the regulations, it will be fair and balanced.
National Postal
Forum (NPF) --
Alixe Johnson
Please click here
to view the presentation
Ms. Johnson
reviewed the format and agenda of the National Postal Forum, to be held April
2-5 in
and exhibits, but
has limited room accommodations which are now fully reserved. Participants may stay at nearby hotels and
take advantage of regular commuter bus runs to and from the venue.
The paid
attendance goal is 2,500 and the latest numbers show 1,414 paid reservations,
which is well ahead of the
exhibitors who
have reserved 502 spaces. The goal was
490, but there is still space available.
As before, the focus
is on educational content and, because of early announcements, the Forum was
able to set a high bar for content quality.
In fact, for the first time some presentation
papers were not
selected for workshops. The Direct
Marketing Association has supported the creation of a speaker’s guide and
attendees will be given a three-ring binder to hold presentation
materials. Some of the meter manufacturers have again
sponsored the “free flat rate box” that participants can use to send meeting
materials back home.
There are more
than 120 workshops (2/3’s new, the rest significantly revised and updated), 11
business tracks, 11 certificate programs and special sessions about the
Inspection Service,
Technology, the
Strategic Transformation Plan, and Privacy.
There will also be four symposiums that may be attended separately from
the Forum proceedings – Marketing to Hispanics,
Address Quality,
the Global Package, and Periodicals. The
annual PCC Leadership Conference will focus on enhancing the effectiveness of
the individual PCC.
The exhibit halls
will again have exclusive hours when no educational sessions are scheduled,
daily raffles (including a new Mustang convertible on Wednesday morning), and
the Industry
Pavilion. The agenda includes a welcoming reception,
general sessions on Monday and Tuesday, the luncheon on Wednesday with Cal
Ripken, and a closing event on Wednesday evening
with a southern
rock band, Little Feat.
PostalOne! Recap
Pritha Mehra, Mgr.
Marketing
Technology & Channel Mgt.
Please click here to view
the presentation
Ms Mehra described the current features
and capabilities of the PostalOne! system. Though evolving PostalOne! is
already providing advantages and benefits to customers sending electronic
mailing information to the USPS. By supplying mailing information
electronically, customers no longer need to provide hard copy postage
statements and support documentation for
Standard mailings. This electronic
information process enables customers to view account and mailing activity
right from their desktop computer. Customers see their fee and balance
statuses for their account or multiple
accounts they hold across the country. They also can view account transaction
history seeing all deposit, postage withdrawal, and other financial
activity. Current CAPS (Centralized
Account Payment Services) customers using electronic information exchange
cannot only view their financial reports but through PostalOne! drill right
into the postage statement details of the
transactions. Additionally, eMIR a PostalOne! system mailing quality reporting
feature, provides reports regarding a customer’s mail preparation
quality and identifies problems the USPS may be having in processing the
mailing. This information has proved valuable to improving the customer’s
service and value of their mailings.
Ms Mehra described the various electronic
information exchange features supported by the PostalOne! system. In providing
universal access to electronic services PostalOne! accepts
information through the Mail.dat file
standard, the USPS Wizard Web Services, and are testing and will soon deploy the
online Postage Statement Wizard submit feature.
This service
provides the ability for all of our
customers to complete and submit a postage statement directly to the BMEU they
deposit their mailings at via the Internet.
Since October 2005 the
PostalOne! system has processed about 20,000 electronic postage
statements accumulating to almost one billion dollars of revenue. Other testing
efforts currently in progress include
electronic information support using the
Mail.dat with First Class and MLOCR environments and the eDropShip feature to
streamline and automate the drop shipment scheduling and mail
induction processes.
Ms Mehra identified upcoming features
that will be implemented in the PostalOne! system for the remainder of the
year:
·
Release10.2
planned for April 2006 will provide electronic postage statement processing
capability for Mail.dat users and enhancements to the Postage Statement Wizard
submit to
offer a mail preparer submit service
·
Release
10.3 planned for June 2006 will provide the platform to streamline verification
processes by applying more appropriate verification business rules
·
Release
11.0 in late summer 2006 will provide enhancements to Periodical statements and
business functions, allow automated postage statement processing capability for
all
remaining domestic postage statements,
offer support for more complex mail preparation schemes (comail and
multiple payment methods), and enhancements to the eDropShip feature
·
Release
12.0 will enable new Centralized Payment features designed to: expand payment
capabilities to all customers; allow customer managed accounts and funding
options; an
Internet checking feature to fund accounts removing the need to send
paper checks to the window service; and in the future allow customers to pay
for all products and
services (i.e PO Box Rent, Meter, Click&Ship) using their business
mail account.
