Presentation at Rutgers 03 by Alan Robinson, Direct Communicatoins Group, Antoinette Crowder, Ealge Analytics & David Rawnsley, Postal Services International
Includes US ground parcel market share
P:LibraryRutgers 2003Competition in Parcel & Mail Delivery – Robinson.ppt
In a precedent setting move, the U.S. Postal Service Governors today approved the first Negotiated Service Agreement (NSA), a pricing strategy that gives business mailers a mechanism for customized rates and services that addresses their unique mailing needs and encourages cost-efficient behavior. The first NSA features discounts for Capital One First-Class Mail volume above an annual threshold of 1.225 billion pieces and electronic return of undeliverable mail data by the Postal Service to Capital One. “Historically, providing price incentives for mailers to encourage more mail volume and best practices has made it possible for the Postal Service to keep rates affordable for everyone. As we build towards the future, pricing innovations like NSAs will help the Postal Service preserve universal mail service which is fundamental to the American way of life,” said Stephen Kearney, vice-president, Pricing and Classification, U.S. Postal Service.
Read MoreThe U.S. Postal Service will fall short of meeting federal mandates to
deliver mail six days a week and cover its costs without further cutting
expenses and dropping money-losing services, the top congressional watchdog
official said. The postal service “is not well-suited to operate efficiently” and must go beyond its own USD3 billion annual cost-cutting plan to survive, General Accounting Office head David Walker told a presidential postal strategy
panel. Postmaster General John Potter defended the agency at the Washington
hearing, saying he wouldn’t allow a reduction in delivery frequency “on his watch.”
If the Postal Service is to be run like a business, it needs the freedom to set its prices like a business, Postmaster General John Potter said Thursday. Potter told the President’s Commission on the Postal Service that his agency is hampered by the complex 16-month process involved in setting rates. The post office, because it has a monopoly, should still be subject to review, he said, but that process “should not stifle the ability to meet customer preferences and finance the national mail system for the future.” Potter suggested that the Postal Service’s governing board be allowed to set prices for mail service, with an after-the-fact review by an outside agency. His comments came at the final public session of the commission, convened by President Bush to review the operations of the Postal Service and make recommendations for its future. Its report is expected by the end of July.
Read MoreThe price break that the Postal Rate Commission has recommended for Capital One Financial Corp. could pave the way for other issuers to trim costs on the billions of credit card solicitations they mail every year. The commission recommended May 15 that the Postal Service’s board of governors grant a special volume-based discount for Capital One. The governors are to vote June 2. News of the commission’s action, the first of its kind, spread fast. “We’ve heard from every credit card company we can think of,” said Mike Plunkett, the Postal Service’s manager of pricing strategy.
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