Distribution Directions Vol 9 No 13 Easier postage payments, MTAC Meeting, FSS Update, Bridging the Digital Divide, Creating IMb Artwork for BRM

The Postal Service announced at the quarterly MTAC meeting they are proposing a new program called “Easy Payment” and it will change how business mailers pay for postage in the future. Permit holders will have a one universal account. This account will eliminate the need for separate accounts in every origin mailing location or for every product and service. Payment for multiple USPS products and services will be via this Universal account. Low cost and flexible funding and payment options as well as a flexible payment delivery (online or across the counter) will be supported. The USPS is currently working through the details and the migration approach to support Easy Payment. The goal is for all the individual accounts to go away by next year.

Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) Meeting

The official minutes and links to all of the presentations from the recent MTAC meeting are now available on their webpage. Click here to view.

Flats System Sequencing Update

The Postal Service now has 50 flats sequencing system (FSS) machines in operation — half of the 100 machines scheduled to become operational during phase 1 of FSS implementation. According to FSS Executive Director Rosa Fulton, the 50th machine, located in San Jose, CA, became fully operational this week. An additional 40 machines are installed and ready for testing. “The schedule for system burn-ins and activations is aggressive, with 10 machines starting up every 3 weeks,” said Fulton. All 100 machines are scheduled to be sorting flats by July. More than 14,000 letter carriers now are receiving sequenced flat mail each day. Route adjustments — made possible with FSS — are ongoing, with more than 500 city routes eliminated since the first FSS machine went online. Bringing an FSS machine online requires an orchestrated quality process — one that takes a few weeks to implement. In the first week, zones are added to the machine. Over the next 2 weeks, acceptance tests are conducted. After the machine has met acceptance criteria, the Postal Service begins to ramp up to full FSS operations.

Source: USPS NewsLink

Bridging the Digital Divide

The Internet and the digital economy are fundamentally changing communications, transportation, and commerce. This “digital revolution,” in combination with the great recession of 2008 to 2009 has affected postal operators all over the world causing a steep decline in the volumes of personal, business, and advertising mail. This shift from the physical will only accelerate as digital natives become more prominent in the workforce. In a white paper released by the Office of Inspector General (OIG), they analyzed the changing digital landscape as the first in a series of papers on the USPS role in the digital age. Given the Postal Service’s role as a trusted intermediary in the physical world, what role do you believe it should take in digital world, if any? The OIG wants your comments.

Source: OIG

Creating IMb Artwork for BRM

The U.S. Postal Service has developed a webpage for creating Intelligent Mail barcode artwork for Business Reply Mail. All BRM users are encouraged to go to http://www.usps.com/replymail and login. The user name and password are the same as the Business Customer Gateway. New users may need to register and create an account. Select the type of reply mail you want: Courtesy Reply Mail (CRM), Business Reply Mail (BRM), or Qualified Business Reply Mail (QBRM). Then follow the easy steps to create camera-ready artwork. Previous users may select existing designs from the "Mailpiece Library." You must be the owner of the MID and BRM to use the program.

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