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| | IMB Rules Review
:: 0 Comments ::  :: Articles of Interest | On April 16, 2008 the USPS released an Advance Federal Register notice regarding Intelligent Mail. Here is a summary of the highlights of that document -
IMB Benefits
- ACS Address Change Service
- Confirm®
- Tracking
Additional visibility will improve service and efficiency, and add value to the mail. | | Read
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| | What can the new Postal Service program called Open and Distribute do for you?
:: 0 Comments ::  | What can the new Postal Service program called Open and Distribute do for you?
Open and Distribute allows you to send bundles of presorted mail pieces to postal facilities located closer to where the item will be delivered. The mail gets to the recipient faster, on a more predictable date and in many cases for less money. When you can do something faster, more predictably, and in many cases for less money, it is good idea to do it.
Previously, this program was referred to as Express Mail Dropship and Priority Mail Dropship. It is now called Express Mail Open and Distribute and Priority Mail Open and Distribute. The new Open and Distribute program allows mailers to use the Postal Service’s expedited network for transporting their presorted bulk mailings to a facility closer to where the mail is to be delivered. The Postal Service Expedited transportation delivers the bundle of sacks or trays to postal facilities around the country within one to three days. Next the mailing is processed at those facilities to meet its appropriate service commitment.
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| | Go Beyond Presort
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | Go Beyond Presort
It is time to expand your capabilities while reducing your expenses. Find out what you can achieve by utilizing Mail.dat® as part of a Post-Presort system.
Presort software focuses on address verification, address quality, and mail sortation. Post-Presort specializes in complete management and flexibility of your Mailing Data. Post Presort takes your operation to the next level, enabling you to manage your postal documentation in a way not possible with only Presort software. | | Read
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| | Presort & Post-Presort: the differences, and how they work together
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | Presort and Post-Presort software: the differences, and how they work together
Mailers who use presort software alone often do not realize the benefits and the tremendous advantage that can be achieved by utilizing a Post-Presort software.
Presort software focuses on address verification, address quality, and mail sortation.
Post-Presort software specializes in complete data management and flexibility, including the ability to make last minute real-time changes to your mailing data. Create USPS® Mailing documentation that matches the mailing, instead of trying to match your mailing to the paperwork! | | Read
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| | 7 Essentials for Mailing in 2007
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | 7 Essentials for Mailing in 2007
The United States Postal Service® is making changes that effect how you prepare and pay for mailings. In many ways, it is a broader set of changes to be implemented in 2007 than the classification reform of 1996. Be prepared!
1. Discounted rates - drop ship becomes more important than ever
• Currently, there are great discounts for drop shipping. The trend for future rate adjustments show that the discounts will be more substantial for those mailers that can get containers of a particular shape of mail to the processing center that is designated to process that kind of mail. If you can drop ship your flats to a flats processing facility, your parcels to a parcel processing facility and your letter mail to a letter mail processing facility, you can achieve substantial savings and faster delivery times.
2. New postal forms, and ways of communicating with the USPS
• There will be new statement forms to be filled out.
• There will be more rates and processing categories to choose from.
• Utilize PostalOne!® for electronic postage payment.
• Utilize FAST Web services, saving time and improving accuracy.
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| | Low-Volume Shipping Systems
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | Low-volume Shipping Systems
Click-N-Ship™ from the USPS®: The U.S. Postal Service® provides a free, online shipping solution that is adequate for most consumers and some businesses that ship just a few domestic or international packages each day. The USPS Click-N-Ship™ solution is ideal for consumers and for businesses that ship 1-10 pieces daily of the following mail classes:
▪ Priority Mail®
▪ Express Mail®
▪ Global Express Guaranteed®
▪ Global Express Mail™
▪ Global Priority Mail®
▪ Global Airmail Parcel Post®
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| | Parcels: Ways to Pay Postage
:: 0 Comments ::  :: Articles of Interest | Parcels: Ways to Pay Postage
After choosing to ship with the U.S. Postal Service® for its quality service and affordability, businesses must select a method of postage payment that best meets their needs. Postage payment options include: stamp, postage meter, PC Postage® (Internet postage), and permit imprint.
Stamps, meter strips, and PC Postage are all ‘live’ postage payment methods that require prepayment. That is, you pay the postage for your shipment when you buy your stamps, ‘fill’ your meter machine, or print PC Postage. Postage has already been paid when you print or affix any of these payment options to your package. As a result, mistakes in package preparation become more costly—when stamps are lost or stolen, changes need to be made to a shipment after meter strips have been applied, or a package with PC Postage must be held for shipment another day, you incur an expense that is hard to recoup. | | Read
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| | Parcels: Paying with Stamps
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | Parcels: Paying with Stamps
Perhaps the most familiar method of paying postage, stamps are small pieces of gummed paper issued and sold by a government for attachment to an article that needs to be mailed. First-Class Mail stamps are used for most everyday purposes, such as correspondence and bills, and may be used for domestic and international mailings. Stamps are also available for other classes of mail, such as Priority Mail® and Express Mail®.
After opening the proper postal permit (there is no fee for such a permit), bulk mailers may use precancelled stamps for Presorted First-Class, Presorted Standard and Nonprofit Standard Mail—bulk mailers may choose to do this for the same reasons (below) that others affix stamps. | | Read
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| | Parcels: Paying with Meters
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | Parcels: Paying with Meters
Meter machines print postage paid on either your mail piece or an approved label (i.e. meter strip or tape) that you affix to your piece. Meter machines are leased from commercial manufacturers who cooperate with the U.S. Postal Service® to enable you to pay for and download postage straight into the machine and to print it on demand. | | Read
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| | Parcels: Paying Online
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | Parcels: Paying with PC Postage®
Online Postage—named PC Postage by the U.S. Postal Service®—enables one to download official Postal Service™ postage from the Internet and print it onto envelopes and labels. It resembles postage stamps and meters in that it is prepaid.
