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FIELD INFORMATION AND IMPLEMENTATION KIT
This Parcel Return Services Field Information and Implementation Kit contains the following items:
• Delivery Unit Fact Sheet.
• Bulk Mail Center (BMC) Fact Sheet.
• Employee Stand-Up Talks for the following types of
facilities:
- "Early Bird" Delivery Units.
- All BMCs.
- All Facilities Except "Early Bird" Delivery Units and
BMCs.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
• Poster - Parcel Return Services Labels.
• Starting October 19, 2003, the U.S. Postal ServiceŽ
will begin a 2-year test for Parcel Return Services
(PRS).
• PRS allows consumers to return merchandise to
merchants without paying postage. Consumers may
drop off parcels at any Postal ServiceTM facility, hand
them to a letter carrier, or place them in a collection
box or any location designated by the Postal Service
for the receipt of mail.
• PRS allows merchants to monitor the status of packages. The Postal Service will post on usps.com the
PRS barcode, date, time, and ZIP CodeTM where the
parcel was scanned or manifested.
• The Postal Service will select up to 20 participants for
the first year, and it may add up to 10 more in the second year. The Postal Service will offer PRS at "Early
Bird" delivery units and bulk mail centers (BMCs).
• Merchants or their logistics partners (i.e., agents/consolidators that have multiple merchant clients) must
pick up return parcels in bulk either at the delivery
unit or BMC serving the original consumer (they must
pick up Bound Printed Matter at the BMC) based on
the address they put on the special PRS label, and
manifest them for payment from advance deposit
accounts via the Centralized Account Processing
System (CAPS).
• Three rate categories:
- Parcel Select Return Delivery Unit (RDU). Flat
rate is $2.00 per parcel. Oversized parcels (i.e.,
more than 108 inches but not more than 130 inches length/girth) are $7.51.
- Parcel Select Return Bulk Mail Center (RBMC).
Rates are $0.86 to $1.51 below current Intra-BMC
Parcel Post rates.
- Bound Printed Matter Return Bulk Mail Center
(RBMC) (BMC pickup only). Rates are $0.24
below non-workshared BPM rates.
• Annual Permit Fee: $150.00 (single fee covers all
categories and pickup locations).
• Annual Deposit Accounting Fee: $475.00
• Participants must schedule pickups at least 1 business day in advance, and must pick up parcels at
least once a week. If they have a dropship appointment at the RDU, they may pick up PRS at that time.
• For more details, see the article titled "DMM Revision: Parcel Return Services Experiment" in Postal
Bulletin 22112 (10-2-03, starting on page 8).
• Complete PS Form 3801, Standing Delivery Order;
identify who is authorized to make pickups.
• Establish a staging area for each PRS participant;
work with the participant to schedule pickup
appointments.
• As carriers bring in parcels or as customers drop
them off, scan all return parcels as "Available For
Pickup." (Select "Main Option Menu," "Option A"
Returns Mode, Option #1 Scan Barcodes, scan the
barcode, hit Enter, select "Available for Pickup.")
• For oversized parcels, perform the required additional scan. (Select "Main Option Menu," "Option A" Returns Mode, Option #2 Random Sampling, scan the
barcode, hit Enter, input "69" in the pounds field, hit
Enter.)
• Sort PRS parcels by Mailer ID number into appropriate staging equipment.
• When the merchant or agent picks up the parcels,
scan each parcel as "Picked Up By Agent." (Select
"Main Option Menu," "Option A" Returns Mode,
Option #1 Scan Barcodes, scan the barcode, hit Enter, select "Picked Up By Agent.")
• Starting October 19, 2003, the U.S. Postal ServiceŽ
will begin a 2-year test for Parcel Return Services
(PRS).
• PRS allows consumers to return merchandise to
merchants without paying postage. Consumers may
drop off parcels at any Postal ServiceTM facility, hand
them to a letter carrier, or place them in a collection
box or any location designated by the Postal Service
for the receipt of mail.
• PRS allows merchants to monitor the status of packages. The Postal Service will post on usps.com the
PRS barcode, date, time, and ZIP CodeTM where the
parcel was scanned or manifested.
• The Postal Service will select up to 20 participants for
the first year, and it may add up to 10 more in the second year. The Postal Service will offer PRS at "Early
Bird" delivery units and bulk mail centers (BMCs).
