Trends in Print and Mail

A new Postmaster General (PMG), new postage rate increases, and a new reporting system. Taken alone, any of these three topics would be reason enough to attend this year’s National Postal Forum (NPF), May 17-20, 2015, in Anaheim, California. With all 3 events occurring within months of each other, attendance should be mandatory for business mailers.

PMG Megan Brennan is taking charge of the United States Postal Service (USPS) during a time of uncertainty. The “Network Optimization” program begun under her predecessor has produced mixed results. Expenses have decreased, but so have service levels. Mailers are seeing unprecedented delivery delays across the country. Congress has still failed to take up any bills to reform the disastrous impact of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006. The U.S. Senate hasn’t confirmed any of President Obama’s nominees to the USPS Board of Governors for the last 5 years.

In her first few months in office, PMG Brennan has already begun to make changes. The closures of many processing plants have been delayed. The senior leadership team has seen the first of several needed departures. There seems to be more outreach to the mailing community.

On Monday, May 18, 2015, Postmaster General Brennan will deliver the keynote address to the NPF attendees. We’re hopeful that she will address the issues facing the USPS and mailers with concrete ideas, and not platitudes or “marketing-speak”. We also look forward to the opportunity to ask questions of her and her leadership team. And receive straight answers.

In addition to getting the chance to meet with vendors at the exhibit hall, there will be many new classes and sessions for attendees. We’re planning to learn more about the metrics, the Mailer Scorecard (and potential fines and penalties), mailers’ groups working together, and the migration to Internet-based production. A few specific classes that stand out are: Measuring ROI of Multi-Channel Direct Mail on Sunday morning, PCC + MTAC = Gr8 Synergy on Monday, and Cloud 101 on Wednesday.

Mark Fallon, President of The Berkshire Company, will be presenting 4 classes:

"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." – attributed to Benjamin Disraeli

The U.S. Postal Service’s Office of the Inspector General (USPS OIG) recently released a report entitled, “Declines in Postal Service Mail Volume Vary Widely Across the U.S.”. It’s unclear how much expense and effort was spent producing the report – a report with a misleading title, flawed data analysis and an ineffectual conclusion.

The title suggests the OIG has studied all mail volumes. In fact, the study only focuses on one small category of mail – Single Piece First Class Mail (FCM). These are the individual pieces of stamped mail given to the USPS by individuals and small businesses. Most of that mail is business related – invoices to customers, notices, bill payments, applications, etc. A small portion are letters and personal correspondence.

What’s important to note is that Single Piece FCM represents only about 14% of all mail volumes (Source: USPS: A Decade of Facts and Figures). The remaining 86% of the mail is composed of transactional documents (bills and statements) from companies to their customers, advertising mail (Standard Mail), media mail, periodicals and parcels. The volumes for transactional documents and Standard Mail have been fairly level the last 3 years, or experienced small growth. Those are the areas that the USPS and the USPS OIG need to focus their efforts.

The data collection methodology for this report is flawed. The report is supposed to show changes in the use of mail by geographic area. As pointed out by the website postalnews.com, the report fails to take into account the USPS facilities that have been closed or expanded in the last several years. That means that mail that used to be processed in one area has now been moved to another. Because of this change where the USPS processes mail, the OIG analysis shows that the volumes in the area where I currently live has declined by 96%, and where I used to live the mail has increased by 128%! That would be shocking, if it was true.

In the report, the OIG added a footnote that states “These areas may have data issues or may have experienced significant changes to mail processing operations.” In reality, most of the country has experienced changes to mail processing operations as part of the USPS Network Optimization initiative. Once these data discrepancies were noticed, the researchers should have stopped and found a better method of measurement.

The stunning conclusion of this flawed study: “More research is likely needed to explain why these trends in mail use exist and how they are evolving.” That’s right, the research concludes what’s really needed is more research.

I couldn’t agree more. Except this time, the study should be conducted by someone who understands the true nature of mail, includes the larger categories of mail, and doesn’t use flawed data.

Focusing on Single Piece FCM is a distraction from the real issues facing the USPS. Business mailers produce the overwhelming majority of mail processed by the USPS. Most of that mail has the Full Service Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMb), which allows for piece-level tracking from point of entry to the delivery unit. That data, with proper analysis, would provide useful information for the USPS and their customers – businesses and individuals – as they deal with the issues of today, and plan for a successful future with mail.

“No one sends important documents through the mail anymore.”

“First Class Mail is disappearing.”

“'Snail Mail' is an anachronism is the ‘Age of the Internet’.”

We hear these phrases, or ones that are very similar, on almost every consulting engagement that involves inbound mail. Of course, these opinions are normally from people who don’t work with many physical documents (e.g., IT professionals) or people who are far removed from the daily workflow (e.g., executives). It then becomes part of our assignment to educate everyone on the importance and impact of physical mail on their business.

Of course, there are some truths in these statements. Many documents are sent via email or other electronic transfer methods. The volumes of First Class Mail arriving at businesses have declined. And any mail being delivered by a dawdling terrestrial mollusk probably isn’t that important.

However, the letters, flats and packages arriving at corporate mail centers each day are important. For many customers, the only communication they have with their vendors is through the mail. Companies must develop policies and strategies to service those customers. A sound strategy that includes:

A successful operation is built around people, process and technology. In print and mail operations, the equipment used to process inbound and outbound documents is becoming faster, more accurate and more expensive. Upgrading your systems will mean a significant investment in dollars and other resources.

In past posts, we’ve encouraged the use of a Requests for Proposals (RFP) for major purchases. Companies can use the RFP to fully explain their existing situation and challenges, as well as the goals to be met with the new technology. We recommend that our clients provide as much detail as possible about their current operation – volumes, file formats, processing times, paper types, information technology infrastructure, etc. If possible, give vendors physical samples of the “typical” documents in their final form.

