Trends in Print and Mail

My document production team was excited. We’d already surpassed our goal of driving down the costs of color printing down to less than 35 cents a page. With the installation of our new digital press, we’d cut those costs in half – less than 15 cents per page. For full color!

This was in the late 1990s, when I was the Vice President of Document Technology & Delivery at State Street Corporation. We’d just installed the IBM model of Xeikon’s digital press; one of the first roll-fed, full-color digital printers. It was a major leap forward for the team, with a steep learning curve. Success was the result of a lot of hard work and late nights.

Back in the 1990s, I developed a presentation entitled “Information Technology for Mail Center Managers.” The section on purchasing software was pretty basic. Were your applications on a mainframe, a server or desktop? If a server, what version of Microsoft? If desktop, were you Microsoft or Apple? In the main categories – document composition, address management and package tracking – there were just a few vendors to consider.

Under the requirements of the Postage Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA) of 2006, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) is reviewing the way the United States Postal Service (USPS) sets postage rates. Under the PAEA, the USPS can’t raise postage rates for market dominant products above the rate of inflation as determined by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The price cap was a bad idea in 2006, remains a bad idea in 2017, and should be ended by the PRC.

Are you attending the National Postal Forum (NPF) in Baltimore this May? If yes, we’d like to extend this invitation to join The Berkshire Company as we lend a hand to the Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake on Saturday, May 20, 2017.

While there have been a lot of stories about companies exploring the use of airborne drones to make deliveries, another form of technology has quietly been making significant inroads – robots.

Last week, Governor Terry McAuliffe signed a law allowing delivery robots to operate on sidewalks and crosswalks in Virginia. From published reports, this is the first legislation in any state explicitly allowing the use of these types of robots. The law has strict limitations – the devices can only weigh up to 50 pounds, must be monitored remotely and are limited to speeds of 10 miles per hour – but this is just the beginning.

Last week saw the announcement of another merger in the print/mail industry. Two national document outsourcing companies will form a new entity, with an interesting new name.

Using LinkedIn and Twitter, plus Google alerts and subscriptions to various industry newsletters, I try to stay up to date with the latest news. Lately it seems that even this isn’t enough. Product offerings, corporate structures and company brands change more frequently than the roster of the Boston Red Sox. I look out at the field, see a lot of unfamiliar names and wonder, “Who’s on first?”

This year on Washington’s Birthday, Monday, February 20, 2017, I had the opportunity to attend the John F. Kennedy Forever Stamp First-Day-Of-Issue Dedication. The stamp is being released to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of President Kennedy. The event was held at the JFK Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

On Tuesday, February 7, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing to receive testimony on H.R. 756 – “To restore the financial solvency and improve the governance of the United States Postal Service to ensure the efficient and affordable nationwide delivery of mail, and for other purposes” – also known as the “Postal Reform Act of 2017.”

This weekend, I had to search through some records from the 1990s. Among the papers was the first speech I ever gave for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). The District Manager for Boston asked me to present to a gathering of his postmasters and station managers. In particular, he wanted to hear about how my company was impacted by the service we received from the USPS.

While I wrote this speech over 2 decades ago, the message holds true today. The industry and the USPS must work together to provide the best possible service to our mutual customers.

The 114th Congress failed to pass any postal reform legislation. Since 2010, President Obama was unable to get any of his nominees to the US Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors approved by the Senate. That means the USPS is hampered by outdated ratemaking rules, product innovation restrictions and a lack of oversight.

The 115th Congress is now in session, with Republicans in control of both houses. On January 20, 2017, the 45th President of the United States, a Republican, will take the oath of office. Perhaps these changes represent an opportunity to break the logjam on postal issues and Board of Governor appointments. But perhaps not.