USPS Postmaster General eyes Web as competition

The passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 and the downturn of the economy have resulted in a year of transition for the US Postal Service, said Postmaster General Jack Potter in his keynote address today at the National Postal Forum in Anaheim, CA. As a result of the new law, the USPS has implemented new pricing regulations and is also working on new service standards, Potters said.

“We’re in competition with the Internet,” Potter said more than once during his speech. In order to better compete, more value needs to be added to the mail, he said. At the same time, it’s “imperative” to keep prices down, Potter said.

One way to add that value is by using the Intelligent Mail barcode (IMB), which encodes routing and tracking information on mail, Potter said. Within the last year, the USPS has been seeking and responding to public feedback regarding the implementation of the IMB, he said. Overall, mailers understand the benefit of the barcode, which will save them money and decrease the amount of undeliverable as addressed mail, he added.

The upcoming deployment of Flats Sequencing System (FSS) machines will provide a faster and more efficient way to sort flat mail, which includes magazines and catalogs, Potters said. The new machines will save mailers money and help eliminate the “labor intensive” practice of manually sorting flat mail. The first FSS machine is already up and running in Dulles, Virginia, he said.

In light of pending do-not-mail legislation in states across the US, Potter also stressed the importance of addressing customers’ environmental concerns about the mail. There needs to be more discussion of the benefits of having something delivered versus driving around from store to store, he said. At the same time, mailers need to be smarter about what and how frequently they mail to their customers, he added. “Going green makes sense,” he said.