Ms Mehra also provided insight to the USPS
vision for Seamless Acceptance. She discussed how in order to migrate to a
total seamless acceptance process we will need to rely on the
ability to identify mailing content and
track it as it moves through the processing cycle. The strategy is to rely on
customers to barcode all of the assets in the mailing makeup (Containers,
Handling Units tray/sacks/bundles, and
pieces) and describe the identity relationship in the electronic mailing
information. Having all of the electronic information and the ability to scan
mailing components through out the
processing cycle will enable the USPS to more accurately validate mailing
makeup and ensure the mail is receiving correct processing for the rates
paid. Continuous data collection and
analysis will become the quality measurement tools that drive acceptance and
verification procedures rather than repetitive random checks. Ms Mehra
qualified that in order to move to such
capabilities however was deeply predicated on the entire industry embracing the
change and making the investments in transitioning to an all electronic
environment.
Association
Presentation
Jerry
Cerasale, SVP
Direct
Marketing Assn. (DMA)
Please
click here to view the presentation
Mr. Cerasale
commented that, although the DMA is not totally focused on mail, it is very
involved with the mailing industry. The
Association has 5,000 members, about
half marketers
(55%) and about half suppliers (45%).
There is a subsidiary, the Internet Alliance, that is active in state
issues related to Internet sales and marketing,
the DMA Non-Profit
Federation that deals with tax issues related to direct marketing; the Direct
Marketing Education Foundation that supports relevant curricula in colleges
and universities
(the Foundation also maintains a scholarship); and the DMA is a partner in
Interactive Marketing Solutions, a company involved in preference
services (e.g.,
do-not-call, do-not-mail).
The DMA is
concerned with ethics and has developed guidelines for members to insure that
trust is remote marketing enterprise remains high. The Association conducts
research to
determine the benefits of direct marketing and, within the Association
structure there are a number of special interest Councils.
The DMA is concerned
about a number of issues – state and federal lobbying to protect the
interests of the direct marketing industry, issues about privacy,
telemarketing,
the Internet, and
various kinds of taxes. One important
issue about privacy is that, if postal rates become too burdensome, direct
marketers will develop alternatives to
mailing and some
contract mailers would go out of business.
If laws severely restrict the ability to develop new prospect lists
(that is, mailing lists), the same effect may
occur. The DMA’s position is that the public should have
opt-out choices – do-not-mail-me, don’t-share-my-information – but they should
not have
opt-in choices – send-me-mail,
share-my-data as indicated. Opt-in is
easily procrastinated and even forgotten.
Also concerning the mail, Yahoo and AOL have proposed
guaranteed e-mail
delivery for a fee, and some marketers have warmed to the idea of using the
service for invoicing and order confirmation.
This would negatively impact
mail volume.
Other privacy
issues are related to security breaches (hackers, physical loss, theft, fraud)
and the current policy is notification.
However, there are issues of the importance
of the data from
critical (Social Security numbers, bank account numbers) to trivial (shoe size,
interest in sports or art). The criteria
for notification should rest on whether
there is a risk of
identity theft. Another privacy risk
involves programs inserted onto personal computers by advertisers and sellers
when the computer owner responds to
an ad (spyware or
adware). The DMA believes that the
computer owner may be advised that the program has been installed on his
computer and be provided with an easy
way to remove
it. That is an opt-out solution. The DMA is opposed to some proposed state legislation
that makes it an opt-in process.
Concerning
political issues, the DMA is in favor of Postal Reform with a hard cap,
military retirement paid for by the Treasury and not the Postal Service, some
of the current
escrow to be available
for rate reduction (that is Postal Service operating expenses), and opposes
rate increases in the high single digits.
In general, DMA members have
indicated that DMA
resources should be reserved for major policy issues and not the nitty gritty of
lobbying for specific rates and regulations.
Early on the DMA, a
voice in the wilderness at the time, was opposed to the Do-Not-Call Registry,
because it was a dangerous precedent that might lead to do-not-mail
registries.
