MailPro May/June 2012 - USPS.com

THE BUSINESS
OF SHIPPING
PAGE 4
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE
MAY/JUNE 2012

FYI
The Postal Service’s
2012 summer
Mobile Commerce
& Personalization
Program is open
for mailers to
register through
Aug. 30. Details
are available at:
usps.com/mobile-
barcode.
2 MAY/JUNE 2012
CLICK-N-SHIP FOR BUSINESS —
THE NEW SHIPPING ASSISTANT
T
he Postal Service’s Shipping Assistant desktop
application has been re-branded and upgraded.
It’s now known as Click-N-Ship For
Business.
All of the functionality and popular
features of Shipping Assistant remain,
with some improvements:
■■ Faster, simpler use.
■■ Quicker application start-up.
■■ Updated navigation for easier label
creation.
■■ Faster access to functions such as
the Track and Confirm tool, creating
return labels and importing orders
directly into an address book.
■■ Updated look mirroring the current
usps.com design.
More enhancements will be added later
this year.
READY TO ROLL
PICTURE PERMIT IMPRINT INDICIA
P
icture Permit Imprint
Indicia (or “Picture
Permit” for short) is
now part of the Postal
Service’s lineup. It enables
mailers to include logos,
trademarks, brand images
and other marketing designs
in the permit imprint indicia
areas of their Full-Service Intelligent Mail barcode
mailings of First-Class Mail automation letters and
cards and Standard Mail letters and cards. Picture
Permit provides participating companies immediate
Sample — not to scale.
recognition of their logos and other business-themed
images while boosting the visual impact of their mail.
This offering becomes effective June 24. The
additional fee for using Picture Permit will be 1 cent
per piece for First-Class Mail letters and cards and
2 cents per piece for Standard Mail letters and cards.
The Postal Service has established requirements
for embedding logos, trademarks, brand images and
other marketing designs into the indicia and mailers
will need to submit sample mailpieces for USPS
review and approval before implementation. For an
overview of the Picture Permit offering — including
program requirements, FAQs and an application
form — visit usps.com/picturepermit. The application
is a simple four-step process.
Grab some of that valuable real estate on the face
of your mailpiece with Picture Permit and attract
more attention and more readers!
THIS ISSUE
3 USPS MODIFIES CONSOLIDATION PLAN
4 FASTFORWARD TO NCOA
4 ENHANCING EVERY DOOR DIRECT MAIL
5 USPS FINANCIAL RESULTS
5 RETIRING POSTNET
6 USPS PACKAGE INTERCEPT
6 GREETING CARDS
6 PRICES ON YOUR MOBILE
7 NEWS BRIEFS
This newsletter is published bimonthly at no charge
for mailing professionals. It contains information
on current Postal Service programs and services,
pricing and classification, mailing success stories
and industry news. To request MailPro, or to change
your mailing address (include current mailing label),
mail, fax or email your name, title, company name,
delivery address and daytime phone number to:
MailPro
NATIONAL CUSTOMER SUPPORT CENTER
US POSTAL SERVICE
6060 PRIMACY PKWY STE 101
MEMPHIS TN 38188-0001
Fax: 901-681-4521
E-mail: mncsc@usps.com

POSTAL SERVICE MODIFIES
NETWORK CONSOLIDATION PLAN
T
he Postal Service is moving ahead with a
modified plan to consolidate its network
of 461 mail processing locations in phases.
The first phase of activities will result
in up to 140 consolidations through February
2013. Unless the circumstances of the Postal
Service change in the interim, a second and final
phase of consolidations is scheduled to begin in
February 2014.
“We revised our network consolidation timeline
to provide a longer planning schedule for our
customers, employees and other stakeholders,
and to enable a more methodical and measured
implementation,” said Patrick Donahoe, Postmaster
General and chief executive officer.
“We simply do not have the mail volumes to
justify the size and capacity
of our current mail processing
network. To return to longterm
profitability and financial
stability while keeping mail
affordable, we must match
our network to the anticipated
workload,” said Donahoe.
“Our current plan meets our
cost reduction goals, ensures
seamless and excellent service
performance throughout the
implementation period, and
provides adequate time for
our customers to adapt to our
network changes.”
The Postal Service will
begin consolidating operations
this summer — which mostly
involve transferring mail
processing operations from
smaller to larger facilities.