• Merchants or their logistics partners (i.e., agents/consolidators that have multiple merchant clients) must
pick up return parcels in bulk either at the delivery
unit or BMC serving the original consumer (they must
pick up Bound Printed Matter at the BMC) based on
the address they put on the special PRS label, and
manifest them for payment from advance deposit
accounts via the Centralized Account Processing
System (CAPS).
• Three rate categories:
- Parcel Select Return Delivery Unit (RDU). Flat
rate is $2.00 per parcel. Oversized parcels (i.e.,
more than 108 inches but not more than 130 inches length/girth) are $7.51.
- Parcel Select Return Bulk Mail Center (RBMC).
Rates are $0.86 to $1.51 below current Intra-BMC
Parcel Post rates.
- Bound Printed Matter Return Bulk Mail Center
(RBMC) (BMC pickup only). Rates are $0.24 below non-workshared BPM rates.
• Annual Permit Fee: $150.00 (single fee covers all
categories and pickup locations).
• Annual Deposit Accounting Fee: $475.00
• Participants must schedule pickups at least 1 business day in advance, and must pick up PRS at least
every 48 hours, excluding Sundays and holidays. If
they have a dropship appointment, they may make
arrangements in advance to use the same appointment to pick up their PRS parcels.
• For more details, see the article titled "DMM Revision: Parcel Return Services Experiment" in Postal
Bulletin 22112 (10-2-03, starting on page 8).
• Complete PS Form 3801, Standing Delivery Order;
identify who is authorized to make pickups; get primary and secondary contact numbers.
• Designate an employee to serve as RBMC contact
and set up mirrored sort of parcels/NMOs.
• Establish a staging area for each PRS participant;
work with the participant to schedule pickup
appointments.
• Stage parcels in Gaylord containers, or in Postal
Paks if the participant agrees.
• Seal each trailer and enclose a bill of lading.
[Please read this stand-up talk to all employees at "Early
Bird" delivery units. Show them the accompanying shipping
label poster (see page 9 in this Postal Bulletin). Make and
distribute copies of the Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQs), and post copies of them on official bulletin boards.]
If you order merchandise by the Internet or by catalog,
you probably know that returning items can be more difficult
than getting them in the first place.
Starting October 19, 2003, the Postal Service will launch
a 2-year test of new parcel services that will make it easier
for consumers to return items, at very competitive prices for
the merchants. They are called Parcel Return Services, or
PRS. They work like dropshipping in reverse.
Here's how they work:
There are three categories of PRS:
• Parcel Select Return Delivery Unit, or Parcel Select
RDU.
• Parcel Select Return Bulk Mail Center, or Parcel
Select RBMC.
• Bound Printed Matter Return Bulk Mail Center, or
Bound Printed Matter RMBC.
When the merchandise or Bound Printed Matter is first
shipped, the merchant will provide a special PRS mailing
label. This poster shows an example of the special label.
[SHOW THEM THE POSTER WITH THE LABEL.] Note the
Mailer ID number in the lower right corner - that tells us
which company the package belongs to. Also note the barcode and the postage indicia. The merchant pays the postage out of its postage-due account. Scanning the barcode
automatically allows us to collect payment, so we don't
have to perform this function at the delivery unit. All the
consumer has to do is affix the label and then give it to a
letter carrier, drop it in the collection box - yes, that's okay
because we know who the merchant is - or bring it to the
Post Office facililty.
We will collect the return parcels marked "RDU" and addressed to this unit, and hold them for the merchants or
authorized agents, who must pick up the returns at least
once a week. They are required to contact us to make an
appointment for pickup at least 1 business day in advance.
If they already have an appointment to drop off Parcel
Select packages, they can pick up their PRS parcels at the
same time. That way they can deliver and pick up in the
same trip, saving additional time and money.
If we receive parcels marked "RBMC" or Bound Printed
Matter Return Service, we will route them to the BMC for
handling - we will not hold them here for pickup.
This is a 2-year experiment that will give us a chance to
gauge the market demand for these services. During the
first year of testing for these new experimental services, the
Postal Service will have a limit of 20 prequalified participants. That number could grow to 30 participants in the
second year. Then we'll evaluate the services and see if we
should offer them permanently.
Here are a Fact Sheet about PRS and a list of Frequently Asked Questions. Please read them and familiarize yourself with the proper handling procedures. We will also post
these on the bulletin board. [DISTRIBUTE COPIES OF
THE FACT SHEET AND FAQs.]
Keep these things in mind concerning PRS:
• Before we do anything, the merchant or agent must
have an approved Mailer Service Agreement with the
Postal Service to pick up PRS parcels at our facility.