As with RFPs for outsourcing, most companies have standard questions from the purchasing, procurement or legal departments. In addition to those questions and pricing information, here are 20 questions you should ask when purchasing equipment:

Last week saw the release of two important reports regarding the United States Postal Service (“USPS”). The first was the annual Financial Analysis of United States Postal Service Financial Results and 10-K Statement by the Postal Regulatory Commission (“PRC”). This lengthy report is representative of an audit a public corporation would present to its stockholders. On page 2 (of 76), the PRC summarizes their findings stating:

Choosing a vendor for print or mail services (or both) can be similar to buying a new car. First, a lot of research on the internet. Checking out vendor websites, searching for news stories and reading online reviews. Next you reach out to people you know, and ask for their recommendations and experience. Then, you start contacting vendors.

After you’ve narrowed your selection, it’s time to start finding out more the finalists. If your company is looking to find a long-term partner, your best tool would be the Request for Proposals (RFP) process. For a “one-off” project, you may request bids from the vendors. In either case, you still need to learn more about the vendor than just their pricing.

When we help companies draft RFPs for outsourcing, there may be dozens of questions. Usually, there are standard questions from the purchasing, procurement or legal departments. There are application-specific questions – file formats, service-level requirements, postage costs, presort availability, materials, etc. Then there are questions that appear in almost every RFP.

In addition to pricing, here are 20 questions you should ask when selecting a print/mail service provider:

When evaluating a function as a candidate for outsourcing, the three most important factors to consider are:

In Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare wrote, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” In his poetic fashion, Shakespeare was telling the audience that it was not the name or title that mattered, rather it was the essence of the person (or thing) that was important.

While I find it difficult to criticize one of the world’s greatest writers, I must disagree with him on this point. Names are important. What you call your mailing operation is not some mere detail, but an essential duty in your roles as managers.

Isn’t our birth name important? It’s normally the first thing we learn to spell as children. We make sure others spell it right and pronounce it correctly. If we have a nickname, we make sure people use that right as well. Watch what happens when you call someone “Rob”, when they go by “Bob”. Or “Suzie”, when “Sue” or “Susan” is preferred.

In the past, most of us this industry were known as “Mailroom Managers”. But you can’t manage a room; you manage an operation. Thanks to many leaders in the industry, this term has begun to fall from use. For some, it’s even considered pejorative or insulting.

It’s more common today to hear of units called “Mail Services”, “Corporate Mail Services” or “Mail and Distribution Services”. The focus has correctly shifted from the room where the work takes place, to the service that the unit provides.

For many operations, providing mail services is only one aspect of their responsibilities. It’s not uncommon for units to also handle printing and courier services. I’ve been part of one group that distributed airline tickets. Mail may not even be the most important function the unit performs.

A few organizations have produced some interesting names for their departments. When I was at State Street Corporation, our unit handled mail, document services, receiving and transportation. As part of a company that is a leader in information systems, the department chose the name, “Document Technology and Delivery”. It encompassed all of what we did, and it provided a great acronym – "DTD".

Creating a name for your department is a worthwhile exercise. And it’s not something you should do on your own. Involve the people who will be most impacted by the new name. Put together a team of your unit’s managers, supervisors and employees.

Start by conducting a brainstorming session. It’s important that all ideas are accepted and no one is criticized. List all the mail services that your unit provides. For example inbound mail, interoffice mail, metering mail, etc. Be as specific as possible. Next, write down all the other duties – printing, receiving, couriers, office supplies, whatever.

Look for the common threads and words shared by these responsibilities. “Service” is probably one of them, and perhaps “customer” is too. Circle or highlight these words in a different color marker.

At this point, your department’s name is probably already jumping out at you. If possible, choose action words that get to the heart of the matter. People reading the name should immediately understand what the unit does. If your operation only handles mail for one aspect of the company or college, include that name in the title. You may choose something like “Corporate Mail Operations” or “North Campus Mail Services”.

Check to see what type of acronym is formed. You’ll want to do this for two reasons. First, you don’t want an accidental acronym that is insulting. Also, many companies use acronyms for most departments, so you don’t want to choose one that is already used by another unit.

You want to choose a name that proudly states what your unit does. Although it’s the lifeblood of most companies, the mail department isn’t always held in the highest esteem. The anthrax scare helped many organizations become aware of their mail departments and the professionals that run them. Build upon this respect and ensure your name reflects that.

Once you’ve come up with the new name, you can now start the exciting process of publicizing the change. Develop a campaign to notify everyone in the company about the new name. Work with the marketing and human resources departments to make sure the message gets to everyone. Include information on the different services your operation provides, along with contact numbers, in all your communications. Hold a “Mail Services Open House”, inviting the company to tour your area and meet your employees. Have some fun.

Reinforce your role through the new identity you’ve developed. When you introduce yourself at meetings, clearly state the name of your department. When someone uses the old name, politely correct the person. You’d do the same if they pronounced your name incorrectly, wouldn’t you?

A rose is a rose is a rose, but a well-run mail operation is an important part of your company that deserves a name of its very own.

One of our clients recently received an interesting direct mail marketing piece from Cliff Rucker, the Vice President of Sales for the US Postal Service (USPS). The letter explained that the new dimensional weight (DIM) pricing policies of their competitors makes Priority Mail even more attractive for shipping. In the “P.S.” paragraph, the letter gave the name of the local USPS representative who would be contacting the recipient directly.

This sounds like a standard direct mail piece designed to raise awareness and provide an introduction for the sales representative. Just a few issues: