Corner Office Nov. 2008

From the Corner Office

Hi Everyone,

First I would like to apologize for the long period since our last newsletter; the primary reason was there really hasn’t been a whole lot of new information to report. But time marches on and now the Move Update deadline is upon us and the IMB deadline will be next. So procrastinate no longer and continue reading and I will attempt to remove the confusion and fear that is gripping many over these upcoming changes.

Move Update:

Think of it like your Mom or Dad telling you to eat your vegetables, you may not want to eat them, but you now realize that they are good for you. It’s the same thing here! Move Update is the requirement that forces mailers of Automation Standard and Presorted First Class to do something to make sure that your address lists are up to date when you mail.

Why?

Costs the USPS 2 Billion /Yr to Return/Dispose of Undeliverable mail
17% of Consumers and Businesses move every year
24% of all mail have some kind of address problem
2.72% of mail is never delivered
17% of all mail is delayed

Or, to put this into hard numbers:

10 Billion Pieces are affected each year.
1.6 Billion are Returned
1.985 billion are Forwarded
6.0 Billion are Discarded

OK – So how do I comply?

There is not an easy answer to this. For most of us, the easiest way is to use an NCOA-Link product that will satisfy it quickly and easily. For our Satori Software customers, when they run their lists thru this process, it actually does 5 things to improve the deliverability, all without the hassle of exporting and re-importing the data. With Mailroom Toolkit, it takes place right within our customer’s “Host Application”. Satori’s “Move Update” features:

CASS – 1^st step to break the address down to its component parts, Standardizes and corrects the Physical part of the address to USPS specifications
DPV – Delivery Point Validation – Further corrects the address to the actual delivery point and reports back if the secondary address info (Suite #, Unit #, Apt #) is accurate, missing or wrong.
LACS- Link – Changes old Rural Routes into physical delivery address – Part of the national response to 9/11 – Helps emergency service providers locate rural addresses.
Suite-Link – Adds or changes Secondary address information for Businesses – (Suite #)
Move Update – Fixes the Personal portion of the address by changing the addresses based upon moves registered with the USPS. Satori is a full service NCOA Provider and will correct up to 48 month old data.

Are there other ways I can satisfy the Move Update requirement?

Yes, there are “Post-Mailing” methods such as using Ancillary Service Endorsements, ACS, or One Code ACS (IMB). All of these Post Mailing methods require that the list has gone thru some other “Pre-Mailing” method within 95 days of the mailing, and then you can use these “Post-Mailing” methods to keep the list current. Another “Pre-Mailing” method is to first mail the list at full First Class with an approved Ancillary Service Endorsement.

Using Alternative Address Formats like “Current Resident/Occupant” are exempt, but not very personal. If the data came directly to you within 95 days of the mailing, like thru your call center, BRM or web site, those addresses would be OK.

If you are using a Presort service, they offer a service called Fast-Forward that can apply the DPBC and forwarding address while co-mingling your mail allowing you some presort savings. The drawback is that the information is applied after your mail piece has been created so the corrected information doesn’t update your records.

Is there a way for me to take advantage of Better Address Quality without big changes to our I.T. processes?

Yes Document Control Software (DCS) can capture your Print Image Files and manipulate them prior to printing. It is mind boggling to see all of the things DCS can be designed to do. Not only can DCS improve address quality but it can merge multiple print streams, change background overlays, add OMR marks for automation processing by a Folder Inserter, add the postage Indicia into the address block and can even include Mail Piece Verification to ensure that every piece makes it into the mailstream.

What are the consequences for not complying with Move Update?

Intentionally mailing at a rate that you are not authorized is Postal Fraud, and the consequences could be severe as violating the postal statutes are a federal offense. My guess is that for first time offense it will be the monetary difference of the class of mail for all effected and suspected mailings plus they may also add a penalty on top of that.

What are the chances of getting caught?

It is getting easier all the time for the USPS to catch this as their focus is absolutely on reducing costs and UAA (Undeliverable as Addressed) and FOE (Forwarding Order has Expired) mail is the biggest area they have identified to save money. The mail today is becoming “Intelligent” with mailer identification embedded in the IMB (intelligent Mail Barcode) and IBIP (Information Based Indicia Program) meter indicia (All Phase 6 meters) it won’t be hard to find or account for as computers can do the hard work.

What about the IMB Mandate?

The deadline for IMB implementation was rolled back to May 2009 with two years for mailers to conform. This means that you do not have to change until May 2011. There are plenty of reasons to implement IMB now to take advantage of the new features IMB makes available.

What is the discount going to be for using IMB?

We don’t know yet. It will be announced as part of the new rate change in January / February and will likely take effect in the Fall of 2009. The rumor mill is about a $.003 per piece reduction for Full Service IMB although Mailers are asking for more incentive. Basic IMB and DPBC will likely be the same rate. The clear reason to make this change will be for “business reasons”, not postage savings!

I think this is a big mistake! The USPS should give the smaller mailers a monetary incentive to early adopt the Basic IMB. Otherwise mailers are likely to procrastinate. Many folks in the know agree with me. We will have to wait and see.

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Hopefully this has answered your questions or concerns regarding Move Update and IMB. Please feel free to contact me or any of our Sales or Service Staff to learn more as over 90% are MQC (USPS Mail Quality Control Specialist) certified.

Speaking of MQC certification, we will be holding another all day MQC Certification training on January 23, 2009. Cost will be $50 and will include lunch, certification registration and course materials. This event is being sponsored by MSMA, the last one sold out quickly so check out the MSMA (http://www.msma-sd.org/id4.html ) website for registration info.

The Local Postal Customer Council is finalizing their education series for 2009. They will once again hold their sessions here at San Diego Postal. This is going to be the largest offering ever, with 10 different sessions covering Creative, Marketing, Non Profit and Operations. If you are not on the PCC Mailing List you can opt in here: (http://www.sdpcc.org/mailinglist.htm)

Gordon Glazer, CMDSM, CMDSS, MQC

President San Diego Postal & Shipping Equipment

Gordon Glazer CMDSM, CMDSS, MQC is a nationally recognized speaker and industry expert and is President of San Diego Postal & Shipping Equipment the oldest and largest independent dealer of mailing equipment servicing San Diego County mail centers reliably since 1986

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