William Wissing
Senior Vice President, Logistics
Blockbuster Inc.

Dallas, TX — The U.S. Postal Service has recognized Blockbuster Inc. with its Creative Business Solutions Award for the company’s commitment to a successful business partnership with the Postal Service. A select group of Postal customers is acknowledged and recognized for their contributions to the continued success of the mailing industry at the annual National Postal Forum.

The Creative Business Solutions Award is one of three “best in class” awards presented annually at the Forum. It represents the "wow" factor. These creative risk-takers use the mail in new and different ways to help achieve their company's business objectives. They create mail that is noticed and integrated seamlessly with a larger vision. It's mail that stands out and, even more important, gets results. When you see it, you react, "Now, why didn't I think of that?"

The DVD rental giant recently made improvements in its “store exchange” option for online rentals and, as a result, noted that approximately 70 percent of subscribers are now returning their DVD rentals to Blockbuster retail stores. All DVD returns from the individual stores to the distribution center were being paid at the single piece First-Class Mail rate. Blockbuster wanted to reduce return costs, transit times, and damage and breakage expenses.

Blockbuster has implemented a plan for more than 4,000 Blockbuster retail stores to begin packaging DVDs in a customized Express Mail box to be delivered to its 38 distribution centers nationwide. This will decrease the amount of time that the distribution center is without the DVDs, enabling Blockbuster to turn around the product to another customer more quickly.

For their innovative shipping method, Ellis Burgoyne, VP, Southwest Area Operations, nominated Blockbuster for this award.

“We are pleased to recognize and honor Blockbuster for its innovation, creativity and leadership,” said Burgoyne. “By using a customized Express Mail box, Blockbuster has produced winning business results and supported the mailing industry.”

Additionally, William (Bill) Wissing, senior vice president, logistics, for Blockbuster, accepted the award.

The National Postal Forum is the mailing industry’s premier educational venue, trade show and networking event for industry professionals. Since 1967, it has provided business mailers with ongoing training and education, and helped them keep pace with the mailing industry’s rapid growth.

For more information on the 2009 National Postal Forum, visit www.npf.org.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 149 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes, six days a week. It has 34,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services, not tax dollars, to pay for operating expenses. Named the Most Trusted Government Agency five consecutive years by the Ponemon Institute, the Postal Service has annual revenue of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.