U.S. Postal Service & Postal Regulatory Commission Summit
The U.S. Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission are hosting a summit on March 13 called “Meeting Customer Needs in a Changing Regulatory Environment.”
The free summit, which is open to the public, will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Bolger Center in Potomac, MD. It will discuss how the recently implemented Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act could increase the USPS’s ability to meet customer needs.
Conference organizers said “by focusing on the issues important to customers, the conference will continue the dialogue recently initiated by the Postal Regulatory Commission in its rulemaking process.”
Panels include “ Meeting Customers Needs in the Market Dominant Category”; “Meeting Customer Needs in the Competitive Product Category”; “ Designing Flexible, Customer-Responsive, Pricing and Product Regulation”; and “ Service Standards and Measurement for Market Dominant Products.”
Speakers include Dan G. Blair, chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission; John E. Potter Postmaster General/CEO, USPS; Markus Wilhelm, CEO, Bookspan; Lou Milani, senior director of business affairs and publishing operations for the Consumers Union of U.S. Inc.; Mike Martinez, vice president of logistics for the Home Shopping Network; Bill McComb, director of operations support for Netflix; and Dan Emens, vice president of marketing operations for Chase.
Conference organizers said the panelists will speak for about five minutes each, and then the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions and make comments.
For more information and to register, visit
www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/postalpricingsummit.htm.
Summit Agenda
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Introductions
William M. Takis – Moderator
Partner, IBM Global Services
Dan G. Blair
Chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission
John E. Potter
Postmaster General & CEO
United States Postal Service
9:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Panel 1– Meeting Customer Needs in the Market Dominant Category
The new law balances Postal Service pricing flexibility with price caps and a requirement for predictable price changes. How can the Postal Service best meet customer needs for market dominant products, maintain high degrees of customer satisfaction, foster industry growth, and remain financially sound? What regulatory system might the PRC establish to encourage the process?
10:45 – 11:00 a.m.
Break
11:00 – 12:15 p.m.
Panel 2 – Meeting Customer Needs in the Competitive Product Category
The new law provides the Postal Service flexibility in pricing and promoting competitive products. What regulations might the PRC establish that would allow the Postal Service to offer competitive products that satisfy legal requirements, foster industry growth, and remain financially sound?
12:15 – 1:15 p.m.
Lunch
1:15 – 2:30 p.m.
Panel 3 – Designing Flexible, Customer-Responsive, Pricing and Product Regulation
The new law calls for the establishment of a modern system for regulating prices that encourages customer-responsive policies while achieving myriad public policy objectives. How might this system support flexibility for the Postal Service and its customers, promote predictability, and effectively resolve conflicts?
2:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Break
2:45 – 4:00 p.m.
Panel 4 – Service Standards and Measurement for Market Dominant Products
How would you recommend that the Postal Service re-evaluate its service standards and revise or develop adequate service measurement systems? How might customer behavior and input best support an efficient network?
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Open Discussion – What Should We Do Next?
What should be the most immediate areas under the new law for Postal Service and/or PRC attention? What other issues under the new law do you want to address?
