How to Work withYour Mail Preparer

to ImplementIMb™ Services

Agenda

• Your mailing practices

• IMb™ Services

• Company Decisions

• Your Mail Preparer

• The Project Plan

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IMb™ Services

• A technology leap forward for the USPS®

• Significant undertaking by both the USPS and mailers

• Software and operational changes must be in tandem

• Decisions which affect participants within the supply chain

• Time and planning for implementation

• Good partnership with your mail preparers and vendors

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Acquire Knowledge

• Postal Service®, Service Providers & Vendors

– Find out what they have to offer

– Determine potential fits

– Obtain details, details, details…

– Incorporate discovery into YOUR solution

• Customers & Internal Resources

– Assess current practices

– Document future expectations & constraints

• Training

– Attend IM™ sessions

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IMb™ Education

– RIBBS® – http://ribbs.usps.gov

• USPS® maintains the specific mailing requirements for IMb, technical documentation, etc.

– Review available materials

– Attend your local Postal Customer Council (PCC) meetings.

– Find a mailing association that can support some of your educational and information needs

– Look for ways to keep up with changing information. Stay involved!

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Determine who …

• Owns the customer database

• Constructs the mailpiece

• Prints the mailpiece

• Prepares the mailing

• Presents the mail to the Postal Service®

• Receives directly or co-receives with service provider(s) data distributions from the Postal Service

• Uses in-house constructed and/or third party software

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Understand Your Mailing Practices

• What you mail

– Invoices, notices, marketing mail, catalogs, packages, etc.

– Understand requirement impacts to letter, flat, automated, non-automated, all mail classes and categories evaluated.

• How is your mail produced?

– In-house, partially in-house, by service provider, etc.

– Printing, finishing, mail preparation and sorting

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Understanding Your Addressing Practices

• Who you mail to

– Your own client list, purchased lists, etc.

– Different departments

– Different lists

• How you acquire, use and update the addresses you use on the mailings

• How you meet the USPS® Move Update requirement

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IMb® Service Options

• Two service options

– Basic

– Full-Service

• Same mailpiece barcode design

– Full-Service has more complex data content within the barcode.

– Full-Service has additional benefits.

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IMb® Content

• 31 digits, 65 bars, 5 fields

Barcode ID

Ex: 50

for Mixed AADC

Service Type

Ex: 260 for

First-Class Mail

Mailer ID

Ex: 123456

USPS assigned

Routing Code

Ex: 6449 Amberview Ct., Memphis, TN

38141-8346

38141834649

Serial Number

Ex: 200800001 Mailer Assigned

The POSTNET™ contains only Delivery Point information

More data = more decisions10

Basic Full-Service

IMb™ barcode on mailpiece

Required Required – unique

IM tray barcode on labels Optional Required – unique

IM container barcode on placards

Optional Required – unique

Electronic Documentation Optional Required

Start-the-Clock NA Available

Address Correction NA Available

Basic versus Full-Service

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Full-Service Benefits

• Apply to Full-Service pieces only

• DO NOT apply to the portion of a mailing that:

– has only a 5-digit ZIP Code® or no ZIP Code in the Routing Code field.

– is prepared as machinable/presort.

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Full-Service OptionBenefits

Class & Processing Category of MailStart-the-

Clock ACS® Full-Service Discounts

First-Class Mail®      

  Automation Letters   Automation Flats   Automation Cards      Standard Mail®        Automation Letters   Automation Flats   Basic ECR Letters   High-Density ECR Letters   Saturation ECR Letters   Basic ECR Flats x   High-Density ECR Flats x   Saturation ECR Flats x x x

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Full-Service Option Benefits

Class & Processing Category of Mail Start-the-Clock ACS® Full-Service

Discounts

Periodicals - Outside-County      

  Barcoded Letters   Barcoded Machinable Flats   Barcoded Nonmachinable Flats   Carrier Route Basic Letters/Flats   Carrier Route HD Letters/Flats   Carrier Route Sat. Letters/Flats      Periodicals - In-County        Automation Letters   Automation Flats   Carrier Route Basic Letters/Flats   Carrier Route HD Letters/Flats   Carrier Route Sat. Letters/Flats      Bound Printed Matter        Barcoded Presort Flats - non-DDU   Barcoded Presort Flats - DDU x   Barcoded CR Flats x 14

Benefits Analysis

• Will price difference justify the investment to start using the IMb™ or to switch from Basic to Full-Service to see an improved Return-on-Investment?

• How often does your company currently update its address lists? Would you increase frequency because of Full-Service ACS™?

• What would Start-the-Clock data be used for?

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Share Knowledge

• Work with your various mail preparers and vendors to exchange current knowledge about your business needs and impacts

• Ensure your vendors are aligned with the information about changing USPS® requirements and impacts

• Establish a communication plan with vendors to keep informed of mutual changes/impacts that impact your business

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Construct a Plan

• Incorporate expectations & constraints

• Determine timeline

• Determine internal and external resource needs and allocate

• Determine procedural, operations and technical changes and opportunities

• Establish test criteria to ensure content and print quality

• Determine implementation sequence through applications and customers

• Incorporate tests & validate

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Mail Preparers

• Ad Agency

• List Broker

• Printer

• Finisher (binding, inserting)

• Mail preparation (traying, present to USPS®)

• Mail sortation (commingle)

• Consolidator

• Transportation providers

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Mail Preparer Services

Determine responsibilities and liabilities for• Physical mail production

– IMb™ on mailpieces• Mail preparation

– IM™ tray and container labels• Mail presentment

– Electronic documentation (eDoc)• USPS® feedback

– Start-the-Clock– ACS® data– Mail data quality reports

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In-House Portion

• How much will you be able to handle

– Database management for eDoc and uniqueness of data

– Mailer ID assignments

– IT and software updates

– Print capabilities

• Mailpieces, tray labels, container placards

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Mail Preparer Readiness

• When is your preparer or printer planning to enter IM™ testing (Test Environment for Mailers)?

