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Fall Mailing Season is just over the horizon
Get ready!

Fall mailing season is right around the corner. Is your facility ready? Here are some reminders to help make fall mailing season a success for you and your customers:

Tips for Postal Service Employees

  • Plan for Increased Drop Shipments: Increase Thursday through Saturday appointment slots in the Drop Ship Appointment System (DSAS).
  • Accommodate Late and Unscheduled Arrivals: Make every effort to accept late and unscheduled arrivals before requiring the drop to be rescheduled in DSAS.
  • Obtain PS Form 8125: If PS Form 8125, Plant-Verified Drop Shipment (PVDS) Verification and Clearance, does not accompany the shipment, shippers should contact their dispatch office for resolution. You can accept a faxed copy of PS Form 8125 with the shipment, but the shipper must also forward an original copy of PS Form 8125 to the accepting office.
  • Check Shipment: Do not accept shipments that are designated for a different entry office.
  • Resolve Issues in a Timely Fashion: For issues not easily resolved by dock personnel, immediately involve local management. Report the problem and its resolution via the Business Service Network when appropriate.
  • Enforce Security Requirements: Always check for proper driver and shipment identification.

Tips for Mailers

  • Schedule and deliver shipments on days other than Friday (heaviest volume day) if possible.
  • Factor in extra time for dropping the shipment and for in- delivery due to higher-than-normal mail volumes.
  • Ensure that drivers have the required identification and a valid driver's license.
  • For Postal Service confirmation of receipt, mailers can access shipment arrival data from the DSAS Web site - mailers should ask their third-party shipper to provide the DSAS appointment confirmation number. Or, mailers should provide their agent a duplicate copy of PS Form 8125, which will be endorsed by the receiving office and returned to the driver. Another option is to attach a self-addressed envelope to the duplicate PS Form 8125 and the endorsed PS Form 8125 will be mailed back to the mailer.

For Palletized Mailings:

  • Properly secure pallet loads for transit.
  • Stay within the minimum and maximum height requirements.
  • Ensure that pallet placards are correct and complete.
  • Properly top-cap and secure stacked pallets.

For Bedloaded Mailings:

  • Do not commingle mail types (e.g., sacks with parcels).
  • Stack lighter-weight mail pieces on top of the heaviest mail items.
  • If pallets are in the same load, tailgate them, and annotate the appointment record in the "Comment" section in DSAS.

Deliver results!

- Logistics Systems, Network Operations Management, 9-16-04

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