Nearly all consolidating
activities in 2012 will occur in August and then
will resume again in the early part of next year.
Due to the volume of high-priority mail
predicted for the election and holiday
mailing seasons, no consolidating activities
will be conducted from September through
December 2012.
The Postal Service remains committed to
maintaining high levels of service throughout
consolidation activities.
At the request of members of the Senate, the
Postal Service had agreed to a moratorium on
facility and Post Offices closures until May 15.
“Given that the
Postal Service is
currently projecting
a $14 billion net
loss in fiscal 2012,
and continuing
annual losses of
this magnitude, we
simply cannot justify
maintaining our
current mail processing
footprint.”
– PMG Patrick Donahoe
The first phase of consolidating activities will
reduce the size of the Postal Service workforce
by approximately 13,000 employees and, when
fully implemented, will generate cost reductions of
approximately $1.2 billion annually.
The Postal Service also announced that it
would be issuing a Final Rule in the Federal
Register modifying its existing Service Standard for
overnight delivery. The Final Rule, published on
May 25, shrinks the geographic reach of overnight
service to local areas and enables consolidation
activity to begin in 2013. The overnight delivery
standard will be tightened further in 2014 and
additional consolidation of the Postal Service mail
processing network, absent any change to the
circumstances of the Postal Service, will occur at
that time.
“We are essentially preserving
overnight delivery for First-Class
Mail through the end of 2013,
although we are collapsing the
distance that we can provide
overnight service to the distribution
area served by a particular mail
processing facility,” said Megan
Brennan, Chief Operating Officer.
The Postal Service stated its
expectation to pursue consolidation
activities for additional mail
processing locations beginning
in 2014 unless its circumstances
change. These consolidations
would be based on long-term
service standards that would
significantly revise mail-entry times
for customers seeking overnight
delivery.
“Given that the Postal Service is
currently projecting a $14 billion
net loss in fiscal 2012, and continuing annual
losses of this magnitude, we simply cannot justify
maintaining our current mail processing footprint,”
said Donahoe.
When fully implemented in late 2014, the
Postal Service expects its network consolidations to
generate approximately $2.1 billion in annual cost
reductions, and lead to total workforce reductions
of up to 28,000 employees.
The list of mail processing locations to
be consolidated by February 2013 is available at
http://about.usps.com/news/facility-studies/
welcome.htm.
FYI
The Postal Service
has more than
14 million
PO Box
customers.
MAY/JUNE 2012 3

FYI
If the Postal
Service were a
private sector
company, it
would rank 35th
in the 2011
Fortune 500.
4 MAY/JUNE 2012
FASTFORWARD
TO NCOA
A
new era in address-updating technology
is under way as the Postal Service retires
its FASTforward mailing list correction
service by Oct. 1.
Beginning June 15, current FASTforward
licensees can switch to a National Change of
Address (NCOA) program Mail Processing
Equipment (MPE) system — allowing them to still
meet Move Update requirements and use Optical
Character Reader (OCR) technology.
Move Update requirements help mailers
claiming presort or automation prices for First-
Class Mail or Standard Mail to reduce the number
of mailpieces requiring forwarding or return — by
matching their address records with change-ofaddress
(COA) listings maintained by the Postal
Service. OCR is an automated mail-sorting
machine that reads address information on a letter
or flat-size mailpiece and places the ZIP Code on
the piece as a barcode.
There are two pricing options for obtaining
NCOA licenses and one requiring no license:
■■ MPE License — $7,950 for each site. This
allows mailpieces to be processed through an
MPE system, with COA information directly
applied on the pieces. However, licensees aren’t
permitted to return electronic COA files to
customers.
■■ Limited Service License — $15,750 for the
first site, $7,950 for each additional site, $3,900
for an Addressee Not Known (ANK) Link option.
ANKLink provides change-of-address information
for 30 additional months beyond the usual
NCOALink product. Licensees can apply COA
information directly on mailpieces as well as
return electronic COA files to customers.
■■ MPE Wide Area Network — No USPS license
or fees required. Allows an OCR to take name
and address information from a mailpiece and
send it to a third-party licensee for processing
against the NCOA database. Users don’t need
an NCOA license for this method, as the license
is held by the third party.