No agreement, no pickup. We will be notified if a merchant or agent is approved to pick up parcels here.
• The only PRS parcels we will hold are those addressed to our unit. Merchants or their agents will
pick up other return parcels from other consumers at
other Postal Service facilities.
• Retail employees, if a customer asks to buy postage
for a parcel with one of these special PRS labels, tell
them that the postage is being paid by the merchant.
• No extra services, such as insurance, are available
with PRS. A customer who wants to insure the package cannot use the PRS label.
• If a package has a PRS label, we will charge the
merchant the appropriate PRS rate, regardless of
any additional postage that may be applied to the
package.
• Letter carriers, please keep an eye out for PRS parcels addressed to this office, whether your customers
give them to you or you find them in collection boxes.
Cull them out and turn them in when you return to the
office each day.
• Clerks, when the letter carriers give you PRS packages addressed to our office, or if customers give
them to you over the counter or at the dock, please
make sure that you scan them as "Available for
Pickup." Then, if we have more than one PRS participant, we will sort them by Mailer ID and stage them
by participant.
• And clerks, when the merchant or agent arrives to
collect RDU PRS parcels, make sure you scan the
parcels as "Picked Up By Agent."
• We don't have to weigh PRS parcels. Just scan the
parcels with our hand-held scanners. Since the merchants are charged a flat rate of $2.00, we will use
the scans to create a postage-due manifest, and we
will deduct the amount from the appropriate account.
Note that there is a separate scan for oversized PRS
parcels, and the rate is $7.51 regardless of weight.
Refer to the PRS fact sheet for specific scanning
instructions.
• A merchant or agent that wishes to participate must
submit its request on company letterhead to the manager of Mailing Standards. If you know someone who
might be interested, let them know that the specifics
for making their request are available in Postal Bulletin 22112 (10-02-03) - the article starts on page 8,
and the participation information starts on page 10.
Or they can call [IDENTIFY A PERSON IN YOUR
OFFICE] for more information.
[Please read this stand-up talk to all employees at all
BMCs. Show them the accompanying shipping label poster
(see page 9 in this Postal Bulletin). Make and distribute
copies of the Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions
(FAQs), and post copies of them on official bulletin boards.]
If you order merchandise by the Internet or by catalog,
you probably know that returning items can be more difficult
than getting them in the first place.
Starting October 19, 2003, the Postal Service will launch
a 2-year test of new parcel services that will make it easier
for consumers to return items, at very competitive prices for
the merchants. They are called Parcel Return Services, or
PRS. They work like dropshipping in reverse.
Here's how they work:
There are three categories of PRS:
• Parcel Select Return Delivery Unit, or Parcel Select
RDU.
• Parcel Select Return Bulk Mail Center, or Parcel
Select RBMC.
• Bound Printed Matter Return Bulk Mail Center, or
Bound Printed Matter RMBC.
When the merchandise or Bound Printed Matter is
first shipped, the merchant will provide a special PRS mailing label. This poster shows an example of the special
label. [SHOW THEM THE POSTER WITH THE LABEL.]
Note the Mailer ID number in the lower right corner - that
tells us which company the package belongs to. Note the
barcode - this is a unique parcel tracking number, not a
delivery confirmation number. Also note the postage indicia. The merchant pays the postage out of its postage-due
account, so we don't have to worry about that here at the
BMC. All the consumer has to do is affix the label and then
give it to a letter carrier, drop it in the collection box - yes,
that's okay because we know who the merchant is - or
bring it to the Post Office facililty.
We will collect the return parcels marked "RBMC" and
addressed to this unit, and hold them for the merchants or
authorized agents, who must collect the returns at least
every 48 hours, excluding Sundays and holidays. They are
required to make an appointment for pickup at least 1 business day in advance. If they already have an appointment
to drop off Parcel Select packages, they can make arrangements prior to arrival to pick up their PRS parcels at the
same time. Merchants also get the return items back quicker, and they can retrieve information about the return merchandise electronically.
If we receive parcels marked "RDU," we must not reroute them to the delivery unit. Instead, we must combine
them with RBMC parcels for that merchant and charge
them at the RBMC rate.
This is a 2-year experiment that will give us a chance to
gauge the market demand for these services. During the
first year of testing for these new experimental services, the
Postal Service will have a limit of 20 prequalified
participants. That number could grow to 30 participants in
the second year. Then we'll evaluate the services and see if
we should offer them permanently.
