Tag: North America

USPS says it will be ready for Intelligent Mail Barcode next May

Posted by | Aug 6, 2008 | |

Speaking to the Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee, Tom Day, Senior Vice President, Intelligent Mail and Address Quality, said the Postal Service will be ready for mail bearing Intelligent Mail barcodes next May as planned.

“We believe the benefits of an information-rich mail stream will be evident for our mailers and the entire mailing industry, and investments to make that a reality will prove to be very much worthwhile,” continued Day. “However, given the volatility of the economy, decreasing mail volumes, and our own financial situation, it would be premature for us to commit to a pricing structure for the Intelligent Mail barcode at this time.”

Intelligent Mail is a comprehensive, integrated program designed to revolutionize all aspects of how the Postal Service accepts, processes and transports mail by using the Intelligent Mail barcode. The Intelligent Mail barcode notifies mailers when a mailing is inducted into the mail stream and allows them to track individual mail pieces as they travel through the postal network.

The Postmaster General’s Mailers’ Technical Advisory Committee is a venue for the Postal Service to share technical information with mailers and to receive advice and recommendations from mailers on matters concerning mail-related products and services in order to enhance customer value and expand the use of these products and services for mutual benefit.

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FedEx Services named one of PINK magazine’s top companies for women

Posted by | Aug 6, 2008 | |

PINK magazine announced that FedEx Services is among the 13 companies honored on its second annual list of the Top Companies for Women, as featured in the magazine’s September issue.

FedEx Services also placed on last year’s list.

PINK solicited nominations from America’s leading companies before narrowing the field based on responses to nearly 100 questions and data points related to women’s advancement. Among the criteria the magazine evaluated:

• Power – the number of women in board seats and C-suites, and with P&L responsibility;
• Pipeline – leadership training, mentoring and coaching programs designed to retain and advance talented women;
• Pay – evidence of pay equity, including the percentage of women in the top fifth of payroll.

“These companies are true leaders in the advancement of women,” says PINK’s Founding Editor, Cynthia Good. “While each of them has plenty of room for improvement, they all realize that moving women to the top goes beyond issues like maternity leave and flextime. It’s also about giving women real authority to change the corporation and achieve their career dreams.”

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Lawmakers seek federal review of UPS-DHL proposal

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

Two U.S. senators have asked the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to review a proposal by UPS Inc. to carry some air packages for DHL. But UPS says the agencies don’t have authority over the vendor relationship.

Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisc., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a letter dated Friday (1st of August) to Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, and William Kovacic, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, that the deal being worked out raises competition concerns.

“If consummated, DHL will become reliant for air transportation on one of its two major competitors,” the letter states. “This raises the question if DHL will still be able to effectively compete against UPS, since UPS will now have a large role in determining the cost and quality of DHL’s services.”

UPS spokesman Norman Black said that the arrangement the Atlanta-based company is working out with DHL is similar to one it has been operating under for several years with the United States Postal Service.

Black said UPS has not received any communications from the Justice Department or the FTC about the proposed deal. He said lawyers for UPS and DHL continue to work on finalizing a contract, which they expect to complete by the end of the year.

Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said the agency has seen media reports about the proposal, but she declined to comment further.

“Generally speaking, the antitrust division can look at matters that affect competition,” Talamona said.

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USPS Selects AspireHR Software for E-Recruiting Initiative

Posted by | Aug 4, 2008 | |

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has selected AspireHR’s TalentScout software and eQuest for updating their e-recruiting implementation, according to Todd Hall, AspireHR’s Software Sales Manager.

AspireHR, the largest SAP partner focused exclusively on the needs of the HR marketplace, and eQuest, the global leader in job posting and Internet recruitment management services, have partnered to provide USPS with the technology and software to make their e-recruiting program more efficient, increase productivity, and expand their sourcing reach.

“The project will feature AspireHR’s TalentScout Job Board Aggregator Tool,” said Hall. “This tool allows recruiters to initiate a single job transaction which can then be sent to multiple job boards globally by eQuest. In addition, it is an enhancement to e-recruiting that will add tremendous time savings.”

AspireHR specializes in human capital management (HCM) for SAP. This focus has enabled the company to develop unparalleled expertise in HCM, superior HR project management, and packaged software applications that add real value for our customers. These functional resources coupled with the company’s software development center enable AspireHR to do high quality implementations quickly, efficiently and with high customer satisfaction.

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Postal Service wants limits on its universal service obligation (U.S)

Posted by | Jul 31, 2008 | |

The U.S. Postal Service wants to exempt its competitive products (like Priority Mail and package services) from the universal service obligation. Doing so would allow it to cut back on offerings in sparsely populated areas where business is thin.

The Postal Service argues that those services shouldn’t be treated differently than those of competitors such as FedEx, DHL and UPS. An exemption would allow the Postal Service to choose which competitive products it offers in a given market, and what standards of service to apply. Products covered by the universal service obligation such as first-class mail, must be offered in a uniform fashion across the country.
But even if the agency gets approval from Congress to exempt those competitive services from universal service, an international treaty would create a paradox: The Postal Service would still be required to deliver mail and packages coming into the United States from overseas, even if it doesn’t offer the products in a given market.

The Postal Service made its request for the exemption in a lengthy set of comments submitted to the Postal Regulatory Commission last week. PRC has also solicited public comment on the universal service obligation; the commission will submit a final report to Congress in December.

Under the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, postal products were divided into two categories: market-dominant and competitive. Products in the former group (like first-class mail) are covered by the universal service obligation because the Postal Service has a monopoly over their delivery. But the latter group competes with products offered by commercial shippers like UPS and FedEx.

An exemption for the competitive products would be just one step toward restoring profitability at the financially troubled Postal Service. The agency posted a USD 706 million loss in the second quarter of 2008; decreasing mail volume and increasing fuel costs have squeezed its bottom line. And, the Postal Service can’t rely on market-dominant products to reverse that trend: Price increases for those products are capped at the rate of inflation.

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