Trends in Print and Mail

“One today is worth two tomorrows.” April 1757

Benjamin Franklin was a strong believer in personal responsibility. One of the virtues he listed in his autobiography was “Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.”

To “perform what we ought”, we need to account for our actions, and the actions of our department. That means integrating systems that monitor not just every job, but pieces within that job. Just as important as any technical tool is the attitude of the individual performing the work. The team must adopt a culture of accountability.

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United States Postal Service / Operations Management / Technology / Strategy / USPS / Postage Rates / Leadership / mail / print / The Berkshire Company / learning / inspiration / management / growth / strength / employees / Ben Franklin / professionalism / information

“Look before, or you’ll find yourself behind.”  January 1735

Benjamin Franklin’s success as a printer, postmaster general, and politician assured his place in history. Yet he was also a scientist and inventor.

He demonstrated that lightning was electrical in nature, and used that information to invent the lightning rod. He studied the Gulf Stream (actually naming it), and charted its course. The Frankling stove improved the efficiency of heating the home, and is still in use today. And some of us of a certain age appreciate his work in optics, including the invention of bifocals.

These discoveries and inventions, now considered basic knowledge in our society, were cutting edge technologies. By pushing the boundaries of what was known, Franklin changed the lives of people in the 18th century, and we still feel the impact in the present.

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“Little strokes fell great oaks.” August 1750

A constant theme in Franklin’s Almanack was frugality. When considering the above quote, think about always looking for discounts, or other ways to save money. No matter how small the savings may be.

When contracting for services, an oft-overlooked opportunity are multi-year contracts. Ask vendors for considerations if you extend a one-year contract to three years, or three years to five years. Add language to guarantee pricing – or limits to increases – for the length of the contract, including extensions.

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Operations Management / Strategy / Postage Rates / Purchasing / Leadership / print / The Berkshire Company / learning / success / positive / inspiration / management / growth / strength / employees / Ben Franklin / professionalism

For this month’s installment, we’ll look at two aphorisms from Richard Saunders:

“Observe all men, thy self most.” (August 1740) 

“There are three things extreamly hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one self.” (January 1750)

In other words, we need to keep accurate records of volumes and costs. This is especially true in a production environment. We all want to improve ourselves and our operations. But you need to know where you are before you can make any changes.

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Operations Management / Strategy / Postage Rates / Purchasing / Leadership / print / The Berkshire Company / learning / success / positive / inspiration / management / growth / strength / employees / Ben Franklin / professionalism

There was more than one winner at the National Postal Forum (NPF) in Charlotte a few weeks ago. In fact, it was evident that all 3,500 attendees had a successful conference in the shadow of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Whether in classes, on the trade show floor, or networking at events – there were opportunities for everyone.

The keynote address from Postmaster General (PMG) DeJoy provided an update on the Delivering for America plan. PMG DeJoy stressed his commitment to continual “dramatic change” at the US Postal Service (USPS). Videos featuring key leadership emphasized the progress made so far, with the need for even more work to be done. DeJoy stated the new network will take “the Postal Service from the leader in the last mile, to the leader in the last 150 miles.”

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United States Postal Service / National Postal Forum / Postal Customer Council / USPS / Digital / U.S. Postal Service / Postage Rates / NPF / shipping / mail / Postmaster General / The Berkshire Company / learning / management

There’s nothing more rewarding than hearing about a client’s success. It’s even better when the successes involve real dollar savings.

Of course, nothing compares to a call when a client describes their most recent round of savings as “low-hanging watermelons”.

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United States Postal Service / National Postal Forum / Postal Customer Council / USPS / Digital / U.S. Postal Service / Postage Rates / NPF / mail / The Berkshire Company / management

In several of his last public briefings, Postmaster General (PMG) DeJoy has shown two slides – one with a cauldron of bats filling the screen in what appears to be a jumble of flying figures, followed by one showing a flock of geese flying in typical “V” formation. PMG DeJoy uses the analogy to demonstrate the chaos at the US Postal Service (USPS) when he arrived (the bats), and the order he intends to implement (the geese).

The analogy of bats and geese is appropriate, but PMG DeJoy has taken the wrong lesson. The USPS is more like bats, while their competitors are often more like the geese. Yes, bats and geese both fly, but that’s where the similarities end.

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United States Postal Service / U.S. Postal Service / Postal Reform / Postage Rates / Vote by mail / Postmaster General

For over 6 months, mailing industry professionals – through their associations and as individuals – have expressed their concerns about a second postage rate increase in 2021. Through group calls with the US Postal Service (USPS) leadership, meetings with the postmaster general, and many articles and blog posts, the message has been clear – a second rate increase in 2021 will cause harm. Annual budgets have been set, printers and mailers are just beginning to recover from the pandemic, and USPS service levels will be lowered in September.

Their efforts were for naught.

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United States Postal Service / USPS / U.S. Postal Service / Postage Rates / Postal Regulatory Commission / Postmaster General / The Berkshire Company

The last year has brought one challenge after another. The pandemic. Civil rights protests. A divisive election. Violent rioters in our nation’s capital.

The impact to the US Postal Service (USPS) was augmented by additional factors.

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United States Postal Service / USPS / U.S. Postal Service / Postal Reform / Postage Rates / Postal Regulatory Commission / Postmaster General

On Sunday, January 24, 2021, the new US Postal Service (USPS) postage rates and rules go into effect. Mailers mailers have less than a week to complete their final preparations.

This may be the last increase under the ratemaking rules established under the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) of 2006. Under the PAEA, the rates for Market Dominant products – First-Class Mail, USPS Marketing Mail, Periodicals, etc. – were limited by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

After completing their 10-year review, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) modified the ratemaking rules. On November 30, 2020, the PRC issued Order No. 5763 – Order Adopting Final Rules for the System of Regulating Rates and Classes for Market Dominant Products. Under the new system, the USPS will have additional rate authority to raise rates. The factors include a combination of delivery density and retirement-related expenses. The rules went into effect on January 15, 2021 and may be used by the USPS to raise rates above CPI.

There are currently four legal appeals on the PRC order, including one by the USPS. Industry advocates claim that the PRC overstepped its authority, while the USPS is appealing the narrow scope of the order. Until the courts issue a ruling, the order remains in effect.

The current USPS price list – Notice 123 – is available on Postal Explorer as either an HTML or PDF document. Until January 24, the new rates are available for download as either an Excel or PDF file. The Excel file has a tab for each rate class, complete with Zone and weight tables.

Even with the increase, postage rates are a great deal. The USPS retail rates for letter mail remain lower than our trading partners – including the countries that have privatized their posts. This is the current prices for one-ounce stamps (based on exchange rates in effect on January 17, 2020):

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United States Postal Service / USPS / U.S. Postal Service / Postage Rates / Postal Regulatory Commission