Here are a Fact Sheet about PRS and a list of Frequently Asked Questions. Please read them and familiarize yourself with the proper handling procedures. We will also post
these on the bulletin board. [DISTRIBUTE COPIES OF
THE FACT SHEET AND FAQs.]
Keep these things in mind concerning PRS:
• Before we do anything, the merchant or agent must
have an approved Mailer Service Agreement with the
Postal Service to pick up PRS parcels at our facility.
No agreement, no pickup.
• The only PRS parcels we will hold are those addressed to our unit, or addressed to RDUs in our service area. Participants will pick up other return
parcels from other consumers at other Postal Service
facilities.
• For each PRS customer, we will establish a PS Form
3801, Standing Delivery Order, identifying who will be
authorized to pick up the parcels. [IDENTIFY A PERSON IN YOUR OFFICE] will be the RBMC contact
person and will take care of this. [PERSON'S NAME]
will get primary and secondary contact phone numbers for the merchant or agent who is going to pick up
the parcels.
• We will provide a system for mirrored sort of the merchant's parcels and NMOs, and set up a staging area
for pickup. Make sure the staging area for finalized
mail is away from operations, so we can avoid mishandlings.
• Remember that the barcode on PRS parcels is a
unique parcel tracking number, not a delivery confirmation number.
• Participants must schedule appointments to retrieve
parcels at least 1 business day in advance. However,
if they have an appointment to dropship parcels here,
they can make arrangements in advance to use the
same appointment to retrieve RBMC PRS parcels.
• We don't have to weigh PRS parcels. The Postal Service will randomly sample parcels before they are
manifested, compare the sampling to the original
manifest for accuracy, and then deduct funds from
the permit holder's account.
• The volume of return parcels will dictate the sort
method and equipment we will use to collect and
stage the PRS.
• Once we load the parcels onto the merchant's or
agent's trailer, we will complete the bill of lading and
seal the trailer. [IDENTIFY A PERSON IN YOUR
OFFICE] will handle this.
• A merchant or agent that wishes to participate must
submit its request on company letterhead to the manager of Mailing Standards. If you know someone who
might be interested, let them know that the specifics
for making their request are available in Postal Bulletin 22112 (10-02-03) - the article starts on page 8,
and the participation information starts on page 10.
Or they can call [IDENTIFY A PERSON IN YOUR
OFFICE] for more information.
[Please read this stand-up talk to all employees at all facilities except "Early Bird" delivery units and BMCs.]
If you order merchandise by the Internet or by catalog,
you probably know that returning items can be more difficult
than getting them in the first place.
Starting October 19, 2003, the Postal Service will launch
a 2-year test of new parcel services that will make it easier
for consumers to return items, at very competitive prices for
the merchants. They are called Parcel Return Services, or
PRS. They work like dropshipping in reverse.
Here's how they work:
Qualifying merchants will be able to choose to pick up
return parcels at the Post Office facility or BMC serving the
original consumer. For saving us the time and trouble of
sorting and transporting returns all the way back to their
warehouse, the merchant will get a lower postage rate.
That makes PRS a good deal for the merchant.
The merchant will provide a special PRS mailing label,
in case the consumer needs to return the item. The merchant pays the postage. All the consumer has to do is affix
the label and then give it to a letter carrier, drop it in the
collection box - yes, that's okay because we know who
the merchant is - or bring it to the Post Office facililty. That
makes PRS a good deal for the consumer, too.
Participating merchants will be able to schedule pickups
at their convenience. When possible, they can even deliver
new packages and pick up returns in the same trip.
Merchants get the return items back quicker and can obtain
information about the return merchandise electronically.
That makes PRS a good deal for the merchants, too.
This is a 2-year experiment that will give us a chance to
gauge the market demand for these services. During the
first year of testing for these new experimental services, the
Postal Service will have a limit of 20 prequalified participants. That number could grow to 30 participants in the
second year. Then we'll evaluate the services and see if we
should offer them permanently.
• What are Parcel Return Services?
Parcel Return Services (PRS) are new experimental
services that make it easier for consumers to return
mail and Internet order merchandise, at very competitive rates for merchants. PRS will appeal to merchants who receive a large volume of returns and to
shipping consolidators. Think of it as dropshipping in
reverse.
