Tag: USPS

A presidential commission is recommending that money-losing post offices, many in small towns, be closed and that the Postal Service be given more freedom to change rates.

The President’s Commission on the United States Postal Service, appointed by President Bush to make recommendations on the future of the postal services, began voting on proposals today.

While the commission rejects the idea of making the Postal Service a private company, several of its recommendations could have far-reaching impact on virtually all Americans if they are accepted by Congress and the president. The commission is to deliver its final report by the end of the month.

On August 10, the United States Postal Service will launch Customized MarketMailTM (CMM), an advertising mail product recognizable from others by their eyecatching, novel shapes. These distinctly different, literally-outside-the-box-shaped pieces will set their senders apart by visually communicating those mailers’ products and services. ‘In the battle for audience attention, Customized MarketMail will allow business mailers to differentiate their products in the mailstream,’ said Nick Barranca, Vice President of Product Development for the Postal Service. ‘Within certain size, weight, and thickness limitations, Customized MarketMail can be virtually any shape and design the mailer desires. CMM will let advertisers put their creativity to work, designing their mail pieces to deliver high impact, demand attention, and generate greater response rates.’

President Bush recently named a nine-member commission to study reform of our Postal Service-the first time a U.S. President has done so since the Johnson Administration. Businesses and consumers relying heavily on the mail-concerned about recent rate increases-are hoping for some dramatic changes, but fear they will get only tinkering. Gene Del Polito, president of the Association for Postal Commerce, recently told Catalog Age he expects the commission “is not going to make revolutionary recommendations.” He said the committee seems likely to take a cautious path “that preserves the Postal Service as a federal institution but trims its sails.”

Bolder and braver changes would make far more sense, however. At some point in the not-too-distant future the Postal Service’s structure will have to change dramatically. It can be altered deliberately now, by design, or chaotically down the road, by default. The President’s commission enjoys a rare opportunity; let’s hope its leaders grab their chance.