Entries from May 1, 2006 - June 1, 2006
An Aggressive Approach to UAA Mail
May 26, 2006
If you’ve read my columns or attended any of the half-dozen PCC (http://www.usps.com/nationalpcc/welcome.htm) events I speak at each year, you’ve probably learned that I am pretty passionate about reducing undeliverable as addressed mail (UAA). UAA mail is not only costing the USPS $1.8 billion each year, it’s a significant contributor to the industry’s costs and mail pieces that never reach their intended recipients. In fact, it’s such a pervasive problem that the Postmaster General Jack Potter specifically called for a reduction of UAA mail by 50% by the year 2010.
To meet this aggressive goal, the USPS has recently proposed not only rate changes in the recent rate case filing on May 3, but also a significant change to the CASS certified software. Effective August 1, 2007, all CASS certified software will have to verify that the primary address number is truly deliverable in order to qualify for postage automation discounts. In effect, the USPS is cracking down on UAA mail by making a key part of the currently optional Delivery Point Validation (DPV) mandatory.
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The Incredible Shrinking Show
May 19, 2006
Perhaps it was the weather, increased travel costs, slashed budgets, or simply too many shows to choose from but last week’s Mailcom show in Atlantic City, NJ seemed much smaller than in the past. The advertised 6,500 attendees just didn’t seem to match the traffic I witnessed in the sessions or on the exhibit floor.
That being said, I will say that it was a great event nonetheless. Hot topics included address quality, bundle preparation changes, and of course the proposed rate increase filed by the USPS the previous week. In fact, one of the handouts at Mailcom was a rate sheet with the proposed prices.