The fact that four
states now have such legislation pending makes that position more
legitimate. Chances are any such laws
will be state laws (unlike the Do-Not-Call Registry)
and they will begin
to be passed in the smaller states.
In telemarketing,
there are moves to prohibit call centers outside the
a provision that
anyone called could ask for immediate transfer to a
Concerning sales
tax collection on Internet and other remote sales, the DMA has identified
several issues. A seller should not
expect an unpaid tax to be collected in a state where
s/he is not
located. Simplification of procedures, a
requisite for such tax collecting, is challenged by the fact that there are
7,000 tax collecting jurisdictions, and there is no single
audit, registration
or payment process. There is also a
problem with tax on postage when it is provided by a mailer versus no tax when
purchased directly from the Postal Service.
The Postal Service
might consider addressing this issue.
These are all issues that must be negotiated on a state-by-state basis,
an onerous and expensive process.
Finally, Mr.
Cerasale noted that the DMA is involved in the international direct marketing
arena.
Optimization of Preparation
and Entry
Improving the Drop
Shipment Process (WG # 87)
Anita
Pursley/Cindy Mallonee
Please click
here to view the presentation
Ms. Pursley reported that the
work group meets regularly about every six weeks in person, and weekly by
teleconference. FAST deployment was
completed in November,
so the work group has turned its
attention to enhancements.
Concerning the kinds of issues
the work group might consider, occasionally in the past, when a mailer was unable
to obtain an appointment because of volume constraints,
the mailer would then call in
for a periodicals appointment, for which there are no volume constraints. When the mail arrives and it is Standard
Mail, it puts a strain on volume
management.
Another issue involved a
situation when there were sufficient slots, but the facility could not handle
the volume and delays occurred. The FAST
Team has identified facilities
as small, medium and large and
recommended appropriate volume/appointment management processes for each. Since implementation of the recommendations,
complaints
are at an all time low.
The next step is to work out
slot capacities. The FAST team
identified the top 50 trouble spots and the characteristics of each. The easiest fix, which has been accomplished,
was for the facility that had a
high level of declined appointments, but acceptance of all mail that showed up
with processing delays, a case of excess capacity. The second area,
facilities with a high level of
declined appointments with some delays, but still accepting unscheduled
arrivals. The FAST Team is currently
working on this situation, looking to
balance slots with volume, a
workflow management issue. Finally,
there is the group of facilities that just don’t have the capacity – refused
appointments, too much volume,
relatively consistent
delays. As much an infrastructure
problem as anything, the Postal Service is looking at solutions.
Mr. Pursley reported that a
revision of Publication 804 was released in mid-January, and the work group did
not have the opportunity to review it beforehand. Post mortem, they spent
a few hours reviewing the report
in detail and developed a four-page list of recommended revisions, which will
be incorporated into a new revision to be released in March.
Ms. Mallonee described Drop Ship
Web, which is currently a free-standing system to manage redirection of mail
when facilities are temporarily closed or when volume requires
redirection. When a mailer requests an appointment that
must be redirected, the system manages that change. It is important because mail at one rate
(SCF, for example)
must be charged at that same
rate even though the facility that handles the mail may not have that rate
available (BSC, for example). Drop Ship
Web was able to invisibly
accomplish that when
required. In May, Drop Ship Web will
become an integral part of FAST. Then
mailers will be able to get more information directly from the FAST
system when they make
appointments
Ms. Mallonee explained that the
initial FAST system (Phase I) was deployed only to facilities that already had
DSAS available. Phase II will expand
FAST to nearly all facilities
(about 30,000). A pilot is scheduled for June and, if
successful, the final deployment will begin in July and be completed in about
four months. She added that, at a date
to be
announced soon, new ZIP/CIN file
formats will be available on the FAST system, and the current Drop Ship CDs
will no longer be needed.
Finally, the FAST Team is developing a web-based training
program that is modular in design so that additional modules can be add as
required, and so that employees can
choose modules to customize their own training programs.
FAST
for Periodicals (WG # 95)
Ted
Freedman/Cindy Mallonee
Please click here to
view the presentation
Mr.
Freedman reported that the work group has been meeting since July 2005. The goal was to develop a process to get
information from Periodicals mailers to the Postal Service
so
that resource allocation would be more efficient and effective. There is also a plan to define the unique
needs of Periodicals mailers.
