and were developed based on customer expectations, current levels of performance, system capabilities, degree of operational difficulty, product differentiation and economic realities.
As background, the USPS has an annual Establish cycle which involves review of our achievements and develops target proposals for each FY. The Establish cycle takes into account the above criteria before recommending a set of targets for our Board of Governors to review and approve. Once approved, these targets are shared with the Postal Regulatory Commission and our stakeholders.
It was somewhat of a challenge to develop targets for such an extensive product array. Unfortunately, historical data were not available for robust analyses of some products, so decisions on targets had to be made before measurement results were available. In addition to not having historical data in some cases, many of our reporting systems are undergoing extensive revamping. Furthermore, a few new reporting systems had to be developed and one significant system is still in its initial development stages.
The USPS is committed to continuous improvement as well as implementing service improvements at the least cost. The new measurement systems will assist in this by providing more actionable data for both the USPS and mailers. By using these data, mailers and the USPS will make their operational processes more effective and efficient, and mail can be kept a viable entity well into the 21st century.
