Tag: North America

Vertis debuts MailTrail

Posted by | Aug 7, 2007 | |

Vertis Communications has unveiled MailTrail, a mail tracking and reporting system powered by GrayHair Software.

MailTrail provides marketers with the ability to trace a direct mail campaign’s journey through the mail stream, from a package’s initial entry to its projected in-home delivery date. The system design is driven by the US Postal Service’s next-generation Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) technology.

The IMB technology combines the capabilities of the USPS’s Postnet and Planet barcodes, as well as others, into one unique barcode system.

Clients can access this mailing data collected by the USPS in a variety of formats through their Vertis MailTrail portal and a comprehensive set of reports powered by GrayHair.

The reports, updated twice daily, give a variety of views of the mailing data by campaign, mailing version and geography.

The system addresses several challenges for marketers. It allows for more accurate in-home delivery times, multichannel campaigns, managing call-center resources (since it accurately forecasts call center volumes) and rapid views of response rates and receptivity.

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US Postal Service reports results for fiscal third quarter

Posted by | Aug 6, 2007 | |

Priority and express volumes at U.S. Postal Service declined during the organization’s fiscal third quarter, while parcel post shipments increased slightly, the postal service said.

Priority mail volumes fell 2.8% to 215 million, express volumes slipped .5% to 14.2 million and parcel post volumes rose .7% to 78.3 million.

Total revenue for the quarter rose to $18.4 billion, a 2.9% gain compared with the previous third quarter, according to the postal service.

The postal service competes directly with UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp. for priority, express and parcel freight.

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Bills, Statements and Payments – Paper and Electronic Delivery

Posted by | Aug 4, 2007 | |

The adoption of electronic bills, statements and payments has grown significantly in recent
years, as has the explosive growth in Internet penetration, the evolving consumer
preferences for new media, and a determined push by financial institutions to convert users
from paper to electronic. Most forecasters, observers, and the general press typically
characterize these electronic options as severely and negatively affecting the volume of
bills, statements and payments that are mailed. Is there reliable industry data that can be
used to check these assertions? Are the quantifiable trends universal or do they vary by
region? Exactly how have electronic alternatives impacted user preferences so far and how
will they continue to impact mail volumes in the foreseeable future?
Much has been written in recent years about the rapidly rising adoption of electronic bills,
statements and payments. However, few attempts have been made to systematically review all
available research and make sound predictions, especially pertaining to mail volumes and the
expected growth of electronic alternatives2. This paper first defines several terms and delineates
the scope of this study. Second, the paper analyzes the U.S. and European landscape vis-à-vis:
the adoption rates of electronic bills, statements and payments, and the evolution of the
corresponding mail volumes. Third, the paper examines how consumers prefer to receive and
pay bills so as to provide an outlook on the future of paper vs. electronic methods. Finally, the
paper looks at the progress billers have made to effectively institute and establish new bill,
statement and payment mechanisms.

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USPS’s workgroups to improve service

Posted by | Aug 3, 2007 | |

Three workgroups presented their plans at the Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee Meeting, each with its own purpose. All three shared a common goal: to improve service and measurement.

The first group’s task was to revise the strategic transformation plan. Linda Kingsley, USPS senior vice president of strategy and transition, said that the workgroup is in the midst of revision and that the actual document is not due for another year.

The USPS is supposed to put together five-year plans every three years. Now the group has a big challenge. It totally has to revise the plan give the new law, which went into effect in May.

The new law accelerates the need to measure service for all classes of mail using intelligent mail. In addition, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance is changing. Due to all of this the workgroup is resetting their priorities in the new plan.

The new plan is expected to be out in November of this year.

The next workgroup talked about how it is set to identify gaps and define solutions for adoption of PostalOne by lettershops and mail service providers. Mail preparers want to be able to track and trace their pallets having as little as 200 pieces or 50 lbs. of mail. He also mentioned that spoilage has to be accounted for. The group has made a software vendor capability matrix draft, and a final matrix is expected shortly.

The last group is responsible for advanced notification streamlined verification. Carla Siniscachi presented the group’s process. The workgroup’s aim is to define capabilities for streamlined notification and accessibility for First-Class Mail.

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