I always enjoy being a part of the Postal Forum each year. On this occasion the event was celebrated in the beautiful city of San Francisco. I have attended this event during the last 16 years. Every time I learn new things to help improve our clients mailing operation. If you need the latest in information, trends, and networking; this is the event you must attend.

Highlights

• January 26, 2014 the Full Service IMB will be launched. I spoke with various USPS Managers who assured me that Senior Management was very decisive that this date will not be changed. No Automation Postage Discounts will be given without the Full Service IMB. This means your postage costs could increase $100.00 per thousand pieces.
• The mail pieces will be scanned at the Zip+4 level, meaning that you will know by Zip+4 when your letter hit the recipient mail box. This is a major breakthrough because it will permit the mailer to target different efforts specifically by knowing when the customers received the mail piece. This will take effect on September 2013 in some markets and by January 2014, USPS will roll it out on all IMB postal deliveries.
• Businesses are finding out that USPS IMB Tracing Service is a valuable tool that can affect many departments in each organization not only the Mailing Department. Functions such as Collections, Finance, Marketing, Customer Service, and Legal are reaping the benefits of knowing when the mail is delivered (or not delivered and why). When you have delivery scan at the Zip+4 Level, I believe that it will be too costly for any Business to not use IMB Tracing.
• The USPS will no longer deliver letters on Saturday effective in August 2013. This will save USPS approximately 2 Billion Dollars a year. We all know that as the First Class volume continues to be absorbed by electronic delivery, USPS must change their systems to improve their services and to reduce cost. Note: Packages and Medicines will still be delivered on Saturdays.
• The USPS is planning to introduce same day delivery based on the distance between the mailer and recipient. Messengers and Carriers; you are going to have competition from the USPS, let’s see.
• If you want to see the performance of how the San Juan Plant is handling the mail you can check via web the IMB Planning Tool https://ribbs.usps.gov/imb_planning_tool . As of today it only provides information for Standard and Periodicals.

Perks, we had the opportunity to cheer our Home Team in the World Baseball Classic in San Francisco, it was fun event. Puerto Rico did an excellent job, our congratulations to our friends from the Dominican Republic.

In 2014, the Forum will be held in Washington DC from March 16 to 19, hope to see you all there.

The Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service met April 9 and discussed the Continuing Resolution recently passed by Congress to fund government operations. By including restrictive language in the Continuing Resolution, Congress has prohibited implementation of a new national delivery schedule for mail and packages, which would consist of package delivery Monday through Saturday and mail delivery Monday through Friday, and which would have taken effect the week of Aug. 5, 2013.

Although disappointed with this Congressional action, the Board will follow the law and has directed the Postal Service to delay implementation of its new delivery schedule until legislation is passed that provides the Postal Service with the authority to implement a financially appropriate and responsible delivery schedule. The Board believes that Congress has left it with no choice but to delay this implementation at this time. The Board also wants to ensure that customers of the Postal Service are not unduly burdened by ongoing uncertainties and are able to adjust their business plans accordingly.

The Board continues to support the transition to a new national delivery schedule. Such a transition will generate approximately $2 billion in annual cost savings and is a necessary part of a larger five-year business plan to restore the Postal Service to long-term financial stability. According to numerous polls, this new delivery schedule is widely supported by the American public. Our new delivery schedule is also supported by the Administration and some members of Congress. To restore the Postal Service to long-term financial stability, the Postal Service requires the flexibility to reduce costs and generate new revenues to close an ever widening budgetary gap. It is not possible for the Postal Service to meet significant cost reduction goals without changing its delivery schedule – any rational analysis of our current financial condition and business options leads to this conclusion. Delaying responsible changes to the Postal Service business model only increases the potential that the Postal Service may become a burden to the American taxpayer, which is avoidable.

Given these extreme circumstances and the worsening financial condition of the Postal Service, the Board has directed management to seek a reopening of negotiations with the postal unions and consultations with management associations to lower total workforce costs, and to take administrative actions necessary to reduce costs. The Board has also asked management to evaluate further options to increase revenue, including an exigent rate increase to raise revenues across current Postal Service product categories and products not currently covering their costs. The Board continues to support the Postal Service’s five-year business plan and the legislative goals identified in that plan, which will return the Postal Service to financial solvency. The Board additionally urges Congress to quickly pass comprehensive postal legislation, including provisions that would affirmatively provide the Postal Service with the ability to establish an appropriate national delivery schedule.