USPS Looks to Cut Costs – How it Can Affect Your Mail
By Mary Schultz, Production Manager
January 2010
The postal news at the end of 2009 was good news – no postage rate increases for first class or standard mail in 2010! While the postal service hopes this will keep people in the mail stream, they are still estimating a $7 billion loss this year.
To help save money the USPS is looking to:
- Cut work hours, consolidate facilities, and eliminate Saturday delivery.
- Replace hard copy postage statements with online verification. Instead of the stamped 3602 form we are used to receiving as proof of mailing, an electronic statement would be available through the postal service, reducing their paperwork and streamlining the process.
- Provide incentives to use the full-service Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB). Full compliance will not be mandatory before May 2011, but in the meantime small discounts will be given to mail that is fully compliant. Use of the IMB eliminates some of the sorting work done by the postal service.
- Enforce Move Update Compliance. Beginning this January, the USPS will apply a 7 cent per piece penalty to the entire mailing if it does not meet Move Update standards. Mailers are required to update their file every 95 days through an authorized method, such as the National Change of Address (NCOA) service. This reduces the number of mail pieces that need to be forwarded or returned.
While we may not see some of these changes for several months or longer, Schultz & Williams is working closely with the post office to make sure all of our clients’ mail meets USPS guidelines and takes advantage of all applicable discounts.
Schultz & Williams is a national consulting firm based in Philadelphia; providing management, fundraising and marketing consulting for nonprofit organizations, along with full-service direct marketing, database and creative/production services.
