USPS, NAPUS and League Agree to Postmaster Pay Talks Extension : PostalReporter News Blog.

From the PostalOne Help Desk:

Please be advised – PostalOne! will deploy a patch release during the scheduled maintenance window from 4:00 am CST through 8:00 am CST on Sunday, January 29, 2012.

This patch (29.0.3) will address several known issues in Release 29.0. Communication of the specific issues corrected will be provided in separate communication.

The software will be updated in a rolling manner and no system availability or performance impact is expected.

If you have any questions or do experience issues during that time please contact the Help Desk.

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“Several” issues is an understatement.  There are a LOT of issues, issues that should/could/would have been caught in testing–if there was any reasonable testing period and reasonable testing processes.  Issues affecting postage payment, issues affecting/slowing down mail entry, pages and pages of issues on the list.

Let me be clear here – the USPS folks working on the programming and the releases and the fixes are working their butts off.  They are hard working and dedicated employees and the USPS is lucky to have them.  However – the USPS is not giving them the time, tools, and resources required to accomplish all they are trasked with accomplishing, and does not allow for a modicum of common sense to be applied.  A lack of central vision and management coordination causes an endless cycle of hurry up – and then spend weeks and months fixing things.    It is not the way to conduct business.

US Postal Service ‘Unsustainable’ Situation, Leader Says – US Business News – CNBC.

Watch video of PMG Donahoe interview

MEDIA ALERT: POSTMASTER GENERAL & CEO PATRICK DONAHOE ON CNBC’S “SQUAWK BOX” TOMORROW.

WASHINGTON — High-volume commercial mailers spoke, and the Postal Service listened. Effective this week, businesses mailing First-Class Mail automation, presort letters using “2nd Ounce Free” pricing can mail letters weighing up to 2 ounces at the 1-ounce postage rate.

First-Class Mail automation, presort letters are primarily generated by commercial mailers of bills and statements — or transaction mail. 2nd Ounce Free pricing will provide these customers with greater value from their transaction mailings by letting them include an additional ounce that can be used for operational or marketing purposes at no additional cost.

“With 2nd Ounce Free, companies have greater flexibility to offset mailing center costs by including additional promotional offers with bills, invoices and statements,” said Gary Reblin, vice president, Domestic Products. “2nd Ounce Free also provides business mailers with the option of using higher quality paper stock or larger envelopes to create greater impact.”

Bills and statements delivered via First-Class Mail are opened more than 95 percent of the time and, on average, the receiver spends two to three minutes with each piece¹. “This makes transaction mail a highly effective medium for target marketing,” said Reblin.

An integral part of the overall commitment from the Postal Service to add value to the mail, 2nd Ounce Free is not a limited time promotion, but a new price for First-Class Mail presort, automation letters. 2nd Ounce Free does not apply to single-piece letters mailed by consumers.

“No registration is required, no annual minimum thresholds apply, and no payment rebates are needed, since 2nd Ounce Free pricing is offered upfront,” said Reblin.

2nd Ounce Free can be used to inform, educate and strengthen customer loyalty by providing additional information, such as announcements, disclosures and notifications. The extra ounce also can be used to conduct consumer research with surveys and reply cards.

By combining transaction mail with promotional mail, known in the industry as transpromo, companies can add more inserts and “onserts” — totaling up to 2 ounces — without incurring additional postage costs. (Onserts are advertisements or promotional offers usually printed at the bottom of bills or statements.)

“Transpromo is a highly targeted, measurable form of direct mail that helps companies increase revenue based on an ‘opt-in’ relationship,” said Reblin. “Customers also can use the free second ounce to sell advertising space to other marketers, which has the potential to lower the costs of mailing bills and statements.”

Transpromo is often combined with variable data printing (VDP), a form of on-demand printing that can be used to produce mail pieces that are personalized to an individual’s specific data. “VDP allows marketers to customize the messages on each mail piece, resulting in more personal and more effective communication,” said Reblin.

For more information about 2nd Ounce Free, visit usps.com/2nd-ounce-free.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Source: Trans Meets Promo…Is it More than Market Hype? InfoTrends, August 2008

Dead Tree Edition: We Already Have A Veterans Job Corps — It’s Called the Postal Service.

Vice President, Sales, Cliff Rucker has stated USPS is aiming for $1 billion in 2012 EDDM sales.

via USPS shoots for $1 billion in annual Every Door Direct Mail sales : PostalReporter News Blog.

By cannibalizing other business, selling low-ball instead of selling the right program for each mail owner, downgrading mail currently already in the mail stream (chalking it up to the internet, the economy, etc. etc.), alienating current mail service “partners”, and carefully controlling the reporting on the project, EDDM could be reported on as a $1 billion dollar business for the USPS in 2012.

From the PostalOne! Help Desk–

Please be advised:

The Mail.dat file and Mail.XML message issue that was reported to you yesterday involving mailers submitting First-Class Mail postage statements resulting in failed jobs due to double entry of postage statement lines has been corrected.

Statements processed today by the Postal Clerk adjustment work around should be reversed by the clerk and the mailer can resubmit the electronic job.

As reference:

The tracking id for the Mail.dat file issue was 91873 for error code 7079 in USPS issue tracking.

The tracking id for the Mail.XML file issue was 91875 for error code 8869 in USPS issue tracking.

Please contact the USPS Help Desk at (800) 522-9085 if you have questions or further issues.

DMM Notice 123 Price List.
Draft Ratefold with the new rates…

Thinking Outside The Envelope | USPS OIG.