Those switching from FASTforward — a
system first introduced in the late 90s — to an
MPE system must be recertified. Users can take
the recertification test for free, but if they fail,
each subsequent test costs $1,050. For more
information, contact the USPS National
Customer Support Center, Licensing and
Certification Department, at 800-589-5766 or
NCOAlink@usps.gov.
ENHANCING
EVERY DOOR
DIRECT MAIL
It’s simple. It’s cost effective. And now you
have more options for using Every Door Direct
Mail to get your marketing message to your
customers.
With Every Door Direct Mail, you simply
identify the neighborhoods you want to target that
matter most to your business. Postage is as low as
14.5 cents, you don’t need to know names or street
addresses, and your printed piece is delivered with
the day’s mail to every address.
Thanks to a recent change in size dimensions,
postal customers now can send more types of
mailpieces, such as menus or door-hangers.
Previously, Standard Mail simplified address flats
had to be longer than 11.5 inches. Here are the
new mailpiece basics:
■■ Must be one of the following:
greater than 10.5 inches in length
OR 6.125 inches in height
OR .25 inch thick.
■■ Minimum thickness is .007 inch (about
three sheets of paper).
■■ Minimum height is 3.5 inches.
■■ Maximum weight is 3.3 ounces.
In addition to the dimension changes, you’ll be
able to identify business routes for your mailings.
Business-only routes now will be shown in your
targeted search areas via the business/residential
search criteria if a business-only route is available in
that area.
For more information about Every Door Direct
Mail, visit usps.com/everydoordirectmail.
Every home. Every address. Every time.

POSTAL SERVICE LOSSES
$3.2 BILLION IN SECOND QUARTER — NEED FOR LEGISLATIVE CHANGES
T
he Postal Service ended its second quarter
(Jan. 1 – March 31) with a net loss of
$3.2 billion, compared to a net loss of
$2.2 billion for the same period last year.
Despite ongoing management actions that have
improved efficiency, the losses will continue until
key provisions of the Postal Service five-year business
plan move forward.
Without the impact of the non-controllable
costs related to mandated retiree health benefit
pre-funding payments and accounting for non-cash
adjustments for worker’s compensation, the non-
GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles)
loss for the quarter was $486 million compared to
$469 million for the same period last year.
The losses are due primarily to legislative
mandates such as the unique mandated prefunding
of retiree health benefits, and prohibiting
management from making needed operational and
human resource changes under current laws and
contracts. Also contributing to the continuing losses
are the declining First-Class Mail and Standard Mail
volumes.
“We are aggressively pursuing new revenue
streams and reducing costs in areas within our
control,” said Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe.
“These actions are not enough to return the Postal
Service to profitability. The legislative changes
outlined in our business plan will enable us to reduce
annual operational expenses by approximately
$22.5 billion by 2016 and set the stage for long-term
financial stability so we can continue to provide
secure, reliable and economical universal service to
the American public.”
Postal Service actions to increase revenue
continue to pay off in shipping and package services.
Revenues related to shipping and packages totaled
$3.5 billion, an increase of more than 13 percent
compared to the same period in the previous year, as
volume increased 74 million pieces, or 9 percent.
Despite the growth and success of Postal Service
shipping and package products, it was not enough
to overcome other declines. Revenue from Mailing
Services, excluding Market Dominant packages,
totaled $12.8 billion, a 3 percent decrease compared
to the same period last year, on a volume decrease
of 1.8 billion pieces. The revenue reduction
reflects the continued decline in First-Class Mail as
consumers continue to turn to electronic alternatives.
The second quarter also saw a decline in Standard
Mail, attributable to a decline in direct mail
advertising spending across a number of sectors
as sales prospecting slowed, advertisers used more
selective targeting methods and competition from
electronic advertising media increased.
“We expect to retain the ability to continue highquality
delivery services to all of our customers, and
continue to take all actions necessary to make sure
that our employees and suppliers will be paid,” said
Chief Financial Officer Joe Corbett. “Without
legislative change, we will not have sufficient cash
to pay the $11.1 billion required for retiree health
prefunding and may be forced to default on other
payments due to the federal government,” he said.
Complete financial results are available at:
about.usps.com by clicking on “Financials” under the
“Who We Are” tab at the top of the page.
FAREWELL, POSTNET! HELLO, IMb!