Pros: PC Postage offers convenience for those who would like to print their postage and a shipping label, including some Extra Services, from the Internet. For a fee, some PC Postage vendors offer additional services when you purchase postage from them online. The smallest shippers can benefit from the Postal Service’s complimentary online service, Click-N-Ship®, to prepare labels for a limited number of mail classes and extra services (must still pay for postage). Others who require support for additional mail classes, Extra Services, or more cost-effective private insurance, or a more robust shipping system will need to subscribe to a private vendor, usually paying a monthly fee. Carrier pickup for PC Postage parcels is easily arranged. | | Read
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| | Parcels: Paying with Permits
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | Parcels: Paying with Permits
Instead of using stamps or a postage meter, parcel shippers who send at least 50 lbs or 200 pieces per shipment may choose to print postage information in the upper right-hand corner of the mail piece. The postage block that you see on many mail pieces—parcels and letters—is called a permit imprint. It is tied to a permit (account) that the mailer has opened and funded at the Post Office where she deposits mail for shipment. Paying postage by permit imprint resembles having a debit account with your Post Office—you deposit money into your permit account, and the USPS deducts the appropriate postage amount only when you drop off your packages for shipment, along with appropriate paperwork from approved commercial or proprietary shipping software.
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| | Ship Pharmaceuticals & Save
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | Economical Package Fulfillment for Pharmaceutical Industry: First-Class Mail® with Confirmed Delivery
In the past, in order to provide proof of delivery, assure shipment of packages to consumers, and comply with governmental regulations, pharmaceutical companies were forced to use expensive services of third-party carriers, such as UPS®, FedEx®, and DHL®. | | Read
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| | Avoid UPS/FedEx Surcharges
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | Buyer Beware if You Ship UPS® & FedEx®: The Hidden Cost of Surcharges
Many mid- to large-volume shippers are led to believe that they enjoy significant “incentive discounts” from UPS and FedEx because these discounts are featured so prominently in the first pages of UPS and FedEx invoices. However, these same shippers may not realize the extent to which these parcel carriers’ surcharges, especially those applied after shipping, negate such favored rates. | | Read
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| | Save Money on Postage with Destination Entry Discounts
:: 1 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | Save Money on Postage with Destination Entry Discounts
If you are mailing Standard Mail, Periodicals, Parcel Post, or Bound Printed Matter, you may be eligible for further discounts if you enter your mail closer to its destination.
After your mail is verified and postage is paid at the facility where you hold your permit, you can take your mail to one of three places to receive a destination entry discount: a destination bulk mail center (DBMC) (or destination area distribution center [DADC] for Periodicals), a destination sectional center facility (DSCF), or a destination delivery unit (DDU). The discount you receive depends on which of these locations you choose. | | Read
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| | What is USPS Confirm® Service?
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | What is USPS Confirm® Service?
Confirm service provides you with near real-time tracking information about your First-Class Mail®, Periodicals, and Standard Mail letters and flats.
There are two types of Confirm service that let you know where your mail is, and when it will be delivered. Both provide you advance notice of when your mailpieces will arrive.
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| | How USPS Confirm® Service Works
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | How USPS Confirm® Service Works
Confirm service takes advantage of existing technologies that provide enhanced mail tracking and visibility. All it requires from you is a little planning and preparation.
With Confirm service, you identify each piece of mail with an additional barcode, known as a PLANET Code®. As mailpieces with PLANET® Codes are processed, electronic records are created and sent to you. Records are also available through USPS®' Mail Tracking & Reporting Web site Prepare Your Mail When you prepare your mail, you print the PLANET barcode on the mailpiece. Then you tell U.S. Postal Service® when and where your mailing will be entered into the mailstream, and what PLANET Codes will be used. | | Read
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| | Software Benefits with DHL
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | Software Benefits with DHL
What to Look for in Shipping Software Support for your Parcel Select Packages via Smart Mail/DHL? With Postal Package Partner (PPP) for Smart Mail®/DHL®, shippers and fulfillment companies enjoy a host of benefits, including:
- Saving money with ZIP+4 Online Address Checking
- Avoid paying an extra $0.08 per piece for address correction and ensure accurate delivery by using PPP to make sure shipping addresses are correct the first time.
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| | USPS Manifesting Made Easier
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | USPS Manifesting Made Easier
What is a Manifest Mailing System? A manifest mailing system is an automated, computer-supported system that allows a mailer to document postage and fees for all pieces in a mailing paid via permit imprint. Each piece in a manifest mailing is labeled with a unique identification (ID) number. The manifest lists each piece by ID number and shows the amount of postage claimed for that piece. The pieces may be identical or nonidentical in weight. More than one class of mail may be reported on the manifest. The mailer simply submits the manifest, a postage statement, and the mail to the designated drop off point at their local post office. The manifest is randomly checked for accuracy, and if all is in order, the total postage amount shown on the manifest is deducted from an advance deposit account held by the mailer and the mail is dispatched.
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| | Postage Statements
:: 0 Comments :: :: Articles of Interest | The Year Paper Postage Statements Begin to Disappear
Most mailers and mail owners do not realize that there is a quiet revolution taking place that promises to eliminate the need for paper postage statements within a very short period of time, and Window Book's DAT-MAIL and Post Master clients are poised to reap the amazing rewards! For some time, large mailers who use PostalOne!® have been able to do electronic postage payment for Standard Mail without paper postage statements.
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