The Challenge of Emerging Technologies

postal worker gathers mail prepared by the FSS

From the telegraph, to the telephone, to the terabyte, the mail has complemented evolving technologies.

The Postal Service has a long history of using leading-edge technologies to process and deliver mail and better serve — and connect — our customers.

We built our business on technological innovation and adaptation. As the nation has changed, so have we. From the telegraph, to the telephone, to the terabyte, the mail has complemented evolving technologies. And in the digital era, mail still plays a vital role.

As our customers have embraced the Internet, so have we. Our website, usps.com, is visited by more than a million people each day. It’s one of the most popular sites in the federal government. Customers can do just about everything online that they can do at a Post Office. They can print shipping labels with postage, request a free package pickup, look up ZIP Codes, order packaging supplies — and much more.

And with our new mobile capability, some of the most popular features at usps.com are available from the growing number of mobile communications devices.

The Post Office? It’s wherever you are. Through quick, easy and convenient online access, we also can provide customers with more information about their mail than ever before — both for large businesses that send out millions of mailpieces and for consumers who simply want to ship a package or two.

This year we marked a milestone with the launch of our Intelligent Mail services, which use barcode technology to enable business customers to track the status of their mail so they can provide better service to their customers. And the Postal Service gets important operational data to allow for mail service measurement to help us improve service for our customers.

We are, as always, at the leading edge of mailing technology innovation. We continue to roll out the Flats Sequencing System, which is revolutionizing the way we process flat-size mail, such as magazines and catalogs, by sorting it in the order in which it’s delivered by carriers. This new technology will deliver high-impact efficiency and improve mail processing, and make sure customers get even more value from the mail.

By making new technologies work for us, we help make the mail work better for our customers.

image of postal carrier scanning box while customers watch

Pennsylvania Letter Carrier Steve Scully scans a barcode.