Qualifying merchants or agents may elect to pick up
return parcels at select delivery units or bulk mail
centers (BMCs) serving the original consumers. They
must retrieve the parcels on a regular schedule, at
least once a week at delivery units and, at BMCs, at
least every 48 hours, excluding Sundays and holidays. In most cases, merchants or agents will pick up
returned parcels while they are entering new parcels
into the mailstream, allowing them to perform both
pickup and delivery functions in one trip. Merchants
also will be able to get the return items back quicker,
and retrieve information about the merchandise electronically. In exchange for picking up the return parcels, merchants will receive lower postage rates
reflecting the savings to the Postal Service in reduced transportation and handling costs.
This is a 2-year experiment that will give us a chance
to gauge the market demand for these services. During the first year of testing for these new experimental
services, the Postal Service will have a limit of 20
prequalified participants. That number could grow to
30 participants in the second year. These participation limits will allow us to manage and document the
operational aspects of these new services to determine if we should file a permanent classification
request.
• How is the postage paid?
When a consumer purchases merchandise by Internet or by catalog but then returns the merchandise, it
goes back one of two ways. Either the consumer decides how to send the parcel back and pays the shipping charges, or the merchant determines the carrier
and type of service used and pays the bill. In the latter case, the merchant often provides a return shipping label.
PRS is a convenient and efficient example of the latter. Participating merchants will provide their consumers with special PRS mailing labels and manifest
them at the designated Postal Service facility for payment. See page 9 in this Postal Bulletin for a poster
showing the special PRS labels.
• What are the rate categories? Rates? Fees?
There are three rate categories for PRS:
- The Parcel Select Return Delivery Unit (RDU) rate
category applies to merchandise returned to the
delivery unit of the original consumer for pickup.
The delivery unit address appears on the special
PRS mailing label. The Postal Services charges
merchants who pick up these parcels a flat rate of
$2.00, regardless of weight - the charge for oversized parcels is $7.51.
- The Parcel Select Return Bulk Mail Center
(RBMC) rate covers parcels returned to the BMC.
Rates are $0.86 to $1.51 below the current Intra-
BMC Parcel Post rates.
- A third rate category, Bound Printed Matter Return
Bulk Mail Center (RBMC), is available for returns
that meet content and shape requirements for
Bound Printed Matter parcels. The merchant or
agent may pick these up only at designated
BMCs. Rates are $0.24 below the non-workshared Bound Printed Matter rates for all zones.
For more details, see the article titled "DMM Revision: Parcel Return Services Experiment" in Postal
Bulletin 22112 (10-2-03, starting on page 8) - specific rates begin on page 11.
Participants must pay an annual permit fee of
$150.00 and an advance deposit accounting fee of
$475.00. The Postal Service requires only a single
permit fee for all three rate categories, regardless of
the number of locations from which the merchant or
agent retrieves the parcels.
• What is the difference between PRS and Merchandise Return Service?
Merchandise Return Service is end-to-end service.
The consumer places an enclosed return mailing
label on the item and puts it in the mailstream. The
Postal Service transports the parcel to the designated postal facility shown on the label, where the
postage is calculated and deducted from the merchant's account. Then the Postal Service delivers the
parcel to the merchant or agent.
PRS allows the merchant or agent to intercept the returning parcel at one of two upstream locations. The
label affixed by the consumer is addressed either to
the delivery unit where the consumer lives or to the
BMC that serves that delivery unit. Merchants or
agents then will pick up the return parcels at these
locations and manifest them for payment.
• Will all Postal Service facilities participate in
PRS?
No. During the 2-year experiment, the services will
be limited to only those destinating delivery units that
offer early acceptance hours for Parcel Select dropshipments - such facilities are commonly referred to
as "Early Bird" offices. These facilities will be designated as return delivery units (RDUs). Also, all BMCs
will participate and will be designated as return bulk
mail centers (RBMCs).
• Will PRS offer tracking capability?
The special PRS label includes a barcode that allows
a consumer to confirm when the merchant or agent
retrieves the package at the RDU or RBMC.
• What types of information will the merchant
transmit to the Postal Service in the manifest file,
and how will the Postal Service use it?
The merchant will collect and transmit the PRS barcode, the date and time when the parcel was manifested, and the ZIP Code of the RBMC where the
parcel was picked up. This information will be available on usps.com to confirm when the merchant or
agent received the parcel. Additionally, the manifest
file will include the origin ZIP Code of the parcel, the
rate category, weight, zone, and postage information.
The Postal Service will use this information to support our data collection plan and postage collection.
• Can a merchant or agent consolidate its returns
at one RDU or BMC?