Starting Jan. 28, 2013, POSTNET officially
will be retired and replaced by the Intelligent
Mail barcode (IMb) for all automation letters
and automation flats. These include Business
Reply Mail letters qualifying for Qualified Business
Reply Mail prices and Permit Reply Mail letters.
Like POSTNET, the IMb contains all routing and
sorting information. But it also offers the opportunity
to select additional tools — such as address change
service and mail tracking — all in one barcode. This
allows for greater visibility and transparency as mail
travels.
“The Postal Service would like to thank the
mailing community for its support through this
transition, since the switch couldn’t have happened
without thousands of IMb users,” said Jim Cochrane,
vice president, Product Information.
USPS understands that some mailers currently use
POSTNET barcodes. It is committed to informing
and working with individual mailers and software
providers to ensure that the use of an IMb is
achievable for all mailing customers.
For more information about the change from
POSTNET to the IMb, refer to the Federal Register
notice available through Postal Explorer, pe.usps.com,
by clicking on “Federal Register Notices” in the left
hand navigation bar.
FYI
The Postal
Service is the
No.1 choice of
eBay shippers.
MAY/JUNE 2012 5

FYI
The Postal Service
has one of the
largest materialhandling
systems
in the world for
moving mail.
There are more
than 200 miles of
conveyors within
postal processing
facilities.
6 MAY/JUNE 2012
INTERCEPT,
THEN REDIRECT
SOMETIMES, IT’S TIME TO GO
FOR THE INTERCEPTION
USPS Package Intercept service enables
mailers to request a mailpiece be
returned or redirected before final
delivery is made to the original address.
“Whether it’s the wrong product, a case of
buyer’s remorse or a birthday present mistakenly
sent to the wrong relative, customers sometimes
need to intercept a shipment and this service is
designed to meet those needs,” says Gary Reblin,
vice president, Domestic Products.
This service is offered for letters, flats and
packages with a tracking barcode. It’s available for
any domestic shipment except Standard Mail and
Periodicals. Launched last January, USPS Package
Intercept service replaces the former recall of mail
process.
The service is available for both retail and
commercial customers. Effective June 24, new
features will be introduced, including an electronic
process for commercial customers to register
and request this service through the Business
Customer Gateway at usps.com.
Shipments are intercepted at the initial
destination delivery unit and returned to the
mailer. Additional options for customers who
use the new online commercial application are
redirecting a shipment to a new address or to
a Post Office as Hold For Pickup service. For
commercial customers, intercepted items will be
redirected as Priority Mail unless the mailpiece is
returned to the mailer and was originally sent as
Express Mail, Priority Mail or First-Class Mail.
For more details about USPS Package Intercept
service, refer to the Domestic Mail Manual.
GIFT IT! SAY IT!
SEND IT!
Approximately 2,300 Post Offices are
participating in a test program to promote
the combined purchase of American
Express gift cards and greeting cards with
the use of Priority Mail shipping.
The promotion provides customers the ease of
being able to select everything they need to “Mail a
Smile” from one convenient display in the customer
lobby. The display contains American Express
Classic Gold gift cards and special occasion gift
cards in varied amounts.
Customers can select
from 12 different alloccasion
greeting cards
priced from $2 to $3.95.
Gift cards make
the perfect gift for any
occasion. It’s the giftgiving
season — Father’s
Day, graduations,
weddings and birthdays.
Stop by your local Post
Office to stock up now.
Customers can buy a
gift card, greeting card
and stamp and mail their
gift — all at one Post
Office.
Make your gift extra
special and mail the gift
card and greeting card
using the Priority Mail gift
card envelope.
“Make a Smile”
lobby displays
LOOK UP PRICES ON YOUR MOBILE
NO DOWNLOADS NECESSARY
On the road? In a hurry? Need a quick
reference for a price or whether you
should use a customs form? Trying to
figure out which mobile device you
should choose? No need to worry — and no need
to download another app. We have “mobilized” our
price calculators and customs forms indicator for all
mobile devices.
Whether you use an iPAD, Droid or iPhone,
the new, mobile Postal Explorer website brings its
postage price calculators to mobile devices so you
can find what you’re looking for without having
to download a single thing. Go to pe.usps.com and
click on one of the price calculators or go directly to
postcalc.usps.com. So easy. So convenient. Make it
one of your “favorites.”