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What is best for your company?

• IMb™ Basic or Full-Service option

– Basic replaces PLANET Code® and POSTNET™

• No additional information is included

– Full-Service allows for:

• Free Start-the-Clock

• Free container visibility induction scans (where available)

• Full Service ACS™

– First-Class Mail® unlimited

– Standard Mail® and Bound Printed Matter – free notices for 30 days

– Periodicals – free notices for 60 days

• Mail data quality reporting

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Things you need to know - MID

• What Mailer ID (MID) to use?– Mail service provider or mail owner

• Where do you get an MID?• Who needs to be indentified? Regardless of whose MID

is in the IMb™, the mail owner must be identified in documentation.– Important to understand when a service provider

works through an agency and not directly with the mail owner.

• Need a Customer Registration ID (CRID) for each mail owner if not using their MID or mailing permit.

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Things you need to know – UAA Mail

Undeliverable-as-Addressed Mail• Use the “free” ACS™ information from IMb™ to meet the

Move Update requirement

– Incorporate changes into file within 30 days for Standard Mail® and Bound Printed Matter

– Incorporate changes into file within 60 days for Periodicals

• Clear understanding of how pieces are disposed is needed to understand which endorsement is needed on the piece

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• When a mailpiece is printed with an ancillary service endorsement, the printed endorsement takes priority over the Service Type ID in the IMb™.

• Very important that envelopes are imaged correctly.

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Things you need to know – UAA Mail

Decision Factors

• The costs and benefits of the IMb™ Basic option

• The costs and benefits of the IMb™ Full-Service option

• The costs and benefits of staying with POSTNET™ barcodes, at least for a while

• The costs and benefits of any postal services that you use or may want to use

• USPS® rules and standards governing what can be mailed at what rates and the consequences of errors

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Company Decisions

• Whether you want to use Intelligent Mail® barcodes prior to May 2011

• The type(s) of mail you want to send using Basic or Full-Service IMb™

– Each application may be different

• How will the Full-Service uniqueness of data – 45 or more days – be managed

• How to begin a transition plan with your mail preparer

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PROJECT TIMEFRAME – for complex mail owner environments

• The following is an example of timeframe milestones

for USPS® requirement changes to be introduced into mailer company systems:

• This example supports: Mail owner with internal mail manufacturing facilities Large / complex IT systems Multiple vendor and internal stakeholders impacted Company business focus is not mail

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MAIL OWNER - Project Schedule Timeline Example

Time & Cost updated, submit Business Case, obtain authorization to proceed, obtain release commit, Document System & Feature Design, Support Vendor Product Integration, as needed.

MAIL OWNER - PROJECT TIMELINEEvaluation Requirements

& FundingDesign Develop Pre-

Production Testing

Production & Factory Testing

Introduction

Full-Scope Document from finalized USPS® and Vendor Requirements received, identifies Impact Assessment, creates Time & Cost estimates, Project receives authorization to proceed to next step. Team evaluates and baselines internal / Vendor Solution Approach, Freezes Requirement Changes and develops IT Technical Requirement & Architecture Solution.

Detailed Design Finalized, Develop, Perform Pre-production Testing, User Acceptance, Quality and Factory Testing. Train Factory personnel.

Install Code, User Certification Testing, Project Review / Close

0 1 2 3 4 5 11 126 87 109

Project Approved for Initial

Evaluation

Factory Work Intake

Solution Defined

Require-ments

Finalized

Business Case

Funding Submit

Production Release Commit Defined

Design Complete

Development Complete

Vendor Solution

Integration

Unit / System /

Integration Testing

Production & Factory Testing

Quality & Factory Training

Deploy-ment

Review

Mail Factory Introduction

Project Close

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Mail Preparer - Project Schedule Timeline

• Using the same format as mail owners, the following is an example of the timeframe milestones for introduction of production and/or system changes due to USPS® changes.

• This example supports:– Mail preparers with internal mail manufacturing facilities– Medium and large complex IT systems– Multiple vendor and internal client impact

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Mail Preparer - Project Schedule Timeline

MAIL Preparer - PROJECT TIMELINEEvaluation Requirements &

FundingDesign Develop

Finalize costs; prepare capital expenditure and submit for approval

Establish scope of project; personnel requirements; list of gaps for future processes versus current processes; outline define solution; estimate project costs with business case

Allocate actual personal based on budget; design solution in detail with stakeholder input

Develop solution and user interface; interface with outside vendor processes as required; continue stakeholder input for product solution

Evaluation of project

scope

Capital Expenditure

Defined

Assessment of need

Gap List Created

Solution Defined

Requirements finalized

Expenditure Approved

Outside vendor

integration

Product defined & personnel allocated

Product Developed

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MAIL Preparer - PROJECT TIMELINEPre-Production Test Production & Factory

TestingImplementation

Pre-Production tests; user interface; system updates/changes as required; debug for production implementation; prepare training material.

Prepare quality control requirements for production; finalize training requirements and guidelines; prepare training program and schedule

Establish review period for factory; train factory employees; test certification; close project

CAT Testing Production & Factory Testing

Quality & Factory Training

Deployment Review

Mail Factory Introduction

Project Close

Evaluation & Review

Mail Preparer - Project Schedule Timeline

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