No. A merchant or agent must retrieve its returns at
the RDU or BMC that serves the original consumer.
The merchant must prepare its PRS label with the
address of the corresponding facility.
• How does a merchant or agent become a participant in the PRS experiment?
A merchant or agent that wishes to participate must
submit a request on its company letterhead to the
manager of Mailing Standards. The specifics for
making requests are available in Postal Bulletin
22112 (10-02-03) - the article starts on page 8, and
the participation information starts on page 10.
• How often do merchants or agents have to pick
up the return parcels at the RDU or RBMC?
Merchants or agents must pick up parcels returned to
an RDU at least once a week, with the Postal Service
reserving the right to require more frequent pickups
based on operational needs.
Merchants or agents must pick up parcels returned to
an RBMC at least every 48 hours, excluding Sundays
and holidays.
• What about missorted mail?
The merchant or agent is responsible for and must
agree to return all missent mail to the Post Office designated by the Postal Service.
• What about RDU parcels dropped in collection
boxes?
Like Merchandise Return Service parcels, RDU and
RBMC parcels may be dropped in collection boxes. If
an RDU parcel is picked up by the letter carrier and
returned to the delivery unit shown on the PRS address, the parcel should be culled from the mail and
held for pickup there. However, if it is collected and
brought to a processing and distribution center
(P&DC) during evening collections, the parcel should
not be culled and rerouted to the delivery unit, but
instead should be transported to the BMC. Any RDU
parcel not captured at the Post Office on the address
will be processed to the RBMC for pickup by the merchant or agent, and the merchant should be charged
the RBMC rate.
• How should we handle pieces deposited at a Post
Office other than the RDU addressed on the
label?
If a consumer deposits a PRS item at a Postal Service facility other than the RDU addressed on the label, we must route the parcel to the RBMC, which
must handle it as an RBMC piece.
• How will we identify the number of oversized parcels returned through this service?
A special scan event will identify oversized parcels
retrieved at an RDU. The returns manifest will identify
those parcels retrieved at an RBMC.
• Can consumers insure a PRS package?
No. No extra services are permitted with PRS. A consumer who wishes to insure the return package cannot use the PRS label.
• What if a consumer affixes the PRS label and
then applies postage?
If a PRS label is used on a package, the Postal Service will charge the merchant the appropriate PRS
rate, regardless of any additional postage that may
be applied to the package. If a customer asks to purchase postage for a parcel that has one of these special PRS labels, explain that the merchant is already
paying for the postage.
• Will we weigh PRS items, like we do for Merchandise Return Service?
No. At RDUs, we will scan parcels with the existing
hand-held scanners. The scan will be used to create
a postage-due manifest, and the amount will be deducted from the appropriate account. Clerks must
check for oversized parcels and use the oversized
scan event when applicable.
At RBMCs, the Postal Service will randomly sample
parcels before they are manifested by the merchant
or agent, will compare the sampling to the manifest
for accuracy, and then will deduct funds from the permit holder's account.
• Will PRS parcels carry a sort barcode, or will we
need to key them?
All PRS labels will contain a postal routing barcode
identifying the unique ZIP Code for the merchant and
the location where the parcels are collected.
• Is the BMC responsible for sealing the trailer before it leaves the BMC?
Yes. The BMC plant manager will designate per-
sonnel responsible for sealing the trailers prior to
departure.
• Who at the BMC completes the bill of lading?
The BMC plant manager will designate personnel responsible for completing the bill of lading.
• Will NMOs for this service receive an en route
scan at the BMC?
No. Only machinable parcels will receive passive en
route scans when they are sorted on the parcel sorting machine.
• How will the return parcels be loaded into the
merchant's or agent's trailer?
The parcels will be sorted into Gaylord containers at
a location designated by the BMC. Full containers will
be staged and transported via forklift to the merchant's or agent's trailer based on when the trailer is
available. Merchants or agents will be required to
make appointments to pick up the parcels.
• Do we charge the merchants part of the shared
cost for the use of the Gaylord containers?
No. The cost of the containers is built into the cost
model for the service.
• Do merchants or agents have to return Gaylord
containers to the BMC?
The merchant or agent will return the Gaylord containers to the BMC nearest its processing facility.
• Can we use Postal Paks to containerize return
parcels for pickup?
Yes. We may use Postal Paks at the discretion of the
BMC manager based on operational needs, provided
that both the participant and the BMC agree to their
use.
- Package Services,
Product Development, 10-16-03
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