POSTAL NEWS BRIEFS
PAUL VOGEL NAMED PRESIDENT, DIGITAL
SOLUTIONS; NAGISA MANABE NEW CHIEF
MARKETING AND SALES OFFICER
In mid-May, the Postal Service
launched a Digital Solutions group,
which will lead efforts to produce
new digital products and services for
USPS, and will be led by Paul Vogel as
president. Additionally, Nagisa Manabe
joined the Postal Service as Chief
Marketing and Sales Officer responsible
for all domestic and international
product marketing, development and
management, as well as the Sales
organization.
Manabe comes to USPS from the
Coca Cola Company, where she served
EXPORT COMPLIANCE
USPS UPDATES INTERNATIONAL MAIL ACCEPTANCE PRACTICES
T
o ensure customer compliance
with federal export regulations,
the Postal Service has
updated its international mail
acceptance practices.
Among changes that went into
effect May 21, the Postal Service now
requires customers to electronically
create a customs declaration — using
Click-N-Ship, an authorized PC
Postage vendor or USPS Web Tools —
for international mail to be picked up
from customer mail boxes and blue
REUSABLE MAILPIECES
REQUIRE PCSC APPROVAL
T
o go green, more mailers are
designing reusable mailpieces.
A recipient removes part of a
mailpiece or refolds it to cover
the delivery address. This displays only
the delivery address of the original
sender for return.
While this practice is innovative,
it’s important that all mailpieces are
properly processed and recognized
by Postal Service equipment. Mailers
as vice president of New Growth
Platforms.
Prior to her work at Coca Cola,
Manabe was vice president of
Marketing for Diageo Guinness USA,
the beer and malt beverage division
of one of the world’s leading spirits,
wine and beer companies. She began
her career at Procter & Gamble in
1991, and over the past 20 years has
held various key positions working
on marketing and new product
development for more than 30 brands.
collection boxes or by free package
pickup.
International mail with a customs
declaration that has not been
completed electronically only can
be accepted at USPS retail service
counters, where retail associates
then will enter the information
electronically.
USPS is working with Approved
Shippers, Contract Postal Units and
other non-postal retailers to ensure
compliance with the new acceptance
practices.
should request approval for reusable
mailpieces from the USPS Pricing and
Classification Service Center (PCSC).
Mailers must submit three to five
samples of any new designs to:
Manager, PCSC
90 Church Street, Suite 3100
New York, NY 10007-2951
A specialist will review the design
for mailability.
Volume 6 Number 3
Editorial
Sandra Andrews
Warren Duffie
Paula Rabkin
Ilze Sella
Yvonne Yoerger
Design
Teresa Strayer
Patrick Donahoe
Postmaster General and
Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Williamson
Vice President,
Pricing
Sam Pulcrano
Vice President,
Corporate Communications
MailPro
is published by U.S. Postal Service
Corporate Communications and Pricing.
USPS eagle symbol and logotype are
registered marks of the
United States Postal Service.
© 2012 United States Postal Service. The
following are among the many trademarks owned
by the United States Postal Service: United States
Postal Service ® , U.S. Postal Service ® , USPS ® ,
Post Office, First-Class Mail ® , usps.com ® , Click-
N-Ship ® , Express Mail ® , Priority Mail ® , Standard
Mail ® , Intelligent Mail ® , Parcel Select ® , Express
Mail International ® , Signature Confirmation,
Certified Mail, Delivery Confirmation,
Registered Mail, ZIP Code, Carrier Pickup,
Priority Mail International, First-Class Mail
International, Postal Explorer ® , RIBBS and
FOREVER ® . This is not a comprehensive list of all
Postal Service marks.
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NATIONAL CUSTOMER SUPPORT CENTER
US POSTAL SERVICE
6060 PRIMACY PKWY STE 101
MEMPHIS TN 38188-0001
fax: 901-681-4521
email: mncsc@usps.com
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FYI
The Postal Service
is the first federal
agency — and
the first company
in North
America — to
receive the
prestigious Gold
Award from The
Climate Registry
for its sustainability
efforts and
leadership
in reducing
greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions.
Gold status is
awarded to
organizations
that demonstrate
GHG emissions
reductions of more
than 5 percent.
MAY/JUNE 2012 7

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