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Postology HOT Topics:

• Breaking News – Another Summer Postage Promotion Coming
• Planning the Entry of Mail for Specific Windows of Time (Requested In-Home Dated Mail)

VERY HOT — BREAKING NEWS:
There Will Be a Postage Incentive Promotion This Summer


The news is in – the USPS has announced a summer postage incentive program:

  • It will probably start in July. There is the possibility of a June start, but that is not likely.
  • The promotion will run for 2 months or 3 months.
  • The focus is on the combined use of mail and mobile technology.
  • The USPS wants best practices employed and there will be more control required than that of the mobile-related promotion in 2011.

The USPS firmly believes there is a great connection between mail and mobile channels. What the USPS wants, however, is more focus on the use of the two in an integrated manner. There will be some specific rules for the program. Here it what the program most likely will require:

  • When a mobile barcode (quick response or QR Code) is employed, the target site must be mobile enhanced (no regular web sites this time).
  • More will be required of the mailpiece bearing the code.
    • The piece must help consumers (or business customers) make a transaction.
    • The target site must provide the ability to purchase (have a shopper’s cart, etc).
  • Mail owners will be required to register for this promotion by permit. Service providers will be allowed to register their customers.
  • The incentive, somewhere between 2% to 3%, will be for Standard Mail and possibly First-Class Mail. Periodicals are being considered.
  • There will be a postage and/or mail volume threshold to be met as well as an upper limit. It is the plan of the USPS that when the upper limit is reached the incentive is automatically turned off for that mail owner.

The USPS believes the mobile code must have relevance to the recipient and include personalization, such as a unique micro site or PURL [personalized URL] for the specific consumer. It is likely the USPS will require one or the other in a single promotion.

As more becomes known, we will keep you informed.

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HOT:
Planning the Entry of Mail for Specific Windows of Time
(Requested In-Home Dated Mail)

With the recent decision of the USPS to cease warehousing (or holding) mail entered ”early” for specific requested in-home delivery windows – and to stick to the official First-In-First-Out (FIFO) color-coding process – it is important to better understand the system for better on-time delivery. Remember, the Postal Service will still do what it can to keep time-sensitive mail from being delivered late. 

USPS Delivery Color Codes for Destination-Entry Standard Mail 

The Postal Service has developed these planning guidelines to allow customers to project the number of days necessary for its mail to reach destinations based on Postal Service standards, entry point and USPS-established critical entry times. Mailers should note that these guidelines do not imply any promise or guarantee.

DNDC = Destination National Distribution Center

DSCF = Destination Sectional Center Facility

DDU = Destination Delivery Unit

 

Important points concerning color codes:

  • Color coding is an internal Postal Service procedure to ensure the timely processing, dispatch and delivery of Standard Mail within established service standards.
  • If the Postal Service receives a drop shipment before the national Critical Entry Time (CET) of 16:00 (4:00 p.m.), the day of receipt is designated as the arrival date (the date the mail is entered into the Postal Service’s processing system, where the performance clock starts to tick). Note: The CET is 12:00 p.m., four hours earlier, for bed-loaded shipments.
  • If the Postal Service receives a drop shipment after 16:00, the mailing will have an arrival day of the following applicable processing day. (The CET is 12:00 p.m. for bed-loaded shipments.)
  • Redirected DDU shipments will be color coded for 2-day delivery and redirected DSCF shipments will be color coded for 3-day delivery.
  • Holidays will not change the application of color codes.
  • Special procedures may apply to mailings with in-home dates drop shipped at a DDU.

The following chart is another way to view the same information allowing for failure to meet the CET.

 Click to enlarge

Important points concerning destination-entry Standard Mail:

  • The service standards for Standard Mail apply to the contiguous United States.
  • Drop shipments must arrive on time with a valid FAST appointment.
  • National CET for palletized Standard Mail is 16:00 (4:00 p.m.) and 12:00 p.m. for bed-loaded shipments.
  • "Start-the-clock" Day Zero (Day-0) is the date when the clock starts for the purposes of service measurement.
  • Redirected mailings retain service standards associated with original destination entry point, e.g. 2 days for DDU and 3 days for DSCF shipments.
  • FAST's hours of drop shipment are locally determined. Check FAST for weekend slot availability.
  • Holidays will not change the application of color codes. However, FAST appointment availability may differ on holidays.
  • Special procedures may apply to mailings with in-home dates drop shipped at a DDU.

Drop Shipment Day to Delivery

Another way to look at entry planning for desired in-home dates is presented in the following charts from the USPS (1600 in these charts refers to 16:00 or 4:00 pm):

While the Postal Service will no longer ”hold” mail (on the docking platform, for example) to meet a requested in-home date, it will do its best to keep such mail from being delivered late, or after the requested in-home dates. To this end, it is still important to effectively communicate the date range desired for postal delivery. This takes the form of the Business Service Network (BSN) alerts, additional In-Customer Home (ICH) alerts, pallet placards, and ICH bundle-facing slips on flats that are not processed on the Flats Sequencing Sorter (FSS) machines. It never hurts to emphasize the ICH dates as a message to the Postal Carrier near the delivery address as a viable option.

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