USPS is “uniquely positioned to help SMEs”, says OIG

A new White Paper from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has concluded that the United States Postal Service (USPS) is “uniquely positioned to help SMEs enter global e-commerce”, and that it therefore “has major opportunities to increase revenue from SME exports by developing an all-inclusive ‘one-stop shop’. The OIG White Paper, published on Wednesday (26 August), argued that USPS should leverage its “internationally trusted brand”, its “extensive operations network” and its extensive “international product and service offerings” to increase its revenue from SME exports.

The “one-stop shop” that the White Paper proposes would be “an electronic, user-friendly platform, creating a ‘hasslefree’ experience for global consumers and SMEs” – bring benefits to both the SMEs and USPS.

The White Paper – entitle Small Business Exports – also pointed out that the USPS has much to gain if the US Senate and Congress can be persuaded to end the law which prohibits the postal service from delivering alcohol.

“While the Postal Service is currently prohibited from shipping consumable alcohol both domestically and internationally, SMEs and consumers use competitors to export billions of dollars in alcohol each year.” according to the White Paper. “Legal changes in this area would provide the Postal Service an opportunity to capture a piece of this multi-billion dollar market, generating new revenue in the process.”

As previously reported, the US Postal Innovation Act – which is currently working its way through Congress – seeks to end the prohibition on postal deliveries of alcohol.

Click here to view a PDF of the full OIG White Paper.