USPS launches re-designed desktop shipping assistant – customs forms, international labels among new features
The Postal Service’s popular desktop Shipping Assistant application has been re-designed with new features to save customers time and money. The free and easy-to-use application combines label printing and package management in one program that customers can download at their convenience from http://www.usps.com.
The new edition, Shipping Assistant 3.0, adds the ability to print customs forms and international mail labels, enhanced address book management tools, more user preferences and an integrated help component. Another new feature allows customers to schedule and manage Carrier Pickup requests right from the desktop application.
“Shipping Assistant is for all mailers, but particularly small- to mid- sized business customers who ship 50 to 200 packages a day,” said Vice President for Product Development Nicholas Barranca. “These customers need a powerful online shipping environment and Shipping Assistant provides it — in a new, cleaner and more user-friendly design.”
Barranca says the new design allows customers to complete online shipping tasks in fewer steps. To save time, Shipping Assistant can pre-populate online form fields with frequently used customer data. Customers can work online or offline, printing labels immediately or saving them to a Shipping Cart to print later in a single batch. And, with the Shipping Assistant message center, customers can stay up-to-date on news that could affect their shipments.
Other new Shipping Assistant features include: * The addition of Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes and large Global Priority Mail Flat Rate envelopes, for a total of four flat-rate shipping options. * The ability to compare postage rates and estimated delivery times, including Express Mail commitments. * Domestic address verification. * The option for customers to review their mailing records and confirm shipment delivery status.
Shipping Assistant was introduced in 2001 and is used by more than 100,000 customers. The new version replaces Version 2.2, which was released in July 2002. For more information and download instructions, customers can go to: http://www.usps.com/shippingassistant/.
Since 1775, the United States Postal Service and its predecessor, the Post Office Department, have connected friends, families, neighbors and businesses by mail. An independent federal agency that visits more than 144 million homes and businesses every day, the Postal Service is the only service provider delivering to every address in the nation. It receives no taxpayer dollars for routine operations, but derives its operating revenues solely from the sale of postage, products and services. With annual revenues of USD70 billion, it is the world’s leading provider of mailing and delivery services, offering some of the most affordable postage rates in the world. The U.S. Postal Service delivers more than 46 percent of the world’s mail volume — some 212 billion letters, advertisements, periodicals and packages a year — and serves ten million customers each day at its 37,000 retail locations nationwide.