Ms.
Mallonee said that the information involved related to content, the induction
plan and volume data. One-time and
recurring appointments could be made online or at Web Services.
The
system will be designed to respond to special needs of Periodicals
mailers. For example, mailers could make
the initial appointment, and the owner of the mail (or the printer)
could
access that appointment and enter content information. One challenge is to design a system that
accommodates smaller mailers who may not be as technically equipped
as the larger mailers.
The
work group has identified benefits – giving the mail owner more visibility,
providing the same redirection information that Standard mailers receive,
providing start-the-clock support
and
helping mailers with the requisite pallet barcoding.
In
summary, Ms. Mallonee stated that for the issues related to appointment level
functionality high level requirements have been defined. The work group will now turn to refining
these
issues.
Developing
an Interface to the AFSM 100 Automated Induction Process (WG # 96)
Dave
Williams/Mike Winn
Please click
here to view the presentation
Mr. Winn explained that
the work group was charged with the design of innovative preparation processes
for mail processed on the AFSM 100-AI.
The work group began
with the current
technology and processes, keeping the sorting environment and rate structures
in mind. Total system cost was to be
maintained at the lowest reasonable
level. There are currently about 50 AIs in place and
the deployment continues.
The work group
looked first at the current profile of products received, mainly standard
uncompensated bundles, some smaller bundles and trays with loose mail. A cost
analysis determined
that there were few savings to be realized in any redesign of the processes
involved with those products. The
automated induction (AI) uses a unique
tray, the
Automation Compatible Tray (ACT),
Contractors have designed a prototype dolly that can handle up to 12
ACTs. A test to transport ten or more of
these dollies
(12,000 flats) from
one mailer’s facility and induct the ACTs from the dollies at the Southern
Maryland P&DC is planned to start May
The work group is also considering
simple preparation
for certain eligible mail that will fit into 12-inch bundles that could be
processed directly on the AI, bypassing the APPS.
Address
Accuracy:
Address
Quality Methodology (WG # 97)
Chris
Lien/Jim Wilson/Wayne Orbke
Please click here to
view the presentation
Mr. Lien stated
that the work group was established to respond to the Postmaster General’s challenge to
reduce UAAs by fifty percent. Thirty
work group members
developed a
detailed set of guidelines, mainly in the form of best practices, that were
incorporated in a final publication. The
MTAC Address Quality Methodologies
Report is now
available (distributed at the meeting).
There are 27 best practices that fall into different areas, and each has
a defined impact and an associated cost.
At the low
cost/high impact end of the spectrum are data exchange and information
dissemination.
Mr. Orbke commented
that the Report contains so much valuable information that it will be given to
the Postal Service sales force as a tool to help major mailers
understand the
importance of address quality and the means to achieve it. Two issues in the report were especially
important – list certification and development
of a Postal
Service/Industry Communications Network.
The list certification involves a process that would verify addresses in
a list and certifying that the list was
of a specific high
quality.
The communications
network would improve the flow of information between the Postal Service and
customers, especially in instances when that information is new
and very important
to operations – such as the Katrina situation.
Although there is good communication now in many areas, the network
would streamline the process,
making it faster
and more effective.
Address
Quality Tools – MOVE Update (WG # 98)
Carole
Morrow/Ruth Jones/Charles Hunt
Please
click here to view the presentation
Ms. Morrow stated
that the work group had met three times, completed its work, and would sunset
in March. The focus was on improving
address change service (ACS),
the reduction of
manual returns, and the expense of “weighted fee” on manual
returns. The work group looked at how to
make ACS more valuable to Standard Mail mailers
and developed the
concept of an electronic-only ACS option.
OneCode should be a
valuable tool in that process by making possible an electronic only
endorsement. The weighted fee should be
reviewed to define its rationale.
The several parts
of the process that the fee covers should be identified and a fee system that
reflects the actual costs of processing the mail should be considered.
The work group
agreed that the number of official reasons for UAA mail should be reduced to
perhaps several “families,” each with a single description.
For example, “return for better
address,” insufficient address,” and unable to deliver because of address” are all really one
description.
The final
recommendation was to provide an incentive for electronic-only ACS (perhaps a
certified mail list).
Adjournment
Don Harle
Mr. Harle adjourned the meeting at 11:30 a.m.