Archive for July, 2009
Politically Direct Summer 2009: Fighting for the Future of Mail
Federal Eye - Postal Service Joins ‘High Risk’ List
Full-Service Activity
From the DMM Advisory, the USPS says that there are 15 mailers who have successfully navigated the TEM Test Environment for Mailers scenarios and are approved to mail Full-Service.
Full-Service Intelligent Answers Weekly Telecon
From the DMM Advisory:
Full-Service Intelligent Answers: On July 31, we are initiating Full-Service Intelligent Answers, a weekly telecon to answer questions and resolve issues for mailers migrating to the Full-Service application. If you are participating in the Full-Service process, join these calls to exchange information with postal and industry stakeholders to get answers to your Full-Service questions. The dial-in information will be posted on RIBBS, Intelligent Mail® Services, Latest News on Thursday.
Sen. Carper Introduces USPS Relief Legislation
WASHINGTON - Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) today introduced legislation to help address the dire financial situation facing the United States Postal Service.
Sen. Carper, as chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees the postal service, has been closely monitoring its deteriorating financial condition and has been seeking way to keep the mail flowing.
“The economic slowdown and the ever-growing electronic diversion of the mail have put a serious strain on our nation’s Postal Service,” said Sen. Carper. “We in Congress must provide some way to help preserve the vital services post offices provide for American families and businesses.”
Recently, Postmaster General Jack Potter and Postal Service Board of Governors Chairman Carolyn Gallagher notified Congress and officials at the Treasury Department that the Postal Service will not make its $5.4 billion retiree health, pre-funding payment by September 30, as required by law.
That is why Sen. Carper introduced his “Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Funding Reform Act of 2009″ to restructure the postal service’s retiree health payment schedule to produce significant cost savings over the next several years. The Carper bill also gives the postal service more borrowing authority to meet its financial obligations and get through this current fiscal year and next.
“This bill will put the Postal Service on more sound financial footing as we approach the crucial holiday shopping season. I am confident that with the changes called for in my bill, the Postal Service can continue to provide the quality service we all depend on,” said Sen. Carper. “But this bill is not a silver bullet that will fix everything wrong with the Postal Service. Its management also needs to find ways to attract new business and further streamline operations. And, Congress and postal employees need to continue to work closely with management to keep the Postal Service running smoothly and reliably.”
The Postal Service expects mail volume to be roughly 175 billion pieces this fiscal year, a decline of 38 billion pieces since 2007. The Postal Service is also projecting a loss of $7.1 billion in FY2009 despite its success in working toward $6.1 billion in cost cutting in one year.
Sen. Carper hopes this bill will be enacted into law before Congress adjourns in August.
Postal Officials Ponder Emergency Rate Increases
BMCs / NDCs
Bye, bye BMCs, hello NDCs.
Will the facilities formerly known as the Bulk Mail Centers please stand up? OK. Poof, you are now NDCs.
Per a message at the USPS FAST drop-ship appointment website, all BMCs (Bulk Mail Centers) are renamed to NDCs (National Distribution Centers). These still have the same NASS Codes as before (for example - 75Z for Dallas NDC (formerly the Dallas BMC). They also still have all the same functionality, the only thing that has changed is the name.
…to protect the innocent? I don’t think so.
Intelligent Mail Weekly Update
It seems the USPS Intelligent Mail Weekly Update (the one that used to come on Fridays) is now coming out on Monday mornings. Via a DMM Advisory, today’s update has info on Intelligent Mail data and PostalOne! release 20. We’ve already covered the other items in a previous blog (9-Digit Mailer IDs and CRIDs).
The USPS will be posting Full Service data samples on RIBBS on July 22nd. These will include Full Service ACS Change of Address Data (CSV, XLS, Mail.XML), Full Service Nixie Data (CSV, XLS, Mail.XML); Start the Clock and Container Induction Data (Mail.XML only), and CSA Customer Supplier Agreement Data.
PostalOne! Patch Release 20.1 was implemented yesterday, July19th. This patch was to correct issues with the downloadable Full Service data. Release notes are also available at RIBBS. Interesting (and confusingly) enough, the USPS has to say: The User Access to Electronic Mailing Information and Reports Guide demonstrates the Full Service Address Correction elements that exist today (menaing before yesterday, a new way to look at today?) as illustrated in (the now-defunct Appendix A), with the July 19th patch release elements outlined in the (now current) Appendix B.
