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In the news this month: Postal reform passes the House and Senate; Rules for contacting wireless devices; and the USPS expands sorting technology.
Postal Reform Passes House and Senate
From The DMA—
The postal reform bill (H.R. 6407) passed last month in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate represents a major victory for the millions of businesses, non-profit organizations, and consumers across the country that rely on the United States Postal Service (USPS). The final legislation reflects an agreement reached among key members of Congress, the Administration, and the mailing community.
Key Provisions
It contains all of the elements the DMA and other mailing stakeholders have sought over the past several years, including:
A cap that will tie future postal rate increases to the rate of inflation; A tight exigency clause defining the conditions for emergency rate increases; The return of the military retirement cost burden (some $27 billion) to the U.S. Treasury; and Language supporting the continuation of worksharing agreements.
New DMA Wireless Alert & Flowchart
Are you aware of the latest rules for contacting wireless devices by telephone, text message, or email? Did you know you might be contacting a wireless telephone number when you think you are calling a landline number?
The DMA's ethics & consumer affairs department recently developed an easy-to-understand guide and graphic flowchart to help you navigate the complex rules for contacting wireless devices. These tools are free and available online at:
http://www.the-dma.org/guidelines/WirelessAlert.pdf and
http://wwwthe-dma.org/guidelines/WirelessFlowChart.pdf
For any questions regarding the alert or the flowchart, please contact the DMA at teleservicesethics@the-dma.org.
USPS expands mail-sorting technology to improve service, reduce costs
Technology that successfully boosted postal efficiencies in the processing, distribution and delivery of letter mail will soon be applied to the sorting of flat mail such as large envelopes, magazines, catalogs and circulars.
Known as the Flats Sequencing System program, the initiative was approved last month by the by the U.S. Postal Service's board of governors at its monthly meeting.
Walt O'Tormey, Vice President of Engineering at USPS, said that using technology to sort flat mail into the order of delivery for letter carriers will increase efficiency in the office and allow carriers to begin delivering to their customers earlier in the day.
Mailers, however, have expressed concern that as a result of the new system, they will have to change the location of their customers' addresses on these mail pieces. Customers' address labels will have to be moved from the bottom right or left corner of a mail piece to the top center.
If this happens, might fewer people open their mail, and, as a result, will response rates fall?
The first phase of the program calls for an initial order of 100 FSS machines to be deployed to 33 postal facilities beginning in the summer of 2008. As tests continue, the USPS will measure and study the results.
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