In the words of Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” There is one significant first step that those involved with shaping the vision of the... View More
As they do every year, USPS and all the major shipping carriers have rolled out rate increases and process changes for 2019. But in the case of USPS, this year’s changes are more aggressive th... View More
A new offering for 2019 in the United States Postal Service (USPS) promotion and incentives program is the Informed Delivery Promotion, which runs from September 1 through November 30 of 2019. R... View More
Certified Mail, a service that provides a mailer with a receipt and verification that an item was delivered or that a delivery attempt was made, was launched by the Postal Service in 1955. Today... View More
This may be one of the best-kept secrets of 2019. Why? The United States Postal Service (USPS) has been surprisingly low-key about the increase in Full-Service discounts for USPS Marketing Mail... View More
The start of the year is always a good time to evaluate your current suppliers and ensure you have the best agreements, terms, and services at the lowest prices. One area that often goes uncheck... View More
Somewhat in jest, I often refer to the Postal Service’s Annual Compliance Report (ACR) as the Annual “Non-compliance” Report. It’s not quite fair to ignore all the positive and... View More
The Mailer Scorecard has become an important tool for mail service providers (MSPs) to understand any quality issues the Postal Service is finding with the mail prepared for clients. As early us... View More
The past year was an exciting one for the mailing industry. Although I do not have a crystal ball, it is always exciting to share some thoughts about what could happen in our industry throughout 2019... View More
Now that we have survived the busy mid-term elections, the holiday peak mailing season, and 2019 has officially arrived, it is time to focus on some resolutions for success. First, com... View More
On December 4, 2018, the US Treasury Department issued its much-anticipated report from the President’s Task Force on the United States Postal Service. The report, titled United States Postal Servic
Great news for marketers and mailers! The United States Postal Service (USPS) is once again offering mailing incentive/promotion programs for 2019. Both the USPS and the mailing industry are ver... View More
When the USPS talks about an average 2.5% increase, it’s important to remember that this is overall. Based on the type of mail you send, the increase could be higher or lower. You need to look... View More
Every February, people in Punxsutawney (PA) drag a poor hibernating woodchuck out of its burrow so it can be used to forecast how much winter weather remains. This annual rite has long outlived its pr
Mail Quality Data-IV (MQD-IV) has been enabled for all mailers to receive uncapped error data. MQD-IV leverages the Informed Visibility Mail Tracking & Reporting (IV-MTR) application t... View More
August 23, 2018 started out as a typical, uneventful day. No one would have predicted the lightning strike that the Postal Service was going to hit the mailing industry with that day. Out of now... View More
If you missed this year’s National Postal Forum in San Antonio, the theme was Informed Customers — Customer Experience Delivered. One of the newer technologies the United States Postal Servi
Editor's Note: Even if you are a veteran of the mailing industry, you may still come across a term that causes you to scratch your head. And if you are new to the mailing industry, well, you may... View More
There has to be a certain sense of satisfaction to the leaders of the Postal Service, not because they’re part of the team that runs a sprawling public agency, or because they control a multi-billio
On November 13, 2018, the Postal Regulatory Commission issued Order No. 4875, which approved six proposed USPS mailing promotions for 2019. These promotions are offered as a way to support mai... View More
